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The land register is a public register that structures the entirety of the Swiss real estate market. It records all the rights and the debts linked to real estate properties in Switzerland, such as ownership, servitudes, and mortgages:


  • Its main role is to guarantee the legal security of transactions, because everything that is entered in it is deemed accurate (this is the principle of "public faith").
  • Each canton has its own register: thus, the one of Geneva is not the same as the one of Fribourg.
  • No transaction can take place without an up-to-date extract from the land register: it is the notary who is in charge of obtaining it and verifying it before the signature.

What is the land register?

The land register constitutes the legal framework of the Swiss real estate patrimony. It records all the rights attached to a property and stabilizes transactions by guaranteeing the reliability of the information entered.


Role and legal definition

The land register is based on public faith, a principle according to which every entry benefits from a presumption of accuracy. This rule offers decisive security to buyers, owners, banks, and authorities.


The register formalizes the rights linked to properties, namely the deeds of ownership, servitudes, land charges as well as pledge rights. As such, it ensures an indisputable legal basis for transfers and financial guarantees.


The structure of the land register

The system is organized around three components:


  • The Main Book: it constitutes the core of the system. Each property has a sheet containing its description, its rights, and its charges.
  • The supporting documents: one finds there the sale contracts, the deeds establishing servitudes, the surveying plans, or again the financing documents. These documents serve as the basis for the entries.
  • The journal: this is the chronological register in which the registration requests are recorded. This recording allows the requests to be processed in strict order and to avoid any conflict of priority.

What is the difference with the cadastre?

These two tools do not have the same purpose, but they complement each other. Thus, the cadastre (or more precisely the Official Survey) is the instrument that describes and guarantees the physical reality of the Swiss territory.


It defines the exact location, the boundaries (contours), the surfaces, and the nature of each parcel (plots). It is often represented by official plans (cadastre plan).


In summary, the cadastre describes what is physical and the land register what is legal.


What information does the land register contain?

The content of the land register is structured around blocks of information that each cover a specific aspect of a property.


The property sheet

The sheet gathers the technical and administrative data specific to the parcel:


  • Description: parcel number, geographical location, surface, nature of the property (land, single-family house, condominium, commercial building).
  • Assessments: according to the cantons, tax value, fire insurance value, official valuation indices. These data often determine insurance, taxation, and certain obligations linked to the property.

Rights and charges

The land register details the rights exercised over the property as well as the constraints that affect it:


  • Ownership: sole ownership, ordinary co-ownership, condominium ownership. The share quotas and the common parts appear clearly when the property falls under condominium ownership.
  • Servitudes: right of way, prohibition to build, right to draw water, height restrictions. They may concern another plot or a specific person and directly influence the use of the property.
  • Land charges: obligations of maintenance of a stream, stabilization works, participation in an access road. These charges are transmitted with the property, regardless of the person who becomes the owner.


Pledge rights

Pledge rights constitute central elements of real estate financing. They guarantee the claims of lending institutions by offering them a right over the real estate property in case of non-payment. If mortgage is the generic term, the mortgage certificate is the preferred guarantee instrument in Switzerland.


Mentions and annotations

These additional mentions may concern:


  • A pre-emption right;
  • A sales restriction linked to the Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad (LFAIE);
  • A pending procedure;
  • An annotation relating to a particular legal situation.

How to consult the land register?

Who can consult the land register?

In theory, anyone! The public consultation of the land register gives access to basic information, such as the designation of the property, the identity of the owner, or the existence of general charges.


But to access a detailed extract of the register, one must justify a legitimate interest, namely:


  • A purchase project (in this case, it is your notary who is in charge of the request);
  • A claim to be secured;
  • A civil procedure;
  • The need to verify the existence of a potentially enforceable right.

The authority evaluates this interest strictly before granting access.


How to request an extract from the Land Register?

The request is filed with the competent land register office, determined by the canton and sometimes by the district. Several types of extracts exist:


  • Simple extract: summary of the main information.
  • Full extract: complete content of the sheet with mention of rights, charges, servitudes and pledges.
  • Certified extract: official document intended for banks, authorities, or notarial procedures.

The request can be made online, by mail, or in person, depending on the cantonal organisation.


How much does an extract from the register cost?

The fees vary from one canton to another, and the cost of an extract request varies above all according to the type of document requested (simple, full, certified).


Some authorities apply an additional fee for urgent issuance or for voluminous copies.


Can the land register be consulted online?

Yes, the consultation of information on the register is possible online, but it is often limited to basic data and varies depending on the canton.


To this end, several cantons have set up digital portals that offer public access to certain data and the possibility of ordering extracts. We find in particular tools such as REGIS-NE, RF-Vaud, or the platforms established by the cantons of Bern, Zurich, or Lucerne.


Good to know: Although the legal framework of the register is federal, the operational organisation, the platforms, and the modalities of execution (including consultation fees) are managed by each canton.


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