When is ownership of a property transferred?

The Special Electoral Jury has excluded a presidential candidate from the contest because he allegedly omitted to declare last December, a property that according to the Jury had already belonged to him since November, the date of the public deed of the title that ultimately allowed the registration of the domain name of the applicant.

I do not rule on the electoral rules and the scope of the statements that the candidates must make, but it does call my attention that the plebiscitary justice says that real estate is transferred with the public deed that gives rise to the registration in the Registries. For this affirmation, the Jury would only have agreed to the registry entry, but not to the title of the transfer, which in this case was a “dation in payment”.  Transfer Of Property Act – How Does It Work?

Well, article 949 of the Civil Code states that

“The mere obligation to dispose of a specific property makes the creditor its owner unless otherwise provided by law or agreement to the contrary.” This means that the dates of: the initial agreement, the draft, the public deed or even the registration of the title in the Public Registries, are not determinative to affirm when the property has been transferred.

It may well happen that the parties agree that ownership will pass to the recipient at the time of registration or even after. Deferring the transfer is a faculty of the contracting parties, and usually occurs in complex contracts, such as dation in payment. The transferor and the beneficiary indicate the moment in which the change of ownership will take place, indicating an event or a time that will give rise to the transfer of the domain. That is, the date of the public deed is not conclusive at all. The agreement is the title of the transfer and the fundamental source of the right.

 

In the case of agreements that are registered in the Public Registries,

certainly, the title remains in the registry files and there is the detail on when the transfer takes place. The registry entry does not take precedence over the title. In addition, in terms of real estate transfer, the agreement is not subject to any formality. The parties could modify it even through agreements that do not reach the Registry but that still have effects on the moment in which the change of ownership takes place.

In short, knowing the filed title and any complementary agreements is essential to determine when the property is transferred. This verification is always important, especially when the authorities make far-reaching decisions for society.