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Certain rights (including ownership) and physical data relating to real properties and specified by the law must be registered in the Land Register, which is maintained by the Land Registry Offices. Individual properties are identified by lot numbers. The information recorded on the title deed of real properties is open for inspection by the public. Although the documents underlying the data registered in the title deeds are confidential, they can be obtained with a power of attorney from a party who proves legal interest to the documents in question. In order to be valid, the transfer of ownership or the transfer or establishment of any right over real properties must be registered with the Land Registry.
As a general rule, an entry related to a right over the real property must be based on a notarial deed, private documents with full probative force or a written document countersigned by an attorney-at-law. In most cases legal representation is compulsory in Land Registry procedures. The Land Registry Offices must decide on applications for registration in the order in which they were filed. Some specified rights over a real property (for example ownership) are constituted by their registration in the Land Register. Accordingly, these rights can only be exercised once they have been officially registered.
Bona fide third parties acquire ownership in spite of the actual legal status, if they acquired the property for consideration and with the assumption that the entries in the Land Register are correct (i.e. they purchased the property from a registered owner).
Source : PWC
