Sale, lease and title recording in Iraq

In briefThe sale of immovable property, a lease, and the recording of a real right are different transactions. The transfer of a real right in land is carried out at the Real Estate Registration Department under Real Estate Registration Law No. 43 of 1971. A lease may fall under Rent of Immovable Property Law No. 87 of 1979, as amended, or under the lease provisions of Civil Code No. 40 of 1951, depending on the contract and on what the statute provides. The Baghdad office explains the nature of the transaction.

The Law Office of Ali Barakat in Baghdad follows the sale and purchase of immovable property, leases, the recording of a right at the Real Estate Registration Department (دائرة التسجيل العقاري), and what is connected with that: mortgage, partition of co-ownership, eviction, and appropriation, within the limits set by the Iraqi statutes. The useful question when a file is opened is often: which transaction is intended, and has it been recorded at the real-estate registration directorate in whose area the property lies? The text sets the bounds of the subject.

Which texts are referred to?

The substantive rules on sale, lease, mortgage, pre-emption (شفعة), possession, contracting and co-ownership are set out in Civil Code No. 40 of 1951, published in the Official Gazette, issue 3015 of 8/9/1951. The procedure for recording dispositions, final judgments and the transfer of rights in immovable property is governed by Real Estate Registration Law No. 43 of 1971, published in issue 1995 of 10/5/1971. The directorates and notarial sections (ملاحظيات) form part of the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice.

Alongside those two statutes, the pages in this field refer to Rent of Immovable Property Law No. 87 of 1979, as amended, published in issue 2719 of 30/6/1979, within the limits of its application; to Real Estate Tax Law No. 162 of 1959, as amended, on a sale or a mortgage; to Appropriation Law No. 12 of 1981, as amended, when ownership is taken for public benefit; and to Law No. 61 of 2001 on ownership of floors and apartments in buildings. A power of attorney intended for a sale is attested by a notary under Notaries Law No. 33 of 1998. It does not take the place of recording at the Real Estate Registration Department.

Which framework applies to a particular lease, a request for eviction on grounds other than late rent, and a notary’s warning in the position of the tenant, are reserved in the registry for later pages, and are not rewritten here.

Recording a right at the Real Estate Registration Department

The Real Estate Registration Department is the body designated by statute for recording real-estate dispositions, final judgments and the transfer of rights. Under it are directorates and sections in Baghdad and in the other governorates. In Baghdad the question is which directorate the property falls under — Rusafa, Karkh or another, according to the location of the property and the organisation of the directorates — as set out in which Baghdad land-registry directorate?. In Basrah the directorate in whose area the property lies is approached. That coverage is informational, from the Baghdad office, with no branch there, as in recording property at the Basrah land registry.

A completed sale intended to transfer ownership is distinct from a promise to sell, and from a sale under an irrevocable power of attorney. A promise does not take the place of completing the sale and recording it, as set out in a promise to sell and a completed sale. A power of attorney, even if described as irrevocable, is an instrument of representation attested by a notary. It is not, by itself, a recording that transfers ownership, as in sale under an irrevocable power of attorney.

On a sale or a mortgage, real-estate tax arises on the path set by Real Estate Tax Law No. 162 of 1959, as amended. That is the subject of sale or mortgage and real-estate tax. An official mortgage (الرهن التأميني) is distinct from an enforcement attachment carried out by an Enforcement Directorate, as in official mortgage and enforcement attachment.

Leases, eviction and the landlord’s file

A lease may be governed by Rent of Immovable Property Law No. 87 of 1979, as amended, or by the lease provisions of the Civil Code, depending on what the statute provides and on the nature and use of the property. Which framework applies, and its effect on duration, is a separate reserved question. An eviction action for late rent is set out in eviction for unpaid rent. A commercial shop lease and key money have their page, commercial shop lease and key money. What is reviewed before and after a lease in the landlord’s file is set out in the landlord’s file before and after the lease.

Changing the category of land, a building permit issued by the municipality or by Amanat Baghdad (أمانة بغداد) according to the location of the property, and the purchase of a residential unit off plan, each have a separate page.

Co-ownership, pre-emption, possession, appropriation and contracting

Partition of co-owned property, ownership of floors and apartments and the common parts under Law No. 61 of 2001, pre-emption, and a claim to ownership by possession, each have a page in this field. Appropriation for public benefit and compensation for it follow Appropriation Law No. 12 of 1981, as amended, and are set out in appropriation and compensation. Encroachment on State or municipal property is a separate path in encroachment on State property.

The contractor’s duties and building defects, delay, and the warranty that the Civil Code provides for a set period after handover, are set out in the contractor’s duties and building defects and contractor delay and the decennial warranty. Periods and rates are read from the text on the topic page.

Documents and time limits, for identification only

What a recording file, an eviction or an appropriation requires is set out in detail on each topic page. In general terms, a recording file is referred to the property deed or the registration dossier, what proves the applicant’s standing and any power of attorney, and what Real Estate Tax Law requires on a sale or a mortgage. In an eviction for late rent, the lease and what proves occupation and the delay in rent are referred to, within the limits of the statute that applies. Appeal periods and warning periods are read from the text on the topic page.

Changing land from agricultural to residential or commercial use, a building permit, and buying a unit in a compound before construction is complete, are separate pages in this field. Coverage of Basrah is informational, from the Baghdad office, with no branch there.

What does the office follow?

From its premises in Baghdad, the office explains the nature of sale, lease and recording at the Real Estate Registration Department, mortgage, partition of co-ownership, eviction within the limits set out, appropriation, and defects in a building contract.

Legal basis and sources

Frequently asked questions

Is an informal sale contract enough to transfer ownership of immovable property?

The transfer of a real right in land is carried out by recording it at the Real Estate Registration Department under Real Estate Registration Law No. 43 of 1971. A contract between the parties does not take the place of that recording, within the limits the statute sets.

Where is a recording application reviewed in Baghdad?

At the real-estate registration directorate or section in whose area the property lies. How the directorates are distributed in Baghdad is the subject of a separate page.

Does Rent Law No. 87 of 1979 apply to every lease?

No. Whether that Law or the lease provisions of the Civil Code apply depends on the nature of the contract and on what the statute provides. Which framework applies is a reserved later page.

Topics in this area

Always check the text in force and its amendments in the official source.

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Sale, lease, and the recording of title