How to Find Real Estate and Land Register Information in Eslovaquia

Data regarding real properties are registered in the Real Estate Cadastre, which serves also as an information system (database). The Real Estate Cadastre consists of cadastral files pertaining to individual cadastral areas. A part of cadastral files is also a Collection of Deeds containing documents such as purchase agreements, easement agreements, mortgage agreements, decisions of governmental and administrative authorities and courts, and notarial deeds, etc.

In order to obtain data and documents from cadastral files, anyone can apply for the relevant information and documents at the competent District Office in charge of the particular cadastral area where the relevant real property is located (in person or in writing). In addition, extracts from title deeds (containing information on the relevant real property, its owners, encumbrances and particular other data) and copies of cadastral maps can be obtained also at postal offices (regardless of the location of the relevant real property). Providing of these documents by the District Offices and postal offices is subject to payment of applicable administrative fees.

Information and data from cadastral files (including extracts from title deeds) can also be obtained for free through the following electronic portal: https://kataster.skgeodesy.sk/eskn-portal/about.

Documents and information obtained via the electronic portal for free, are, however, only of an information nature and cannot be used for legal (official) purposes. A search in the electronic portal is available to public without a need for any registration.

Further, various information regarding real properties (including extracts from title deeds for official and legal purposes) can be obtained upon request or based on an application from the Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Authority of the Slovak Republic, which is the central body of state administration for geodesy, cartography and real estate cadastre (https://www.skgeodesy.sk/sk/). Requests for information and documents can be sent to the mentioned authority also via the electronic portal for communication with public authorities (which requires access via a Slovak ID card with an electronic chip or a similar electronic card): https://www.slovensko.sk/sk/titulna-stranka

Depending on the nature of the information and documents requested, administrative fees may be payable.

The content of the Real Estate Cadastre is very extensive and includes:

• geometric determination and positional determination of real properties and cadastral territories,
• land plot numbers, data on land plots of register C registered on the cadastral map, data on land plots of register E registered on the map of the designated cadastral files (register E is an older register; current register providing accurate information on land plots based on their location on the cadastral map is register C), types and areas of land plots, registration numbers of buildings, data on the affiliation of land plots to the built-up area of the municipality, data on types of protected real properties, data on the price of real properties, data on the use of real properties, selected data for the inclusion of land into the agricultural land fund or forest land fund, data on quality soil-ecological units, selected data for the creation and protection of the environment and selected data for other real properties information systems,
• data on rights to real properties, data on owners of real properties and on other authorised persons, as well as data on facts related to rights to real properties,
• data on basic and detailed positional point fields or data on point fields (these are technical data relevant for geodesy and cartography purposes),
• geographical names.

In general, anyone can inspect data in cadastral files and make copies, extracts, reprints and sketches from them. In particular, extracts from title deeds (see question No. 3 for more details) and copies of a cadastral map, which are most frequently obtained documents regarding real properties, are available to public.

Certain data and information are, however, not available to public – data regarding prices of real properties are available only to the owner of the respective real property and to other authorized persons in order to perform their duties (such as governmental authorities, courts, tax authorities, public prosecutors, experts in the field of construction – evaluation of properties, etc.). The Collection of Deeds (see question No. 1) is restricted to the owner of the respective real property, their predecessors and successors in title, and other authorised persons in order to perform their duties (such as geodesists, public prosecutors, notaries, police, tax authorities, experts in a field of geodesy and cartography, etc.). 

It is important to note that data of the Real Estate Cadastre are deemed reliable, unless proved otherwise. Specific data regarding real properties, such as ownership rights to real properties and land plots numbers are reliable and binding, unless proved otherwise. That means also that registration of a particular property in a title deed showing details on the property and its owners does not provide for an absolute legal certainty on the title to the property. For example, errors in registrations in the past made by relevant authorities or invalidity of former transfers of the ownership to the property can be a basis for a successful challenge of the data registered in the Real Estate Cadastre. Therefore, prior to a purchase of a real property, performing of a legal real estate due diligence should be considered.

The most typical document when proving rights to real properties is a title deed (in Slovak: list vlastníctva). An extract from a title deed provides basic information on:

• the relevant real property and description of the property (land plots and their number and type, constructions, including residential houses, description of constructions and their number and type, code of the use of the land, etc.),
• owners and their identification, including a co-ownership share and an acquisition title, apartments and non-residential premises in the registered property, lease rights to lands if lease term is longer than five years (these can be registered bur registration is not mandatory), notes (see question No. 5) and other data, and
• encumbrances, such as mortgages (the amount of a debt is not recorded in a title deed), easements, in rem pre-emptive rights etc.

If the relevant real property is not registered in a title deed yet (due to historical reasons, not all real properties are registered in title deeds), instead of a title deed, an extract from land books files (in Slovak: pozemkovoknižná vložka) concerning the real property can be obtained. Copies of a cadastral map (concerning a particular area or a particular land plot) are other typical documents frequently provided regarding real properties.

Several other documents can be obtained regarding real properties, such as geometric plans (e.g., on divisions of land plots into more land plots; or on specification of easements concerning a part of a land plot, etc.), “identifications of land plots”* or copies of former land books maps, etc.

Further, various permits are required for construction, use and operation of buildings and premises, which are not addressed herein. 

Zoning plans covering areas of individual municipalities or specific zones are publicly available. These can be obtained from the relevant municipalities upon request or are available also online on the websites of relevant municipalities. Zoning documentation is also available for free through the Information System for Regional Development of the Slovak Republic of the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic: https://www.inforeg.sk/inforeg/obce_uzemny_plan.aspx

Based on an application, municipalities also provide specific information on zoning regulation applicable to lands specified in the application, such as the permitted use of the land and constructions permitted on the land.

Information on energy certificates of buildings is also available for free to public through the Information System for Regional Development of the Slovak Republic: https://www.inforeg.sk/ec/

A wide range of environmental information concerning real properties – such as information on protected areas – can be obtained at the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic (https://www.minzp.sk) and its electronic websites or portals. List of environmental burdens can be accessed here: https://www.enviroportal.sk/

Information that restricts or limits the property owner’s rights to dispose of their property – which can include also information that follows from a pending litigation – should be recorded in the notes section of title deeds. The notes are recorded in the title deeds on the basis of a notice from a court or other state authority or based on an application of a party to a judicial or other proceeding or other authorised persons. Notes shall be also recorded in title deeds if the authenticity of the cadastral data concerning the relevant real property has been challenged.

However, in practice, information in notes is often missing, incomplete or outdated.

Further, anyone can file a request with a competent court for information whether there are any court proceedings pending at the court involving a particular party. No fee is payable in connection with such inquiry. Hence, if one knows information on the owner of the relevant real property, such person can file such request at the relevant court where the real property is located (which is the competent court for disputes regarding in rem rights to real properties) and at the general court of the party (owner of the property). These inquiries would, however, not cover situations where the relevant court proceedings are conducted at other courts.