This article was originally published in the schoenherr roadmap`10 - if you would like to receive a complimentary copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.schoenherr.eu/roadmap.

The days of queuing at the courts and at surveying and mapping authorities to get information about Slovenian real estate are long gone. Now, when someone needs information when purchasing real estate, securing loans or making valuations, or simply wants to know if the neighbour owns the house he lives in, this can easily be done while sitting in front of a computer.

Real estate registers

The Slovenian land registration system is bifurcated. Basic real estate records are managed by the Surveying and Mapping Authority of the Republic of Slovenia (GURS). Land registers at district courts contain information on property rights and legal title. All of these records are interlinked: GURS uses information from the land register to source data on ownership, while the land registers use the GURS' information to identify real estate.

Remote electronic access

The legal basis is mainly the Real Estate Recording Act (Zakon o evidentiranju nepremicˇ nin; the Official Gazette of the Republic Slovenia No. 47/2006 ff) and the Rules on Types and Contents of Certificates from Geodetic Databases and on the Manner of Data Designation (Pravilnik o vrstah in vsebini potrdil iz zbirk geodetskih podatkov ter o nacˇ inu izkazovanja podatkov; the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia 22/2007 ff). Remote electronic access to GURS provides easy access to public information on real estate kept in its registers. All the registers can be accessed free of charge at http://prostor.gov. si/emoneta/index.jsp.

The real estate data is kept in:

  • a (land) cadastre, which is a basic land register in which the land is defined by the plot situated within a cadastral municipality. It shows information on plot number, borders, area, owner, the actual use of land and land credit rating as well as land under the building. It also includes a graphical display of the land;
  • a building cadastre, which is a basic register of buildings and parts of buildings;
  • a real estate register, which is a database of all real estate in Slovenia, including information on land, buildings and its parts (including real estate that is not yet recorded in cadastres) as well as their owners. The information for this register, which is foreseen as the basis for the expected tax on real estate, was taken from the other registers and supplemented with information from a real estate inventory;
  • a register of spatial units, which is a database of the location of real estate and descriptive information. It records all the house numbers and is connected to the cadastre of buildings; and
  • a cadastre of public infrastructure, which is a basic (not yet completed) database where the public infrastructure (such as transport, energy, communal, water infrastructure, etc.) is recorded. In mid-October of this year, GURS started a trial operation titled "Call before you dig" where all users can obtain information about occupancy of space with public infrastructures.

GURS also operates records of the Slovenian real estate market where information on the legal transactions for the sale and lease of real estate are kept.

Remote electronic access to information from land registers

Land register insights show information on plots, ownership and encumbrances of real estate.

The legal basis is the Land Register Act (Zakon o zemljiaki knjigi; the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 58/2003 ff) and the Rules on Electronic Access to the Computerised General Ledger (Pravilnik o elektronskem dostopu do informatiozirane glavne knjige; the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia 16/2004).

Remote electronic access is made via the internet using a specific interface, accessible through the portal of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia at http://portal.sodisce.si/vpogledi/zk.portal (http://tinyurl.com/yhb6vkl). Information about required software and a description of steps to be taken are listed at http://www.sodisce.si/javne_knjige/zemljiska_ knjiga/ (http://tinyurl.com/yz4rvce). To be able to acquire information about real estate, the user needs to know the competent land registry court and identification number of the plot (i.e. the cadastral municipality and plot or entry number). The cost for one insight is currently EUR 1.31.

Conclusion

The electronic access to registers has simplified the procedure and shortened the time needed to acquire information. However, the data obtained electronically can not be characterised as a certified extract from the registers. Certified extracts are still issued by the competent authority, although the request can be filed electronically.

Remote electronic access to the Surveying and Mapping Authority of the Republic of Slovenia and to land registers provides easy access to public information on real estate kept in the registers.

This article was originally published in the schoenherr roadmap`10 - if you would like to receive a complimentary copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.schoenherr.eu/roadmap.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.