Legal Review of Property Registration Procedures
The current Property (real estate) Registry Code of Mozambique corresponds to the Portuguese Property Registry Code, approved by Decree-Law No. 47.611, of March 28, 1967, which entered into force in Mozambique through Ordinance No. 23.088, of 26 December, published in the Official Gazette of Mozambique, on 12/02/1968. Thus, the Property Registry Code in force is deeply outdated and does not reflect the significant economic, political and legal changes, that have taken place, particularly with regard to the constitutional principle (see Article 109 of the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique) which states that the land is property of the state" and should not be sold or otherwise alienated, mortgaged or pledged.
In this context, a legal revision was carried out, on the one hand, aiming at analyzing the current version of the Property Registry Code and related legislation, the procedures required to perform a real estate transaction and its costs as well as present the results and conclusions drawn from the audit to the Land Registry Information System (SIRP). The SIRP was developed for the Ministry of Justice by Quidgest- Management Consultants Inc. according to current legislation. On the other hand, a comparative analysis was carried out of three systems of registration, England & Wales, Ghana and Portugal, to reflect on the simplification and modernization measures for the real estate market adaptable to the context of the Republic of Mozambique.