How can one access the French land registry to obtain details of the ownership of a property?
The French land registry is a public service with regional offices responsible for the various parts of the department. For reasons of security, it is not possible to inspect the documents in the Land Registry in person; rather there is a system of requisitions for the various parts of the register. There is also an internet site to obtain the application forms. (http://www.minefi.gouv.fr). The big difference between the British and the French registration sytem is the ease of access. In the U.K., anybody can obtain details of a property (including horror of horrors details of the mortgagee) for a small fee. In France, you can only do this provided you have certain information about the property and the owners e.g. the full names and civil status details of the owner (date and place of birth etc). and the name of any joint-owner. To obtain details of a property, you will need the name of the commune, the cadastral registration number and the address of the property. Similarly for a dee
