Property
A land book system still in the middle of systematic registration
The Civil Code of 2011 makes registration in the land book constitutive of title, but only in areas where systematic cadastral registration has been completed, so in much of the country the old contract-based transfer still applies transitionally.
Key rules
- Transfers of real property require an authentic notarial deed.
- The constitutive effect of registration applies only where the cadastre is complete for the area.
- Non-EU citizens may not acquire agricultural land except under a reciprocity treaty.
- Agricultural land sales are subject to a statutory chain of pre-emption rights.
Governing law
- Civil Code (2009)Law 287/2009, Book Three on property.
- Law No. 7/1996 on cadastre and land registration (1996)
- Law No. 17/2014 on agricultural land sales (2014)Pre-emption procedure.
In practice
Restitution claims from the communist era still surface, so an extract for information plus the litigation history of the plot matters as much as the current land book entry.