Duplicate land ownership

Duplicate ownership is not a mistake on your title deed — it is a situation where the Land Register records the same area twice, with a different ownership title behind each entry. The Land Register only marks this duplication; it never decides who owns the land itself. That must be determined either by agreement between the affected owners or by a court. Our job is to establish which entry rests on the stronger title and choose the shortest route to one undisputed owner.

C register parcels and E register parcels

The Land Register keeps land in two series. C register parcels are recorded on the cadastral map and generally reflect conditions on the ground; E register parcels are recorded on the designated cadastral record map according to original, historical boundaries that are no longer visible on the ground (§ 7(b) of the Cadastral Act No. 162/1995 Z. z.). Duplication occurs where the same area appears in both series — once as a C parcel with a current owner and once as an E parcel with an owner identified in historical documents. The most common causes are land allocations and consolidation in the last century, incomplete inheritance proceedings or renewal of cadastral records. It is not your fault — but the affected owners, rather than the authority, must resolve it.

Three routes to resolving duplication

Agreement and correction of records. If the documents clearly establish who owns the land and the other party agrees, duplication can be removed by correcting an error in the cadastral records. The law expressly provides for this: the district office corrects an entry recording multiple ownership if all registered owners and those whose ownership is evidenced by a document agree (§ 59(2)(c) of the Cadastral Act). The signatures of affected persons on the application must be officially certified (§ 59(3)), and the authority decides on the application within 30 days, or within 90 days in justified cases (§ 59a(3)). This is the quickest and least expensive route — which is why we always try it first.

Declaration claim. Where agreement is impossible or both parties maintain their title, the court decides. A claim is brought for a declaration as to whether ownership exists (§ 137(c) of the Code of Civil Contentious Procedure); alongside comparison of titles, acquisition by prescription may also determine the outcome if someone has possessed the land lawfully and continuously for ten years (§ 134 of the Civil Code). At the same time, we request a Land Register note stating that the reliability of the information on rights to the property has been challenged (§ 39(2) of the Cadastral Act), so that the dispute is apparent from the records. This note does not itself prohibit dealings with the land; if a transfer or encumbrance must be prevented, we separately assess an application for an interim measure.

Registering the outcome. We implement the settlement agreement or final judgment in the Land Register and monitor proceedings until the duplication disappears from the records and one undisputed owner remains on the title deed.

Candid about prospects

The strength of the title determines the outcome, rather than who comes forward first. We therefore begin by comparing the acquisition titles behind both entries — using agreements, inheritance decisions, allocation deeds and historical land books — and explain candidly how strong your position is before starting proceedings. We will not draw you into a dispute unsupported by the documents.