Access to information from the real estate cadastre wants to be tightened by the proposed amendment

Prague - Access to information in the real estate cadastre could become stricter. The Czech Office for Surveys and Cadastre has submitted a draft law for public consultation, according to which data about individuals and properties would be provided upon request. Viewing personal data in the cadastre over the internet will then be possible through citizen identification. The upper limit of fines for handling cadastre data in violation of the law would also increase, up to one million from the current 100,000. Fees would also increase.

Data on individuals, rights, or achieved property prices would only be provided after proof of the applicant's identity and the legal reason for the request upon the adoption of the amendment. The applicant would also be registered. Data from cadastral maps and property descriptions that do not contain information about individuals would be freely available.

"With anonymous provision to unknown individuals, it is not clear to what extent a specific person is obtaining the data, and it is not possible to take measures to prevent illegal exploitation of the cadastre data," states the cadastre in the explanatory memorandum. It acknowledges the need to incur additional costs to adjust the information system.

One of the goals of the proposal, according to the explanatory memorandum, is to enhance the protection of personal data and provide better defenses against the misuse of information. At the same time, however, information should be accessible to the public, as required by law. The amendment should also change the powers of the commission and streamline its operations, which will remove barriers to the digitalization of cadastre management.

"The possibility to view real estate cadastre data remotely (over the internet) remains, with the only modification being that identification of the person accessing this data will be required for viewing personal data and legal relationship details," stated Jarmila Daňková, director of the office of the chairman of the Czech Office for Surveys and Cadastre, to ČTK. This can be done using citizen identification online, which is now widespread among people, she said. "Thus, this change will not fundamentally worsen access to real estate cadastre data for regular and honest users," she added.

The fee for accepting a request for confirmation of the numbering of parcels in the geometric plan would increase from 100 CZK to 500 CZK after the adoption of the amendment. Accepting a proposal to initiate proceedings for permitting entries in the real estate cadastre will cost 2000 CZK and for some constructions up to a maximum of 20,000 CZK.

In addition, the proposal aims to specify the factual bases of infractions and retain only those that pose significant obstacles in cadastre management. The insignificant or difficult-to-prove infractions should be abolished. Currently, the upper limits for individuals and legal entities are 50,000 CZK and 100,000 CZK, respectively. Newly, it would be up to 100,000 CZK or up to one million CZK depending on the severity of the infraction.

The amendment would also allow for a joint proposal regarding all properties in the jurisdiction of multiple cadastre offices. Currently, it must be submitted to all respective offices. Only one administrative fee would be collected for it. However, administrative fees are expected to increase. The cadastre mentions in the explanatory memorandum that compared to similar fees abroad, the current fee amount is negligible and even after the increase, it will be lower than in neighboring countries.

Current administrative fees:

Issuance of an excerpt or copy from the real estate cadastre, previous land records, land or railway books, or land registers for every commenced 20 measurement units within one cadastre area	100 CZK
Issuance of a copy of the cadastral map, a copy of the map from previous land records, a copy from land or railway books, or land registers for each commenced A4 page	50 CZK
Issuance of identification of a parcel or a group of related parcels from the last preserved state of previous land records or the state before the renewal of the cadastre operation with a parcel or group of parcels listed in the real estate cadastre for every commenced 20 parcels from these written operations in each cadastre area	100 CZK
Acceptance of a request for confirmation of the compliance of the numbering of parcels in the geometric plan with the data of the real estate cadastre for every commenced 20 parcels listed in the new state of the geometric plan in each cadastre area	100 CZK
Acceptance of a request for confirmation of the compliance of the numbering of parcels in the geometric plan indicating only a servitude with the data of the real estate cadastre	100 CZK
Issuance of the first and subsequent copies of documents prepared upon issuance of the originals of documents referred to in a) to c), for each commenced A4 page	30 CZK
Issuance of a verified copy or copy of documents from the collection of documents of the real estate cadastre and the collection of documents of land books for each commenced A4 page	50 CZK

Source: Law on the cadastre of real estate (cadastre law)

Newly proposed administrative fees:

Acceptance of a proposal to initiate proceedings for permitting entries in the real estate cadastre	2000 CZK
Acceptance of proposals to initiate proceedings for permitting entries in the real estate cadastre based on documents related to the construction of public benefit structures for waste disposal, water supply, wastewater disposal and treatment, public transportation, public education, public administration, and similar public purposes	2000 CZK for each proposal, a total of up to 20,000 CZK
Acceptance of the complete text of the declaration on the division of rights to a building and land into ownership rights to units for storage in the collection of documents or acceptance of an agreement of co-owners on the management of the real estate for storage in the collection of documents	1000 CZK
Acceptance of a request for confirmation of the compliance of the numbering of parcels in the geometric plan with the data of the real estate cadastre	500 CZK

Source: Draft amendment to the law on the cadastre of real estate (cadastre law)