Notary conducts a title search at the Land Registry
Agency: Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency
According to Dutch Civil Code it is mandatory to hire a civil law notary to perform the registration process of property in the Netherlands. The civil law notary will conduct a title search at the Land Registry to check for ownership and encumbrances before executing the deed. Art 84 Book 3 Civil Code states that for a legally valid transaction the seller should have the right to dispose, which is one of the major elements of a property right. For such transactions a notarial deed is compulsory (‘authentic deed’); therefore, the notary checks whether the seller is indeed the owner. It is mandatory in the professional rules of the National Association of Notaries. Notaries can consult the land register by an on-line system, called the Automatic Cadastral Registration (AKR), but only regarding some aspects.
The deeds and other registered documents from 1998 onward are online accessible. Since December 2009 all deeds are digitally available (first deeds 1832). Extracts from the cadastral map showing the relevant properties are also available online. To obtain all relevant information takes a few minutes. A notary can ask the Land Registry Office to find out the history and identifiers of a parcel. If a cadastral parcel has been changed (e.g. a parcel is divided into 2 new parcels), the parcel will be given a new, unique parcel number. The civil law notary then drafts the deed of transfer. Preemption rights (‘Voorkeursrecht’) only apply in exceptional cases, for properties located in the Municipalities Preferential Rights Act (‘Wet voorkeursrecht gemeenten’) or for ground leases (as opposed to freehold).
Time and cost: Less than 1 day (online), EUR 2,260.4
- Title search: (disbursements, charged by the Land Registry):
- EUR 2.6 per registered title;
- EUR 2.6 per cadastral map;
- EUR 2.6 per cadastral extract (x2) (per cadastral parcel two extracts are required, one regarding the ownership and one regarding the mortgages and attachments – even if the property has no mortgages).
- Notarial fee (inter alia including the work mentioned above under procedures 1, 2 and 3):
- EUR 1,250 – 4000
- Final check: no cost.
Notary conducts a search on the representation of the parties
Agency: Trade Register (‘Kamer van Koophandel’ – www.kvk.nl)
For companies the notary must conduct an on-line research with the Trade Register with respect to specific information of the company (such as address, managing directors). From July 1, 2012 all notaries are obliged to check addresses in the Dutch national online address database ‘Basisadministratie Adressen en Gebouwen (BAG)’. The central database was designed to prevent individuals from using fake addresses.
The articles of association cannot be checked on-line. The civil law notary can have these sent to him by mail or fax. It is to identify who is authorized to legally bind the company. This procedure is mandated by the Manual that was adopted in May 2009 by the Association of Notaries (internal rules). The May 2009 Manual explains how to apply the “August 2008 Law against Whitewashing and Financing of Terrorism” (referred to as the “WWFT” law). Article 11 of the law is related to identifying and verifying the identity of people. In Section B of the Annex (page 3), the text refers to “article 4, para 2 of the Executive Decree to the Law”, which states that “to identify companies registered in the Netherlands, an extract from the trade registrar is a sufficient document.”
The notary will also check the Insolvency Registry, which is a public register held by the courts, in which everybody (including companies) who has been declared bankrupt can be found. He checks both buyer and seller at the time of signing the deed and the registration with the Land Registry. This is not mandatory but necessary to know whether seller or buyer do not have the right to dispose and to bind, because of registration in the register. It is described in the professional rules of the National Association of Notaries.
This checking is done online at www.faillisementen.com. Only subscribers can access this site and the annual membership fees are 175 Euro. Online checking of insolvencies can be done as well on http://insolventies.rechtspraak.nl which is part of the website of the Dutch courts and checking this register is free of charge.
Time and cost: Less than 1 day (online), EUR 22.8
Research of the buyer and purchaser charged by the Chamber of Commerce
- Excerpts providing an overview of registered data of a company, such as name, address, date of incorporation and in most cases officials, & information about the legal person, company and location (s): EUR 15 (hard copy); EUR 7.50 (digitally certified extract) and EUR 2.30 (online review).
- Company Profile to check the check the financial position: € 2.65
Execution of the transfer deed
Agency: Civil law notary
The notarial deed of transfer must be drawn up by a notary and signed by the latter and both parties. Before signing, a notary is required to investigate the title to the property and the seller’s power to dispose of it in the public registers. The notary must provide for a transfer free of mortgages and attachments, this requires the cooperation of third parties and the retrieval of information other than that provided by the Land Registry. The authorized persons will either have to appear before the notary or must have granted power of attorney. After the deed has been registered with the Land Registry Office, a civil law notary must carry out the post registration check in order to detect any potential change between the execution and the registration of the deed. As the evidence of the registration is sent by internet, just after the electronic submission following execution of the transfer deed, this check can be done immediately.
Time and cost: Less than 1 day (online), EUR 136,096.29 (Transfer Tax: 6% of property value for non-residential; 2% for residential use)
Registration of deed
Agency: Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency
Every notary deed must be registered with the Land Registry (‘ingeschreven’). This can be done through the internet (the notary does not need to go to the land registry or ‘kadaster’).
The registration fee of the Land Registry depends on the way the deed is submitted to the Land Registry: Land Registry EUR 150.- for regular registration (= sending paper version of deed by mail), EUR 126 for semi automatic registration (= sending pdf-file of deed by email) and EUR 77.- for fully automatic registration (= sending data file with essentials of transfer only).
Time and cost: Less than 1 day (online), EUR 77 (EUR 126 for regular registration; EUR 77 for fully automatic registration)
Registration with Tax authority, Department Registration
Agency: The Ministry of Finance, Tax authority, Department Registration (www.belastingdienst.nl)
Registration with the Ministry of Finance, Tax Authority, Department Registration is done online: www.belastingdienst.nl This is the official register of the Department Registration. Each notarial deed has to be registered within 10 days with the Tax Authority who checks the deed for taxable aspects. The transfer tax is paid to the civil law notary, who will pay this tax to the Tax Authorities after registration. The transfer tax is 6% or 2% of the total purchase price or the market value, whichever is higher. Also, or instead of transfer tax, sometimes VAT is applicable. It is 21% regarding property. This depends, inter alia, on the status of the property and the fact if the seller is a VAT-entrepreneur. They do not keep a copy but give a statement that the deed involved is checked on a certain date. The deed itself is then returned with that statement to the civil law notary.
Time and cost: Less than 1 day (online), already paid in Procedures 3
