Third-party land registers, lawyers and solicitors can now consult them

Law No. 119/2019 expressly authorizes the consultation, by lawyers, notaries and solicitors, of the land registers of rural buildings adjacent to those of their clients. The measure came into force on October 1, 2019.

Until October 2019, consultation of a property register was shrouded in confidentiality and only accessible to the owner(s) of the respective properties. This privacy rule still remains unchanged, however, an exception was introduced for lawyers and solicitors. These professionals now have the possibility of accessing this information whenever they are dealing with matters directly related to the interests of their clients . Examples of situations of this type include properties adjacent to your clients' properties, legal disputes, among other similar situations.

On September 18, Law No. 119/2019 was published in the Official Gazette, which amends several tax codes, namely CIMI.

In Article 93 (7) we can read:

7 - Lawyers and solicitors may, in the exercise of their profession, have access to the information contained in land records, without being able to oppose the confidentiality regime, under the following conditions:
a) When it concerns matters related to the effective interests of the respective clients;
b) Subject to confidentiality obligations regarding the information they consult.

With the new legal provision, lawyers and solicitors, in the exercise of their profession, will now be able to access the information contained in the land registry offices without being subject to confidentiality rules.

The measure, which resulted from a proposal by the Socialist Party, puts an end to the understanding of the Tax and Customs Authority (AT) which, in March 2018, issued binding information according to which owners were not allowed access to property information. bordering villages, based on confidentiality standards.

According to the new legislation, lawyers, notaries and solicitors are, however, subject to two conditions:

  • They are obliged to provide information related to the effective interests of their clients .
  • They are subject to confidentiality obligations regarding the information they consult.

The new legislation makes it easier to notify neighboring owners in the event of the sale of a rustic building, to exercise their right of preference.

Building Booklet, secrecy in access… or maybe not

Well, the issue of secrecy when accessing a property's Land Registry, there's a lot to be said for it... Firstly, with the exception of the Property's Asset Value (VPT), it is possible to consult most of the information even without having access directly to the Caderneta Predial.

Regarding the VPT, some people ask the notary for a copy of the property's Purchase and Sale deed, a document that includes this and other relevant information. Given that the deed is a public act, anyone who demonstrates a legitimate interest can have access to the deed of a specific property. It is not complicated to present a reason that is acceptable to many professionals (intention to purchase the property, lease contract, etc.).

If you are looking for old deeds, you should go to the district services of the Civil Registry Office. However, only documents over 100 years old are archived.

On the other hand, some Land Registration Certificates also mention the VPT.

As for the remaining information, such as identifying the owner(s) of a property, this can be obtained through the permanent certificate, the use license or plans filed with the city council . The Permanent Property Certificate is a document that contains all the records of a property, including the identification of its owners, and which you can request and consult online, or in person at an IRN counter.

Since the online application requires specific identification and location data of the property, which are often unknown to the applicant, opting for the in-person route may be more viable. If you are assisted by a helpful employee, he or she will certainly help you obtain this data and issue the Certificate.

Partially vacant urban buildings are now subject to an increased IMI rate

A rule was also added to CIMI that determines the application of the increased IMI rate to partially vacant urban buildings.

In the case of partially vacant urban buildings, the IMI rate may be increased annually by three times , only on the part of the Tax Asset Value (VPT) corresponding to the vacant parts. This measure only applies to buildings that are not part of a horizontal property regime.

Heirs are now identified in the matrix of undivided inheritance buildings

In the case of buildings that form part of an undivided inheritance, the tax service is responsible for registering, in the property matrix of all buildings registered in the name of the author of the inheritance, the tax identification number assigned to the undivided inheritance.

With the change now introduced, the finance services will, in addition, have to record in the property matrix of all properties registered in the name of the author of the inheritance, «the identification of the heirs, mentioning their respective shares».

Other changes

Regarding residential and non-housing rental contracts whose rent is updated based on the Corrected Gross Annual Income of the tenant's household, the value of the IMI payable by the landlord may be indexed to the result of the annual capitalization of the rent through the application of a factor of 15, as long as this result is lower than the Tax Asset Value (VPT).

In addition to the tax identification number of the undivided inheritance, the tax identification numbers of the heirs and their respective shares will also be registered in the land register. The right of access of lawyers and solicitors to land registry information in cases of real interest to their clients and when subject to confidentiality obligations regarding the information they consult is now enshrined in law. The IMI increase will now be applied to partially vacant urban buildings, with the rate tripling.

These changes came into force on October 1, 2019.

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