The land register: what changes when you sell in South Tyrol
It is the most important difference between selling here and selling in the rest of Italy, and the one almost no national portal explains. Worth understanding before you sign anything.
What the land register is
It is the public property register in force in Trentino-Alto Adige and part of Friuli, inherited from the Austrian legal order and kept after 1918. It does not replace the cadastre: the cadastre describes the property and serves the tax authority, the land register says who owns it and what encumbers it, and it carries public faith.
It is kept by the land registry offices at the courts, and it is bilingual. Every property has its own register entry, and every entry has three sheets.
The three sheets: A, B and C
Sheet A, the substance: which parcels make up the property, how they are classified, which active rights come with them. Sheet B, ownership: who the holders are and in what shares, with any limits on their power to dispose. Sheet C, encumbrances: mortgages, usufruct, rights of use and residence, easements, restrictions.
For a seller, sheet C is the one to read first. That is where you find the mortgage from a loan believed settled, the right of residence left to a relative, the right of way to the neighbour's land and — where it exists — the residents' restriction.
Registration creates the right
In the rest of Italy ownership passes on the parties' agreement, and recording makes it effective against third parties. Not here: for transactions between living persons, entry in the land register creates the right, including as between the contracting parties. Until the sale is registered, the seller remains the registered owner.
In practice this means the transaction does not end with the signature at the notary's: it ends with the land registry judge's decree ordering the entry. That step has its own timing, and a seller does well to know it when agreeing dates for the move and the final payment.
What a seller should do
Three things, all before publishing. Ask for the extract and read it line by line, including the sheets that look empty. Check that the registered owner really matches the people selling — with inherited property it often does not. Start the cancellation of entries that no longer belong there straight away, because that is the procedure that most often arrives late for completion.
In short
- The cadastre describes; the land register establishes ownership
- Sheet A: substance · Sheet B: ownership · Sheet C: encumbrances
- Ownership passes on registration, not on signature
- Read the extract before marketing, not before completion
- Cancellations take their own time: start them early
The questions we are asked most
How do you request a land register extract?
From the Province's land registry offices, in person or through the provincial online services; many municipalities and district communities issue it to the owner free of charge. You need the register entry number or the property's address.
How long between the deed and registration?
It depends on the office and the season: after the deed the notary files the application and the land registry judge issues the decree. It is neither automatic nor instant, which is why in South Tyrol a sale's timetable is built partly around the registry office.
Does the land register matter for lettings too?
An ordinary tenancy is not registered, but some rights that limit use of the property — usufruct, right of residence, leases beyond nine years — are, and they appear on sheet C. The buyer sees them, so the seller needs to know them.
Official sources
Note
This guide is general information written by an estate agency. It does not replace advice from a notary, an accountant or the surveyor handling the property. The rules cited are those in force at the date of publication.
Read next
Which documents you need to sell a home in South Tyrol
In South Tyrol the list is longer than in the rest of Italy, because the cadastre sits alongside a land register. Here is what is genuinely needed, who issues it, and the order worth collecting it in.
The residents' restriction: what it means if you want to sell
It is the rule that most surprises people from outside the province, and the reason two identical flats in the same building are worth different amounts. Worth knowing which side yours is on.
From preliminary contract to deed: closing a sale in South Tyrol
Between the handshake and the change of ownership there are four documents and several weeks. Here is what they are and what to watch in each.
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