In an effort to improve efficiency and security in property management in Paraguay, the Executive Branch and the Judiciary presented this Monday the draft Law of the Unified National Registry, an initiative that seeks to merge and centralize the functions of three key institutions in charge of procedures related to land ownership and real estate registries. This new body, which will be under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Justice, promises to streamline procedures, reduce waiting times and strengthen legal security in real estate transactions throughout the country.
The National Unified Registry is established as a technical and administrative body of the Judiciary, with the responsibility of supervising the national cadastre and the public registries related to the assets, acts and rights that must be registered in accordance with the law. The creation of this unified registry represents an absorption, modification and expansion of the functions previously performed by three entities: the General Directorate of Public Registries (DGRP), the General Directorate of the National Cadastre Service (SNC) and the Department of Surveying and Geodesy.
One of the main innovations of the bill is the creation of a truly unique cadastral-registration procedure. This procedure aims to reduce bureaucracy for citizens and increase coordination between the main institutions responsible for the real estate reality in the country. The unique cadastral-registration procedure seeks, on the one hand, the registration of data that provide a comprehensive physical, economic and legal description of the properties in the national territory, and on the other, the publicity of the various registered acts or rights so that they are enforceable and produce effects against third parties, or in cases where the law so provides, the perfection of the corresponding right.
This procedure is made up of a set of formalities that are carried out before and by the National Unified Registry, from the presentation of an application for registration, annotation or registry publicity, accompanied by the respective document, to its registration, annotation, denial of registration or annotation, or the completion of the relevant registry publicity application.
The bill stresses that this unification will help to avoid common problems such as overlapping property titles, a phenomenon that has caused legal conflicts and delays in the past. In addition, the centralization of these functions under a single entity is expected to speed up procedures and significantly reduce the time required to regularize land ownership.
Competencies and Structure of the New Registry
The National Unified Registry will be exclusively responsible for the formation and maintenance of the cadastre and registry of real estate in Paraguay, as well as the preparation and management of the national cadastral cartography. This includes the dissemination of cadastral and real estate registry information, a crucial task to ensure the transparency and accessibility of property data.
Within this new structure, the General Directorate of Cadastre and Real Estate Registry will be created, which will include at least two key departments: the Directorate of Real Estate Registry and the Directorate of Cadastre. The Directorate of Cadastre will be responsible for managing and administering the procedures related to cadastral registration, guaranteeing the ordering of the national cadastre and providing accurate and certified information on the parcel status of real estate. This directorate will operate with a margin of autonomy and functional independence, particularly in the management of technical data and cadastral information.
On the other hand, the Real Estate Registry Office will manage and administer the procedures related to the registration of acts, assets and rights with a vocation for registration, in accordance with this law, the Code of Judicial Organization, and its complementary laws. This function is essential to ensure the publicity and legal enforceability of rights against third parties.
Technological Innovation: The Unique Cadastral Registry Identification Code
One of the most notable innovations of the bill is the implementation of a unique coding system to identify each property through a Unique Cadastral Registry Identification Code (CUICR). This code, which will be alphanumeric, will allow for the precise individualization of properties, compactly representing crucial information about the location of the property by municipality, district, neighborhood, block and lot.
The CUICR will become a mandatory physical and legal identification mechanism for all properties, and must be recorded by administrative and judicial authorities in all procedures related to the property. This measure will not only simplify procedures, but will also strengthen legal security by reducing the possibility of errors or fraud in the identification and registration of properties.
The certification that the National Unified Registry will administer with respect to real estate will be both registry and cadastral, and will be issued in a single document. This means that the real estate folio of each property will necessarily include the CUICR, and the registry entries will contain the expression of the circumstances related to the subject, object and content of the registrable rights as they result from the title and the registry entries, after documentary qualification by the registrar.
Horizontal Property and New Standards for Building Plans
The bill also addresses the identification of units in horizontal properties, such as flats and apartments, which must be adequately reflected in the CUICR. Building plans must comply with the standards established by the competent authority, and their presentation will be a requirement for incorporation into the horizontal property regime. These measures seek to ensure adequate regulation and registration of housing units in buildings, which will contribute to clarity and order in urban real estate ownership.
Adjustment and Adaptation of Registrations
Owners of property or other property rights may request the adjustment of their registrations in accordance with the parameters established by law to obtain the CUICR. The procedure will be supervised by the Supreme Court of Justice, and in cases where there are no discrepancies with the current cadastral records, the adjustment will be carried out without further formalities. However, if overlapping properties or discrepancies with the cadastre are detected, specific measures will be taken to rectify the situation, including publicizing the overlaps and, if necessary, denying the requested adjustment.
Data and Public Policy Center
The information collected from the land and recorded in the cadastre will be integrated into a data centre that will operate as a relational database, allowing access to key information for the analysis of relevant variables and the determination of the value of the properties. This database will serve as a basis for the formulation and implementation of various economic and social policies, and will be available to national authorities that require it.
The bill also includes the digitalisation and automation of as many procedures as possible relating to land ownership. Gustavo Villate, Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, stressed that "with the use of technology, it is expected that these deadlines can even be shortened," which will benefit both citizens and institutions.
Reactions and Perspectives
The President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, used his social networks to underline the objectives of the bill, highlighting that "this initiative seeks to improve security in the purchase of real estate, avoid overlapping titles, reduce registration and cadastre deadlines, and increase efficiency, transparency and accessibility through the use of technology."
The legal advisor to the Presidency, Roberto Moreno, emphasized that the merger of these institutions, which currently operate separately in different branches of government, is part of a broader effort to streamline and modernize public administration in Paraguay. "This unification will allow the process of registering property to be more coherent, faster and safer, which in turn will foster confidence in the country's legal and economic system," Moreno explained.
For his part, the Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice, Alberto Martínez Simón, stressed that the implementation of this law will represent a significant advance in the streamlining of the registration processes, in addition to offering greater legal security with regard to private property. "With this draft law, once approved and put into effect, we will make the process much simpler, which will significantly speed up the registration processes, while guaranteeing the legal security of land and private property," said Martínez Simón.
The potential impact of this law was also highlighted by the jurist María Mercedes Buongermini, who collaborated in the drafting of the project. Buongermini explained that "today, property registration processes can last several months, due to the nominal deadlines of each institution. With the proposed unification, the aim is for the entire process to be completed in approximately 45 days." This reduction in time, combined with the implementation of a single window, will allow for greater efficiency in the management of procedures, facilitating citizens' access to registration and cadastre services.
Finally, Gustavo Villate, Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, highlighted the efforts underway to digitize and automate procedures related to land ownership. Villate said that "we are already working on the digitization and automation of as many procedures as possible, which will allow us to further shorten the timeframes and offer a more accessible and transparent service to citizens."
With this bill, the Paraguayan government seeks not only to modernize the property management system, but also to lay the foundations for a more efficient, integrated and citizen-oriented public administration. The implementation of this law is expected to have a positive impact on the country's economic development, by providing a safer and more reliable environment for real estate transactions, and by encouraging greater investment in the real estate sector.
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