Facilitating Cross-Border Real Estate Transactions in Europe

List of Abbreviations xv
Tables & Figures xix

1 Introduction 1
2 Methodology 3
2.1 Research Question 3
2.2 Research Review 4
2.3 Research Design 5
2.4 Data Collection 6
2.5 Limitations of this Research 6
2.6 Specification of Terminology 6
2.7 Gender-Neutral Language 10
2.8 Impartiality 10

3 The Registration of Property Rights on Land 11
3.1 The Netherlands 12
3.1.1 The Constitution of Land Registration 12
3.1.2 The Role of the Legal Practitioner 17
3.1.2.1 Requirements for Appointment 17
3.1.2.2 The Different Types of Notaries 19
3.1.2.3 Notarial Competences 20
3.1.2.4 Notarial Duties 22
3.1.2.5 The Termination of the Notarial Function 24
3.1.3 The Role of the Land Registrar 25
3.1.3.1 Requirements for Appointment 25
3.1.3.2 Mandate and Authorization 25
3.1.3.3 Duties and Competences 26
3.1.4 The Relationship between Notary and Land Registrar 27
3.1.5 The Content of the Land Register 28
3.1.5.1 The Constitutive Nature of Registration 29
3.1.5.2 The Sources of the Land Register and Cadastre 29
3.1.6 Publicity of Land Registry Information 31
3.1.7 The Legal Value of Land Register Information 33
3.1.7.1 The Third Party Protection Mechanism 33
3.1.8 The Process of Transferring a Plot of Land in a Purely National Case 36
3.1.8.1 The Contract of Sale 36
3.1.8.2 The Drawing up of the Notarial Deed 41
3.1.8.3 The Submission of the Deed to the Land Registry 47
3.1.8.4 The Proof of Registration 49
3.1.9 The Object of Transfer – Where is the “Boundary”? 51
3.1.9.1 The Determination of Cadastral Boundaries 51
3.1.9.2 Ex Ante and Ex Post Surveying 52
3.1.9.3 PreliminaryCadastral Boundaries andAdministrative Boundaries 53
3.1.9.4 Comparing the Cadastral Boundary to the Legal Boundary 54
3.1.9.5 The (Im-)Possibility of Reconstructing the Legal Boundary 55
3.1.9.6 The Role of Prescription in Defining the Object of Transfer 56
3.1.10 Digitalization of Land Registration 57
3.1.11 The Approach to Cross-Border Transfers of Land 59
3.1.11.1 The Viewpoint of the Notary 59
3.1.11.2 The Viewpoint of the Land Registrar 60
3.2 Germany 61
3.2.1 The Constitution of Land Registration 61
3.2.1.1 The Land Registry 61
3.2.1.2 The Cadastral Authority 69
3.2.1.3 Separated but Interconnected 74
3.2.2 The Role of the Legal Practitioner 76
3.2.2.1 The Different Types of Notaries 77
3.2.2.2 Requirements for Appointment 78
3.2.2.3 Specific Requirements for the Appointment as Nurnotar 82
3.2.2.4 Specific Requirements for the Appointment as Anwaltnotar 83
3.2.2.5 Notarial Competences 83
3.2.2.6 Notarial Competences in the Light of Public Notarial Acts (“Beurkundungen”) and Safekeeping (“Verwahrungen”) 89
3.2.2.7 Notarial Duties 90
3.2.2.8 The Termination of the Notarial Function 96
3.2.3 The Role of the Land Registrar 97
3.2.3.1 Requirements for Appointment 98
3.2.3.2 Duties and Competences 99
3.2.4 The Relationship between Notary and Land Registrar 100
3.2.5 The Content of the Land Register 101
3.2.6 The Legal Value of Land Register Information 102
3.2.7 Publicity of Land Register Information 108
3.2.8 The Process of Transferring a Plot of Land in a Purely National Case 116
3.2.8.1 The Contract of Sale 117
3.2.8.2 The Drawing up of the Notarial Deed of Transfer (“Auflassung”) 121
3.2.8.3 The Submission of the Deed to the Land Registry 127
3.2.8.4 The Proof of Registration 131
3.2.9 The Object of Transfer – Where is the “Boundary”? 131
3.2.9.1 The Determination of Cadastral Boundaries 135
3.2.9.2 The Role of Prescription in Defining the Object of Transfer 143
3.2.10 Digitalization of Land Registration 147
3.2.10.1 The Land Registry 148
3.2.10.2 The Cadastral Authority 151
3.2.11 The Approach to Cross-Border Transfers of Land 151
3.2.11.1 The Viewpoint of the Notary 151
3.2.11.2 The Viewpoint of the Land Registrar 154
3.3 England 155
3.3.1 The Constitution of Land Registration 155
3.3.1.1 HM Land Registry 173
3.3.1.2 The “Cadastre” 184
3.3.2 The Role of the Legal Practitioner 186
3.3.2.1 Solicitors 190
3.3.2.2 Licensed Conveyancers 195
3.3.3 The Role of the Land Registrar 198
3.3.3.1 Requirements for Appointment 199
3.3.3.2 Duties and Competence 200
3.3.3.3 Authorization 201
3.3.4 The Relationship between Legal Practitioners and Land Registrars 201
3.3.5 Publicity of Land Registry Information 202
3.3.6 The Content of the Land Register 206
3.3.6.1 Legal Estates 206
3.3.6.2 Interests and Chargesthat Enjoy Protection only after Registration (“Minor Interests”) 207
3.3.6.3 Interests that “Are Created by a Disposition of an Interest” 211
3.3.6.4 Unregistered Interests which Override First Registration/Registered Dispositions (“Overriding Interests”) 211
3.3.6.5 Historical Documents 215
3.3.7 The Process of Transferring a Plot of Land in a Purely National Case 216
3.3.7.1 The Pre-Contractual Phase 217
3.3.7.2 The Contract of Sale 223
3.3.7.3 The Drawing up of the Deed of Transfer 229
3.3.7.4 The Submission of the Deed to the Land Registry 232
3.3.7.5 The Proof of Registration 235
3.3.8 The Legal Value of Land Registry Information 235
3.3.8.1 First Registration 235
3.3.8.2 Registered Estate 236
3.3.9 The Object of Transfer – Where is the “Boundary”? 241
3.3.9.1 Determining New General Boundaries 245
3.3.9.2 Comparing the General Boundary to the Legal Boundary 248
3.3.9.3 The (Im-)Possibility of Reconstructing the Legal Boundary 250
3.3.9.4 Boundary Dispute Resolution Mechanisms 250
3.3.9.5 The Role ofAdverse Possession in Defining the Object of Transfer 252
3.3.10 Digitalization of Land Registration 262
3.3.10.1 E-Conveyancing 264
3.3.11 The Approach to Cross-Border Transfers of Land 266
3.4 Comparative Conclusions 267
3.4.1 The Constitution of Land Registration 268
3.4.2 The Role of the Legal Practitioner 271
3.4.3 The Role of the Land Registrar 276
3.4.4 The Relationship between Legal Practitioners and Land Registrars 278
3.4.5 The Content of the Land Register 279
3.4.6 Publicity of Land Register and Cadastral Information 280
3.4.7 The Legal Value of Land Register Information 284
3.4.8 The Process of Transferring a Plot of Land in a Purely National Case 285
3.4.9 The Object of Transfer – Where is the “Boundary”? 290
3.4.10 Digitalization of Land Registration 296
3.4.11 The Approach to Cross-Border Transfer of Land 298

