How do I remove a court-created lien from the property’s ownership record?

The encumbrances section of your property’s ownership record contains a lien in favour of a creditor, created by the court as a security measure during a dispute or before proceedings began. The dispute has since ended, the debt has been paid, or you want to sell the property and the buyer insists that the encumbrance be removed. It will not, however, disappear from the Cadastre automatically.

Why the encumbrance remains on the ownership record

A judicial lien arises upon registration in the Cadastre and may be enforced only once the court has upheld the creditor’s claim in a final and binding decision (Section 343(2) and (3) of the Code of Civil Dispute Procedure). The rules on interim measures apply, with the necessary modifications, to security measures (Section 344). In Cadastral Bulletin 1/2024, the Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Authority (ÚGKK) adds that the general Civil Code rules on the extinguishment and removal of liens also apply. Under those rules, a lien is removed only after it has been extinguished and on the basis of a document proving its extinguishment. The law lays down a special rule for liens created by a court.

The following quotation is reproduced in its original language:

Ak bolo zrušené záložné právo zriadené rozhodnutím súdu alebo správneho orgánu, vykoná sa výmaz na základe rozhodnutia príslušného súdu alebo správneho orgánu, ktorý vydal rozhodnutie o zrušení záložného práva.

§ 151md ods. 3 Občianskeho zákonníka

What provides the basis for removal?

What happened	Basis for removal
the court cancelled the security measure	the court’s cancellation decision
the debt has been paid	the creditor’s application, or your application accompanied by the creditor’s written confirmation of payment
the creditor itself enforced the lien	the creditor’s application after the lien has been extinguished
the first-ranking secured creditor enforced its lien	according to ÚGKK, no court decision is required

Where the debt has been paid, ÚGKK says that the general rule applies: the creditor must apply for removal without undue delay, and the security provider may apply themselves if they attach the creditor’s written confirmation that the obligation has been discharged or another document issued by the creditor proving that the lien has been extinguished (Section 151md(3)). The Cadastre removes the lien within 5 working days of the commencement of the proceedings (Section 43(1), letter c), of the Cadastral Act).

The last row of the table reflects the rule that, when the first-ranking secured creditor enforces its lien, the collateral is transferred free of the other creditors’ liens (Section 151ma(3)). ÚGKK concludes from this that the Cadastre then removes all subsequently registered liens, including judicial liens.

When will the court cancel the security measure?

The rules on interim measures, which apply with the necessary modifications, provide several grounds for cancellation. These include, in particular:

• the court will cancel the measure on application if the grounds on which it was ordered no longer exist (Section 334),
• if the court ordered it during the dispute, it will cancel it even without an application in the decision rejecting the creditor’s action on procedural grounds, dismissing it on the merits or discontinuing the proceedings (Section 335(1)),
• if the court ordered it before the dispute and required the creditor to bring an action within a time limit which the creditor failed to meet, it will cancel it even without an application (Section 336(3)),
• after the dispute has ended, the court will cancel it on application if it is no longer needed in view of the status of enforcement proceedings, or if the creditor has not applied for enforcement within a reasonable time (Section 338).

If the court specified in its order that the measure would last only for a fixed period, it expires at the end of that period (Section 330(1) and Section 333). ÚGKK does not discuss in the Bulletin which documents the Cadastre will require for removal in that situation, so it is worth checking in advance.

The creditor is required to compensate you for damage and other harm caused by the measure only if the measure ceased to have effect or was cancelled for a reason other than the court allowing the claim or the creditor obtaining satisfaction (Section 340(1) read together with Section 344). A typical example is where the creditor loses the case. This provision cannot be relied on if the measure is cancelled after the debt has been paid. In every case, the damage must be proved, for example where a sale fell through because of the encumbrance.

If you want to sell the property sooner

The Code of Civil Dispute Procedure does not prohibit the transfer of property merely because it is subject to a judicial lien. Under the Civil Code, the prohibition on transferring the collateral without the creditor’s consent applies only once notice has been given that enforcement of the lien has commenced (Section 151l(2)). On a transfer, however, the lien remains effective against the buyer (Section 151h(1)). If the lien cannot be removed before the sale, the debt can be paid from the purchase price through escrow and an application for removal submitted immediately after payment. The sequence of steps and the conditions for releasing the funds must be agreed in the contract. Removal of liens more generally is also discussed in the question on removing a lien after the creditor has ceased to exist.

How we can help

We will assess the grounds on which the judicial lien may be extinguished and prepare an application for its cancellation by the court or an application for removal with the necessary documents. We handle court proceedings as part of our representation in litigation service. If the encumbrance is preventing a sale, we will check the ownership record and structure the payment so that payment of the debt is followed by removal of the lien, as part of our property due diligence service.