The land register documents how the ownership structure and rights to land are arranged. There is a land register sheet for each of the four million plots of land in Switzerland, which, among other things, provides information on whether an owner has taken out a mortgage or pledged the property.
The land register is not a thick book with a leather cover that is maintained centrally. Rather, each individual canton’s land registry office separately maintains its own local land registers with all the associated entries. In most cases, the land register is a digital register, which is updated on a continuous basis. Anyone wishing to order and view an extract from the land register can do so at the relevant land registry office. The land register is open to the public.
You can view the following information in the land register:
A land register extract is usually required both when buying and selling a house or apartment. It proves the seller actually owns the property. The information in the land register is also relevant to mortgage lenders, which is why you need the document if you are looking to obtain real estate financing.
Land register extracts are public based on the public’s right to access official records. Anyone interested can obtain information from the land registry office about the most important key details describing a property.
When negotiating over a property, the law requires that all parties are informed about the entries in the land register. This ensures, in the event of dispute, that no one can claim they did not know about something. The land register always has the last word: what it says goes.
Lawyers call this principle “positive legal force.” It creates legal certainty: Anyone who buys residential property in good faith only needs to inspect the land register entry and does not need further clarification about the ownership structure. However, this principle has a flipside: “negative legal force.” The right to dispose of a property only applies if it is entered in the land register.
It follows from the principle of registration that the acquisition of a property only becomes legally valid once it has been entered in the land register.
Owners must formally apply for each new entry in the land register in writing on a first come, first served basis. The purchase of a property, for example, must be authenticated by a notary.
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How much detail you want from the land register depends on the purpose of your request. For larger construction projects and important contracts, we advise you order a complete extract. A complete extract from the land register contains all entries relating to a property. Some business partners, for example public authorities, even require that the land register entry itself has to be notarized. To satisfy pure curiosity, basic information is sometimes enough.
Anyone wanting to apply to inspect an extended land register or to view a complete extract from the land register must assert an “interest worthy of protection” to the land registry office. For example, owners, mortgagees (banks) and persons entitled to easements have such an interest.
Anyone requesting a land register extract must provide the land registry office with the land register page number, address and E-GRID (Federal Property Identification Document) of the property. This is the only way the office can identify the property.
Depending on the case, the office may also ask for proof of identity or further information. The decision to inspect the data is at the discretion of the official.
Most land registries are flexible: A land register extract can be ordered by phone, email, letter or online. The document usually arrives by post within three days.
The land registry office provides verbal information free of charge. A written land register extract is subject to a fee. The fees vary from canton to canton and, in general, are between CHF 20 and 30 (with Zug the most expensive at CHF 45). There is usually also a surcharge of around CHF 20 for notarization.
Many cantons provide an online land register map that can be used by owners. The plots of land are numbered, and official cadastral surveys are entered. In addition, many cantonal land registry offices offer an online desk where you can order the relevant land register extract with just a few clicks. This makes it particularly easy to view a land register entry.
There is no central land register in Switzerland. Although the federal government is charge of overall supervision, responsibility lies with the cantons. Some cantons manage with a single land registry office, others maintain several regional or communal offices. Many cantons combine the notary and land registry offices into one office. This has the advantage that a transaction can be registered and notarized at the same office.
An extract from the land register provides information about a property. Among other things, it contains details about the ownership structure, the cadastral and insurance value as well as easements and encumbrances. In Switzerland, the land register is a public, cantonal or communal register.
The land registry office needs the land register page number, the address and the E-GRID (Federal Property Identification Document) of the property. Depending on the case, the office may also request an identity document or additional information. The decision to inspect the data is ultimately at the discretion of the official.
The land registry office provides verbal information free of charge. A written land register extract is subject to a fee. The fees vary from canton to canton. As a rule, they are between CHF 20 and 30. There is also usually a notarization fee of around CHF 20.
In principle, any interested person can inspect an extract from the land register. Anyone wanting to inspect an extended land register or to view a complete extract from the land register must assert an “interest worthy of protection” to the land registry office. Owners, mortgagees and persons entitled to easements, for example, have such an interest.
