What can a title sheet tell me?

What are the parts of a title sheet?

The land registry does not decide the content of a title sheet at its discretion: it is set out in legislation (Section 8(1)(b), point 2 of the Cadastral Act, No. 162/1995 Z. z.). Every title sheet has a number and identifies the district, municipality and cadastral area. It consists of three parts.

Part A — property. This contains all the properties subject to the rights and their details: area, land type, land-use code and whether they lie within the municipality’s built-up area. It shows whether a parcel is in register “C” (recorded on the cadastral map, generally corresponding to the position on the ground) or register “E” (recorded on the map of designated records using historical boundaries). The distinction is crucial in disputes; we discuss it in detail in our duplicate land ownership service.

Part B — owner or other entitled person. First name, surname, birth surname or business name, date of birth, personal identification number or company ID, co-ownership share, acquisition title under an official public or other document, and permanent residence or registered office. Part B also covers apartments and non-residential units, land lease rights and — surprisingly to many people — notes on facts concerning the property or rights to it.

Part C — encumbrances. Easements, including their content and the entitled person; security interests identifying the secured creditor; pre-emption rights intended to operate as rights in rem; and other rights agreed as rights in rem.

What does a title sheet not tell you?

A title sheet does not reveal these three things:

• The amount of debt. The Act expressly states that Part C does not specify the amount of debt (Section 8(1)(b), point 2). A security interest in favour of a bank therefore tells you that the property is encumbered, but not how much remains outstanding. The seller must document that through a bank certificate.
• Which agreement was used to acquire a particular parcel. If an owner holds several properties on one title sheet and several documents appear under acquisition title, a standard extract does not show which document belongs to which property. A copy with a chronology of changes is needed; see how to find previous owners.
• The actual position on the ground. A title sheet is a record, not a survey. The area and land type of a register “E” parcel may not reflect what is actually there.

Is title sheet data binding?

Cadastral data under Section 7 is reliable unless proved otherwise (Section 70(1)). A narrower set of data — rights to property, parcel number, geometric and positional identification, land type, cadastral area size and name, and other particulars — is also binding, again subject to being proved otherwise (Section 70(2)). The Act expressly states that the land type of a register “E” parcel is not binding data.

“Unless proved otherwise” is not decorative legal language. It creates a rebuttable presumption: the person registered in the land registry is presumed to be the owner until something else is proved, and it can be proved. Cadastral data whose reliability has been rebutted may no longer be used (Section 71(3)).

In practice, registration is not incontrovertible proof of ownership. If you believe the wrong owner is registered, the solution is determination of ownership, or, for an obvious recording error, proceedings to correct an error in the cadastral records (Section 59).

Where to obtain a title sheet

Title sheet data held electronically is published free of charge through the cadastral access point, excluding personal identification numbers (or other identifiers for foreign nationals) and property prices. Data obtained this way is for information only (Section 68(4)). Only an extract or copy prepared by the land registry is an official public document (Section 69(3)); where data is held electronically, any district office may issue it (Section 69(7)). Everyone has the right to inspect the cadastral records, but a personal identification number is disclosed only to the person concerned (Section 68(1)).

An informational extract is insufficient when buying. We always check the legal position against current data on the signing date and again immediately before filing the registration application. Between a viewing and signing, an enforcement security interest or a note of court proceedings may appear on the title sheet. Our property purchase service covers complete due diligence and the contractual documentation. If you already have an agreement from the other party, we offer a separate purchase agreement review.