Property rights

Registration of ownership rights

The right of ownership of the property is not automatically acquired, but by its registration in the land registry 

The basis for acquiring rights on the property may be:
1. legal transaction (purchase and sale agreement, donation agreement, etc.)
2. ruling of a court or other competent authority
3. inheritance
4. law

Acquisition of the right of ownership of the property based on the purchase and sale agreement

The conclusion of a legal transaction, e.g. a purchase and sale agreement, does not mean you became the owner of real property. In fact, the right of ownership of the property is not acquired automatically, but by its registration in the land registry on the basis of documents that meet all general and specific requirements stipulated by law.

A proposal for registration of ownership rights is submitted to the locally competent municipal court maintaining the land registry (land registry court) in which the property that is the subject of the legal transaction is registered. The proposal is submitted to the court electronically through a notary public or a lawyer as authorised users of the information system used in court operations, or may be submitted to the court directly or by ordinary mail. 


The proposal must contain the elements stipulated in Article 109 of the Land Registry Act (Official Gazette 63/2019), whereas the format and content of forms for submitting proposals for registration is prescribed under the Ordinance on the forms used in land registry procedures (Official Gazette 123/2004).
 
A written proposal not submitted on a prescribed form shall not be disregarded solely for that reason if it is otherwise suitable to be treated in the procedure.

Required documents

To register the right of ownership of the property, it is required to submit to the court the following:
  • proposal for registration in two copies,
  • the original, or a certified copy, of the document governing the legal transaction (purchase and sale agreement, donation agreement, exchange agreement and the like),
  • proof of citizenship of the acquirer of ownership rights (certificate of citizenship, identity card, passport),
  • proof of payment of the court fee or proof of exemption from payment of the court fee,
    • registration fee is charged according to the tariff prescribed in the Regulation on the Tariff of Court Fees (Official Gazette 53/2019), so a fee in the amount of 6,50 eura is charged for submissions requesting entry in the land registry or deletion therefrom, and a fee in the amount of 26,54 eura for registration or conditional registration of ownership and other real rights,
    • if several rights are registered in favour of one person on the basis of a single proposal submitted to the same court, the fee is paid for registration of each right separately.

If you do not submit a proposal for registration of the right of ownership within 60 days from the date of becoming eligible to register that right in the land registry or the register of deposited contracts, you will be charged the amount equal to five times the fee.


With regard to electronic submission of proposals for registration, it is prescribed that only 50% of the court fee stipulated for submitting proposals for registration is paid (Article 7 of the Court Fees Act, Official Gazette 118/2018).


After all documents are submitted and the registration number is obtained, the status of the case may also be checked via the website of the Ministry of Justice and Administration and the State Geodetic Administration at the link Organized Land:

E-extract
 
The period in which the land registry court is obliged to perform registration in the land registry is stipulated by the Land Registry Act. Generally, cases are processed in the order they were received by the land registry court.
 
Under the section Additional Information of this article, you can find informative materials on how to download online cadastral and land registry documents.
 
Land registry - Frequently asked questions