The “Handover File”: What You Should Hold on the Day the Property Is Registered in Your Name, by Country

On signing day you are surrounded by a lawyer, a notary, an agent and sometimes a developer, and each of them holds part of the documents. Six months later, when a tenant asks for a lease, a bank asks for an extract or the accountant in Israel asks for the purchase cost, you discover that the documents are scattered across emails, folders and offices in another country. This guide sets out what should be in one organised file on the day the property is registered in your name.

1What is a “handover file”, and why build it on registration day?

A handover file is the set of documents that proves four things: that the property is registered in your name, that it was built and is used lawfully, that it is insured and connected to utilities in your name, and that it carries no debts. You build it on registration day because all the parties are still available, and a missing document can be requested without searching for whoever held it.

For a new property the file opens even earlier, on handover day. On the checks that day and the handover protocol, see the guide to taking over a new apartment or villa in Romania.

2Which documents should be in the file in every country?

The names change between countries, but the components recur. This is the basic list:

3What should be in the file in Romania?

In Romania ownership is registered in the land book (Cartea Funciară) maintained by the cadastre agency ANCPI. After registration, order an extract (extras de carte funciară) showing you as owner. On reading the extract, see the guide to the land registry extract in Romania.

• A current land registry extract in your name, and a copy of the notarial contract.
• Declaration to the local authority: under article 461(2) of the Fiscal Code, new owners declare the building within 30 days of acquisition, and the tax applies from 1 January of the following year. Keep the declaration with its receipt stamp.
• PAD insurance against earthquake, flood and landslide, which is compulsory for every home, alongside optional voluntary insurance if you chose it.
• For a new building: the reception protocol on completion of works, and the energy performance certificate that must be attached to it. See registering a new building in the land book.
• Owners' association: a certificate that nothing is owed to the association, the budget and the latest minutes. See the guide to the owners' association in Romania.
• Utility contracts in your name and photographed meter readings from handover day.

4What should be in the file in Greece?

In Greece ownership arises on registration in the cadastre (Κτηματολόγιο) or, in areas not yet transferred to it, in the land registry office. Every property in the cadastre has an identification number (KAEK), and a certificate of registration (Πιστοποιητικό Καταχώρισης) confirms that the sale was registered.

• A cadastre certificate of registration confirming registration of the sale, and a copy of the notarial deed with the KAEK.
• A tax number (AFM) and active access to myAADE, through which assessments are received.
• The E9 property statement: according to the tax authority AADE, the E9 is created automatically when the transfer tax return was filed through myPROPERTY. Log into the account and check that the property appears with the correct area and features, because ENFIA is calculated from them. See the ENFIA guide.
• Energy performance certificate (ΠΕΑ): under article 12 of Law 4122/2013, the seller shows it to the buyer and hands it over. Its protocol number is also recorded in the declaration of a lease.
• The building file: the permit documents and the electronic building identity (Ηλεκτρονική Ταυτότητα Κτιρίου) prepared for the transfer.
• Building insurance against earthquake, fire and flood, if you want to apply for the ENFIA discount.

5What should be in the file in Cyprus?

In Cyprus only a title deed in your name, issued by the Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS), confers full ownership. In new projects the separate deed is sometimes issued years after handover, so the file is built differently when there is no deed yet. See the guide to title deeds in Cyprus.

• The title deed in your name, if already issued.
• If there is no deed: the original contract and proof of its deposit at the District Land Office under Law 81(I)/2011. The deposit is what protects you against a double sale or a new charge. See the guide to depositing the sale contract.
• The status of the building's certificate of final approval (under the Streets and Buildings Regulation Law, Cap. 96), because without it no separate deed will be issued.
• Receipts for payments to the municipality, the sewerage board and the water board. The Department of Lands and Surveys requires them in some procedures, so it is worth keeping them from day one.
• Energy performance certificate, which will be required when you let or sell.
• Building and contents insurance, and the rules and budget of the management committee if the property is in a shared building.

The annual immovable property tax in Cyprus was abolished from 1 January 2017, but municipal tax, sewerage tax and local fees still apply, so registering your address with the local authority matters.

6What should be in the file in Bulgaria?

In Bulgaria ownership passes on signing a notarial deed, and the notary sends it for registration in the Property Register. For a new building, the document that turns the apartment into a property that may lawfully be lived in, financed and sold is the use permit that follows Act 16. See the guide to Act 14, Act 15 and Act 16.

• The notarial deed with the registration stamp, and a current certificate of encumbrances showing the property is clear.
• For a new building: Act 16 and the use permit (разрешение за ползване), not just Act 15.
• Municipal property tax: under article 14(3) of the Local Taxes and Fees Act, no annual tax declaration is filed for a property acquired by purchase. Still check with the municipality that the property is registered in your name and where the assessment is sent. For new construction and in other cases, a two-month period applies for notifying the municipality.
• The condominium: the building manager's details and the monthly contribution to the repair fund, which is compulsory under article 50 of the Condominium Management Act.
• Energy performance certificate, and electricity, water and heating contracts in your name.

7How do you keep the file when you live in Israel?

1. Full scanning of every document on the day you receive it, in one folder per property, with file names that start with the date.
2. Original versus copy: record where each original document is held, with you, with the local lawyer or with the notary.
3. Translation and apostille: when a document is needed in Israel, for example by the accountant or in inheritance proceedings, it needs a translation and sometimes an apostille.
4. A copy for the accountant in Israel: send them the purchase cost records in the first year.
5. Annual update: once a year order a new extract and check that nothing was registered without your knowledge. The annual deadline calendar for each country is in the annual calendar for owners of property abroad.

8What to do before registration, and how we accompany you

The document list is best set in the contract: who delivers what, and by when. We prepare such a list for each transaction and check on registration day that the extract, the deed, the tax declarations and the building documents are in the client's hands, together with licensed lawyers and notaries in the property's country. What to do with the property in the years after registration is explained on the property owners page.

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