Mandatory Land Registry Compliance in the deed of sale

What is the Cadastral Compliance Declaration?

The Cadastral Compliance Declaration is a document that certifies that the information on the cadastral floor plan accurately reflects the actual state of the property. With this document, the owner of the property for sale confirms that the property does not differ from what is described in the floor plan.

This declaration is therefore essential in the real estate transaction process, as it certifies the true condition of the property and ensures its compliance. The Cadastral Compliance Declaration can also be replaced by a Compliance Certificate, which is usually issued by a qualified technician.

Article 29 of Law No. 52 of February 27, 1985, is supplemented by the following paragraph from Decree-Law No. 78 of May 31, 2010, Article 19, Paragraph 14: "1-bis Public deeds and authenticated private agreements between living persons concerning the transfer, establishment, or dissolution of co-ownership of real rights on existing buildings, excluding real rights of guarantee, must contain, under penalty of nullity, in addition to cadastral identification, a reference to the floor plans filed in the cadastral records and a declaration, made in the deed by the registered owners, confirming that the cadastral data and floor plans conform to the actual state of the property, based on the applicable cadastral regulations. This declaration may be replaced by a compliance certificate issued by a qualified technician authorized to submit cadastral update documents. Before executing the aforementioned deeds, the notary must identify the registered owners and verify their consistency with the real estate registry records."

The first part of the regulation concerns "Objective Compliance," requiring that deeds must include, under penalty of nullity:

1. Cadastral identification

2. Reference to the floor plans filed in the cadastral records

3. A declaration made by the registered owner confirming that the cadastral data and floor plans conform to the actual state of the property.

This declaration may be replaced by a compliance certificate issued by a qualified technician.

The second part concerns "Subjective Compliance," meaning the correspondence between the Cadastral Registry and the Real Estate Registers, which must be verified by the notary under their professional responsibility.

Cadastral compliance should not be confused with urban planning compliance. This means that a property correctly registered in the cadastral system and matching the filed floor plan may be considered cadastrally compliant but does not necessarily ensure that it meets the legal requirements for construction and habitation. Therefore, a property may be cadastrally compliant but not urbanistically compliant.