What registering means
Registering means recording an act or contract concerning real estate in the Registry. Article 1 of the Mortgage Law defines the Registry's purpose: the registration or annotation of acts and contracts concerning ownership and other real rights over real estate, in the Registry covering the territory where the property lies.
The public deed signed before a notary documents the transaction. Registration is the later step by which the Registry reflects that transaction on the property's record. They are different acts with different functions, and confusing them is a common source of problems: having the deed is not the same as having the right registered.
This guide does not describe time limits or costs of the procedure, because they depend on each case and on the rules applicable at the time. It explains the effects the Mortgage Law attributes to registration.
The effect against third parties: Article 32
Article 32 provides that title deeds to ownership or other real rights over real estate that are not duly registered or annotated in the Land Registry do not prejudice third parties. The sentence is short and its practical consequence is important.
A buyer with an unregistered deed may be in a weaker position than a third party who did rely on the Registry and met the Law's requirements. There is no need to imagine extreme situations: it is enough to think of a seller who still appears as registered owner and who disposes of the property again or encumbers it.
This is the main reason professionals advise completing registration. The protection the Registry gives reaches whoever registers, not whoever merely signs.
Priority between titles: Article 17
Article 17 establishes that, once any title transferring or declaring ownership of real estate, or of real rights imposed on it, is registered or preventively annotated in the Registry, no other title of equal or earlier date that opposes it or is incompatible with it may be registered or annotated if it transfers or encumbers the ownership of the same property or real right.
The article adds that, if only the presentation entry has been made, no other title of that kind may be registered or annotated either during sixty days counted from the day after the date of that entry. The presentation entry is the one that records that the document has been presented in the Registry.
In practice the rule orders the access to the Registry of incompatible titles. Presenting the document early affects that order, which is why a delay between signing and presentation is not neutral. No more guarantees should be inferred than the text states: registration requires the registrar to qualify the title favourably.
Continuity of title: Article 20
Article 20 requires that, in order to register or annotate titles by which ownership and other real rights over real estate are declared, transferred, encumbered, modified or extinguished, the right of the person granting them, or in whose name they are granted, must already be registered or annotated. This is the principle of continuity of title.
If the right appears registered in favour of a person other than the one granting the transfer or encumbrance, registrars refuse the registration requested. The text provides special rules for the case where the right is not registered in favour of anyone.
So when a chain of transfers has not been registered, the last buyer may find obstacles to registering. An intermediate owner who never registered complicates the transaction. The Law provides procedures for cases where continuity has been interrupted; a professional should assess which applies in each situation.
When the Registry does not match reality
Sometimes the registry description of a property does not match the physical or legal reality. Article 198 lists the procedures for bringing them into line, including registration of the georeferenced graphic representation of the property and its coordination with the Cadastre, registry boundary marking, correction of the description, first registration of properties not registered and the procedure for resuming an interrupted continuity of title.
That list shows the system provides formal routes to correct discrepancies. They are not resolved with a simple note. If you find a difference in area, boundaries or ownership, the route depends on the case and usually requires professional help. The differences between the Registry and the Cadastre are explained in Land Registry and Cadastre.
Checking that registration has been made
After signing, the simple way to confirm the result is to request a nota simple. Article 222 provides that the content of the entries is made available by nota simple informativa or by certificate. A later note will show whether the owner and the title now appear on the property.
Check that the name, share and property details are as expected and that the charges match what was agreed. If something does not fit, the first step is to ask the notary or the agency that presented the document. The guide how to read a nota simple gives an orderly reading of the document.
Remember that the nota simple is informative. If you need to certify the content of the Registry with other effects, the route is the certificate, covered in nota simple versus registry certificate.
Common mistakes
The first is treating the purchase as closed on signing the deed and not checking registration afterwards. The signature documents the transaction; registration is the step that records it in the Registry and gives it the effects the Mortgage Law describes.
The second is letting time pass without presenting the document when there are other transactions over the same property. The priority between incompatible titles regulated by Article 17 is ordered by access to the Registry, and it is not wise to improvise there.
The third is not reviewing the nota simple before buying. Checking that the seller appears as registered owner avoids discovering a continuity-of-title obstacle late. The checklist nota simple before buying a home gathers those checks.
When to ask for specific help
Ask a professional for help if the deed has gone unregistered for some time, if the seller does not appear as registered owner, if there are unregistered intermediate transfers, or if there is a discrepancy between the registry description and reality.
This text is general information about the Mortgage Law. It is not legal advice on a specific transaction.