BOE-A-2026-12775 ·12 June 2026 ·Resolution Low impact
Tax

Companies: Directorate General allows registration of deeds in lieu of payment based on debt acknowledgements without detailing the underlying cause

The Directorate General for Legal Certainty and Public Faith has overturned a registrar's refusal to register a deed of dation in payment (deeds in lieu of payment). The ruling establishes that the acknowledgement of debt is a valid legal transaction and that, although the mortgage system is based on causality, it is not necessary to specify the underlying relationships that originated the credit in the title, as the cause is presumed to exist and be lawful (Art. 1277 Civil Code).

In 2 key points

  1. The acknowledgement of debt is an admitted legal transaction and its cause is presumed to exist and be lawful (Art. 1277 CC) (art. 1277)
  2. It is not necessary to specify in the title the underlying relationships between creditor and debtor that originated the credit (Fundamentos de Derecho)

How it affects those involved

For companies using dation in payment to extinguish acknowledged debts, the registration of property transfers is facilitated without the need to detail the original legal transaction that generated the debt within the deed. This reduces the information burden required in public titles and provides legal certainty by allowing the acknowledged credit to serve as sufficient cause for the guarantee or transfer (Art. 1277 CC).

Lifecycle

2026-06-12PublishedPublished in the BOE
Official text Based on BOE data (boe.es). Information, not advice.
PDF on boe.es

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