Thousands of processes are in the role of the courts every year because heirs claim buildings, buildings or land, sold in the 1990s based on hand receipts. Lawyers specialized in such disputes explained what is the procedure for legalizing these documents.
Hand receipts do not take into account the ownership of a building. Pixabay photo
In the 1990s, with the overthrow of the communist regime, most land transactions took place informal, based on hand receipt, only the presence of a witness. Due to a clear regulation, a practice has increased, namely: the purchase of land, especially extra -urban lands, without the documents being authenticated to the notary. “This situation causes, at present, numerous civil disputes through which the heirs challenge the validity of these transactions ”, say lawyers specialized in such disputes.
According to them, a purchase document prepared in the 1990s based on a hand receipt, concluded in the presence of a witness, cannot be considered as a notary authenticated. Although, in practice, such transactions have been tacitly accepted over the years, they can be challenged by heirs, especially if other documents necessary for the transfer of real estate have been written.
The validity of sale-purchase documents from the 1990s
This type of sale made without a notary and without official registration does not confer a real opposable right to third parties. The courts can evaluate the following circumstances: the existence of receipt, the credibility of a witness, if the possession was long lasting and was not challenged by any heir, given the right of inheritance. However, in the absence of an act of sale-purchase in authentic form, there is a high risk of loss of property rights.
Land selling in division: Impact on heirs
In the situation where the land is in the division, any sale is null as long as none of the heirs has an exclusive right over an individualized party in the respective good. Even if a receipt is signed, and the price is paid, the buyer does not acquire the right of legal ownership on the land. Such a sale made without the consent of all co-indivispers and in the absence of documents necessary for the transfer of real estate can be canceled by an action in court.
Illegality of selling without official registration at notary
The receipt holder can try to prove good faith, the long-term possession and the existence of a witness, but in the absence of an act of sale authenticated by the notary, the probation of the property right becomes much more difficult. If the existence of a real agreement between owners or heirs cannot be demonstrated, the courts may consider absolute null selling.
In the absence of such an act of clear succession and in the absence of complete succession, the cases remain complex and risky.
“Real estate transactions carried out by hand receipt in the 1990s should not be ignored or treated superficially, even if it raises complex legal problems. Our team of lawyers, with expertise in successions, property rights and civil disputes, supports customers in the validation of acquired rights and in defending their interests before the courts and the authorities.”Said Radu Pavel, coordinating lawyer of the Romanian Law Society Pavel, Mărgărit and Associations.
In conclusion, informal transactions of the 1990s continue to generate civil disputes. In the absence of an act of valid succession and without respecting the revocation or sharing procedures, the risk of land loss is real.
