Property due diligence: Land Register, titles and risks

The owner, property description, cadastral number, area, ownership shares and entries in parts B and C are checked: mortgages, prohibitions, litigation, easements, preliminary contracts or other encumbrances. An informational extract is valid at the time of issue and must be updated before signing.

The title and chain of transfers can explain current entries and reveal risks not apparent from an isolated reading. Restitution, expropriation, public-domain status or pre-emption rights are relevant to certain properties.

• the owner’s identity and power to dispose;
• continuity of acquisition documents;
• mortgages, attachments and prohibitions;
• easements, access and utilities;
• notations concerning litigation, preliminary contracts or leases.

The cadastral plan, floor plans and areas are compared with the on-site situation. Extensions, partitioning, outbuildings or changes of use absent from the documents can delay financing and transfer.

For land, lawful access to a public road, boundaries, possible overlaps and utilities matter. For condominiums, the share in common areas, storage units, parking spaces and association rules are also checked.

The planning certificate, PUG/PUZ/PUD documentation and local regulations indicate the applicable regime and approval process, but the certificate is not a building permit. Permits, acceptance reports and registration of buildings must align with what actually exists.

Protected areas, monuments, utility corridors, natural hazards, height restrictions or road widening may affect the project. The analysis must be dated because regulations and planning documentation may change.

Each finding must be classified: acceptable, remediable before signing, covered by a warranty or incompatible with the transaction. Conditions precedent, closing documents, price holdbacks and seller’s representations must be linked to the identified risks.

A good report does not promise zero risk. It shows what was checked, what could not be confirmed, the possible effect and who must act before or after transfer.