Will Germany accept an unconditional assumption of real estate registration?

The Brazil doctrine incorrectly asserts that registration in Germany creates an absolute presumption of ownership. This is not true. There are two basic models of property transfer: the French and German models. In the French system, property is transferred by means of a contract, while in the German system, property is transferred only when the transaction is registered in the real estate registry. German law is also characterized by abstracting from the causal link between registration and the transaction. The infelicity of a contract does not affect the registration and transfer of ownership.

The Brazilian system is hybrid and more similar to the Spanish system. In Spain, real estate registration is very similar to the Brazilian one. Cancellation of the contract results in the cancellation of the transfer of property made by the registration.

Real estate registration in Germany is not similar to the Torrens system and does not create an absolute assumption. In fact, after increasing the concentration of registration actions, the Brazilian system has become more similar to the German system. In Brazil, registration in the real estate registry creates a relative assumption of trustworthiness. That is, it is assumed that the person listed as the owner in the real estate registry is indeed the owner.

However, this relative assumption can be rebutted. Registration can be invalidated. The differences between the German system are that registration is independent of contract and also that a person who acquires real estate in good faith and trusts the information in the register will not lose the real estate. Real estate is lost by a person acting maliciously or acquiring it for free, or acquiring real estate when information about possible loss is already stated in the registration. In Ale&.