European Property Rights and Wrongs - Diana Wallis MEP

misrepresentation of ownership have all caused widespread problems for foreign
buyers. The destabilisation of property markets that results can have a massive
negative impact on the economy and reputation of the state.
ELRA
If much of a successful and safe real estate transaction is about having access to
the right information and correctly administering a transaction to create a registrable
right then the key to successfully managing that process must lie with the
Land Registry body. ELRA was created in 2004 by a group of Land Registries who
recognised the need for representation and co-operation on an EU wide basis.
Their stated aim is the “development and understanding of the role of land registration
in real property and capital markets”. They have grown to a membership
of organisations from 20 Member States and continue to grow; they are now
co-funded by DG Justice and involved in many other EU wide initiatives in the
field of law and real property matters. ELRA are leading the way for other professional
organisations to co-ordinate across borders and find a common way whilst
respecting local frameworks.
ELRA outline below the CROBECO project which aims to provide a common
framework for purchasing property cross-border throughout the EU Member
States via electronic conveyancing and processes, this is an extract from the seminar
presentation given by Gabriel Alonso Landeta, President of ELRA.
Modern land registries are the instrument the State utilises to protect real
rights on immovable assets and imbue trade with certainty. Land registries are
not mere databases. Registration publicity is not mere information, but qualified
information, information with legal value and effects.
Land registries (LR) dispense reliable information during the decision process
and provide legal protection once the right is acquired. But account must be taken
to the fact that not all EU registries have the same organisation and the same effects,
and not all registries dispense the same degree of protection. In broad terms
we can distinguish two systems in the EU. Deeds system is restricted to filing and
publicising contracts, to which the system gives the effect of mere third-party enforcement.
Registered contracts prevail over unregistered contracts, but the registry
does not guarantee the buyer’s right. (Negative effect). In the more developed
Title registration systems, only titles and jus in rem (rights to things) are entered in
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Linking up national Land Law systems