4 The Challenges Inherent in Cross-Border Real Estate Transactions 299
4.1 Identifying the Challenges of Cross-Border Transactions 300
4.1.1 Administrative Challenges 303
4.1.2 Cultural Challenges 307
4.1.3 Legal Challenges 307
4.1.4 Technological Challenges 314
4.2 The Application of Cross-border Challenges in National and Cross-Border Transactions 315
4.3 The Desirability to Address these Challenges 324

5 The (European) State of Affairs 329
5.1 Notaries 332
5.1.1 The International Union of Notaries (“UINL”) 333
5.1.2 The Council of the Notariats of the European Union (“CNUE”) 335
5.1.2.1 The European Notarial Network (“ENN”) 336
5.1.2.2 The European Directory of Notaries 339
5.1.2.3 EUFides 343
5.1.2.4 Plan 2020 345
5.1.2.5 Buying Property in Europe 346
5.1.3 LEXUNION 347
5.2 Land Registries & Cadastres 347
5.2.1 The International Property Registries Association and International Centre of Registration Law (“IPRA-CINDER”) 348
5.2.2 The European Land Information Service (“EULIS”) 350
5.2.3 The European Land Registry Association (“ELRA”) 353
5.2.3.1 The European Land Registry Network (“ELRN”) 354
5.2.3.2 Cross-Border Electronic Conveyancing (“CROBECO”) 358
5.2.3.3 The Interoperability Model for Land Registers (“IMOLA”) 366
5.2.4 A Common Vision for Cadastre and Land Registry in Europe 371
5.3 European Union 372
5.3.1 The e-Justice Portal 372
5.3.1.1 The European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters (“EJN”) 373
5.3.2 e-Justice Communication via Online Data EXchange (“e-CODEX”) 375
5.3.3 Land Registers Interconnection Project (“LRI”) 376
5.4 European Interest Groups 379
5.5 Other International Organizations 380
5.5.1 The United Nations 381
5.5.1.1 The UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management 381
5.5.1.2 The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (“FAO”) 382
5.5.2 World Bank 383
5.5.2.1 Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 384
5.5.2.2 Doing Business 384
5.5.2.3 Land Governance Assessment Framework (“LGAF”) 386
5.5.3 International Federation of Surveyors (“FIG”) 388
5.5.4 The Land Portal Foundation 391
5.6 Academia 393
5.6.1 EuroTitle 394
5.7 Providing Solutions to Cross-Border Challenges? 396

6 Facilitating Cross-Border Real Estate Transactions in Europe 411
6.1 Going the Full Distance – The Rise of EUCALARY 411
6.1.1 Creation of a Centralized European Cadastral Authority and Land Registry 411
6.1.2 Adoption of a Uniform Set of Rules Governing the Registration of Rights and Facts 413
6.1.3 Adoption of a Uniform Property Law 415
6.2 Meeting in the Golden Middle 419
6.2.1 Methods of Resolving Administrative Challenges 420
6.2.2 Methods of Resolving Cultural Challenges 423
6.2.3 Methods of Resolving Legal Challenges 423
6.2.3.1 The Choice of Law in Real Estate Transactions 425
6.2.3.2 The Registrability of Foreign Deeds 427
6.2.3.3 The Choice of Legal Practitioner – Competence Questions 462
6.2.3.4 The Comprehension of Land Register/Cadastral Information 463
6.2.3.5 The Adaptation of Foreign Rights In Rem 464
6.2.3.6 The Application of EU law 465
6.2.4 Methods of Resolving Technological Challenges 466

7 Conclusion 469

Bibliography 471