Searches

A variety of searches may be carried out, either on their own or as part of the compilation of a file leading to the transfer of immovable property, for example, by exchange or sale, the granting of a loan, or the settlement of a succession.

Searches in the Public Registry are aimed primarily at reviewing transfers and acquisitions, liabilities, and redemptions of ground rent by schedules of deposit in court, made by natural or legal persons. Such searches may be carried out to establish what immovable property a person has acquired or transferred, what obligations they have secured in favour of third parties, or whether they have redeemed ground rent burdening an immovable property by filing a schedule of deposit in court. Other enrolments and registrations, such as garnishee orders filed against a person, also result from these searches.

Acts of civil status, such as certificates of birth, marriage, and death registered in Malta, as well as Free Status Certificates for cohabitation, are likewise obtainable from the Public Registry.

Searches in the Land Registry are aimed at reviewing transfers of, and charges on, a particular immovable property. These searches are conducted on the basis of a plan obtained from the Land Registry and marked by an architect of one’s choice. One should note that not all properties in Malta have been registered in the Land Registry.

Searches in the Public Registry and in the Land Registry may lead the person conducting them to the deed, court judgment, or other document from which the transfer or liability originates.

A testamentary search in the Public Registry is aimed at establishing whether a living or deceased person has made a public will, whereas a testamentary search in the Civil Court (Voluntary Jurisdiction Section) is aimed at establishing whether a deceased person has made a secret will. Such searches may lead the person making them to the will of the person concerned, provided they are deceased.