[BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN SLOVAKIA]
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the local District Office (land registry department) based on paper documents and/or documents in electronic form. The proceedings for the entry of the ownership right in the land registry are instituted by means of an application filed by any party. Standard deadline for a decision on entry is 30 days. Accelerated decision within 15 days can be achieved by paying extra fee (triple) or if the transfer concerns strategic investment. If the conveyance agreement is drafted in the form of a notarial deed or by an attorney-at-law the deadline is 20 days. A frequent instrument used in the conveyance of real property in Slovakia is a “geometrical plan” which is a set of descriptive data and geodetic layouts used for outlining the new boundaries of separated lands or a corridor of a possible easement, etc. Note: Please be informed that any errors in writing, calculation or other obvious errors can be rectified only through an amendment to the agreement. The ownership is legally transferred to the transferee upon a decision of the land registry department (as of the date of application for entry in the case of flats). Recently (between 2014 and 2019), sale of agricultural land was subject to several procedural and material restrictions following from Act on the Acquisition of Ownership of Agricultural Land which were aimed at establishing preferential right of local agricultural operators to acquire the offered land (mandatory public notification of the offered agricultural land, preferential right to acquire). The restrictions placed on the prospective seller of agricultural land as well as on the eligible preferential buyers have been eventually considered contrary to constitutional right to own property
(Constitutional Court Decision PL. ÚS 20/2014). Hence, since February 2019 the restrictions no longer apply. Nonetheless, it cannot be excluded that similar, less intrusive regulation is taken in the future. VI. Forms of Ownership In general, all individuals and legal entities can invest into and own real property assets. It is irrelevant if the owners and purchasers are resident or non-resident or which country they come from. It is only crucial that they have legal capacity. The most frequent forms of ownership are: 1. Sole ownership:
The owner is the only person with ownership right to the real property. More than one person owns an undivided share in the real property. Each co- owner is entitled to dispose with its share. In case of transfer, the other co-owners have pre-emptive right (save for transfers to close persons such as a child, etc.)
2. Co-ownership:
3. Joint ownership of
Share on the joint
spouses:
property expressed
is
not
(e.g. by percentage or fraction), and a spouse is not entitled to dispose with it independently, i.e. without the consent of the other joint owner (spouse).
ILN Real Estate Group – Buying and Selling Real Estate Series
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