BOE-A-2026-14314 ·1 July 2026 ·Resolution Low impact
Tax

Land registration: prior acquisition via public deed required to comply with Art. 205 of the Mortgage Law

The Directorate General for Legal Certainty and Public Faith confirms that, for land registration under Article 205 of the Mortgage Law, it is not enough to provide reliable proof of ownership; it is mandatory that the prior acquisition was also carried out via a public deed. The ruling clarifies that the new wording of Art. 205 requires both a documentary form (public deed) and a temporal requirement (at least one year in advance), ruling out documents referring to the same successive transfer as being able to serve as proof of two distinct transfers (Art. 205 LH).

In 2 key points

  1. Requirement of a public deed to prove prior acquisition in land registration, Art. 205 LH (art. 205 LH)
  2. Requirement that the prior acquisition must have taken place at least one year before the title of transfer, Art. 205 LH (art. 205 LH)

How it affects those involved

For individuals and heirs seeking to register unregistered land, the ruling raises the evidentiary standard: it is no longer sufficient to use reliable means of proof or private documents complying with Art. 1227 of the Civil Code; a public deed is now mandatory for the prior acquisition (Art. 205 LH). This increases the difficulty of regularising land through possession or unregistered titles if they are not in the form of a public deed.

Lifecycle

2026-07-01PublishedPublished in the BOE
Official text Based on BOE data (boe.es). Information, not advice.
PDF on boe.es

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This analysis is informational only and does not constitute legal advice or create a client-adviser relationship. BM Consulting.
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