No, provided your registration application reached the Land Registry before the court order and registration is approved. A court-imposed security interest arises only upon registration in the Land Registry, which registers rights in the order in which it received the documents. Once registration is approved, you are the owner and, according to ÚGKK, the order against the seller will not be registered. If the order arrived first, the security interest will generally be registered and you will acquire the property subject to it.
You have signed the purchase agreement and the registration application has been filed with the Land Registry. You then learn that the seller’s creditor has obtained a court security measure imposing a security interest over the same property. The purchase price is in escrow or you have already paid it. Whether you acquire the property subject to a security interest securing someone else’s debt depends primarily on which document reached the Land Registry first.
When a court-imposed security interest arises
A court may impose a security interest over a debtor’s assets by way of a security measure if there is concern that enforcement will be jeopardised (Section 343(1) of the Code of Civil Contentious Procedure). This is known as a judicial security interest. For the buyer, the key issue is the moment at which it arises.
The following quotation is reproduced in its original language:
Záložné právo sa zriaďuje vydaním uznesenia o zabezpečovacom opatrení. Záložné právo vzniká zápisom do príslušného registra.
The order alone therefore does not yet bring the security interest over the property into existence. For immovable property, it arises only upon entry in the Land Registry, which, according to ÚGKK, uses the recording procedure for this entry. The court must also send an order that serves as the basis for an entry in a register to the authority maintaining that register, no later than three days after the order is drawn up (Section 331(2) and (3) read together with Section 344). Several days may therefore pass between the order being issued and its delivery to the Land Registry.
What determines priority
Rights over the same property are registered in the order in which the Land Registry received the agreements and other documents (Section 41(2) of the Cadastral Act). The Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Authority (ÚGKK), in Cadastral Bulletin 2/2023, explains what this means when a security interest and a sale are awaiting registration at the same time. If the application to register ownership arrived before the court order, the Land Registry first completes the registration proceedings. Once registration is approved, the buyer is the owner. The order is directed against the seller, who is no longer the owner; according to ÚGKK, it does not bind the new owner, and the Land Registry will return it to the court without registering it.
If the order arrived before your application, the priority is reversed. The security interest will be registered and will be effective against you as the transferee upon the transfer (Section 151h(1) of the Civil Code). The protection afforded to a good-faith acquirer does not apply to a security interest that arises through entry in the Land Registry (Section 151h(3) and (4)). If your registration is not approved, the seller remains the owner, and the Land Registry then considers registration of the security interest against them.
What will and will not suspend registration proceedings
In Cadastral Bulletin 2/2022, ÚGKK states that a note recording that a creditor has applied for a security measure is for information only and does not cause registration proceedings to be suspended. According to ÚGKK, a criminal complaint filed against the seller is not a ground for suspension either. By contrast, registration proceedings will be suspended if a court has issued an interim injunction prohibiting the seller from dealing with the property (Section 31a, letter (e) of the Cadastral Act). The court will grant such an interim injunction only if the intended purpose cannot be achieved by a security measure (Section 324(3) of the Code of Civil Contentious Procedure (CSP)).
For the seller’s creditor, this means that timing and the choice of remedy are crucial when a transfer is already underway. A court-imposed security interest will generally not be registered against the property being transferred if the registration application reached the Land Registry first. If the transfer prejudices the creditor’s ability to obtain satisfaction, an action to challenge the transfer may be available subject to the conditions in the Civil Code (Section 42a(1) of the Civil Code), which we discuss in the question on a debtor transferring assets to family members.
How to protect yourself as a buyer
- Check the title sheet on the day of signing, including the notes relating to the owner as well as the encumbrances.
- File the registration application as soon as possible after signing, because priority depends on the date it reaches the Land Registry, not the date of signing. We discuss how long the subsequent proceedings take in the question on how long Land Registry registration takes.
- Release the purchase price from escrow only after your ownership has been registered without any encumbrance of which you were unaware when purchasing.
- If the seller is involved in litigation or has debts, include a contractual right to withdraw if a new encumbrance emerges before registration.
How we can help
Before you sign, we will check the title sheet and risks relating to the seller as part of our legal due diligence on the property service and safeguard the purchase price through lawyer-held escrow for the purchase price, with release conditional on the outcome of registration. If you are the creditor, we will prepare an application for a security measure or an interim injunction as part of our debt recovery in Slovakia service.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 3 October 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
