Slovakia’s land register contains records for more than 150,000 property owners who are at least 100 years old, Pravda reports, citing a study by analysts at Bytero.
According to the study, more than 25,000 people listed in the land register are recorded as having been born in the 19th century, while one of them has a date of birth as early as 1800. These records reflect historical problems with land inheritance and continue to complicate the sale of plots and the construction of motorways.
According to Bytero analysts, people born before 1900 are listed on more than 57,000 title deeds. Almost 9,600 records concern owners who, according to the land register, were born before 1890. The study covers 79.2% of title deeds on which the owner’s year of birth is recorded.
Why Are Deceased People Still Listed in the Land Register?
The problem is linked to the history of land registration. Until the mid-20th century, a system of land books was used, while during the socialist period, the focus was primarily on the actual use of land rather than the formal registration of ownership rights. Many families stopped dealing with the inheritance of agricultural and forest land, while when the land register was restored, old records were often transferred to new entries without checking whether the previous owners were still alive or who had inherited their property.
As lawyer Ján Grman explains, the name of a deceased person on a title deed does not mean that they are still the legal owner. After a person dies, their property passes to their heirs. However, if the inheritance proceedings were never completed, the land register may continue to list the last known owner. Such plots are classified as property with an unidentified owner.
The problem is particularly pronounced in rural areas. According to the lawyer, approximately one-fifth of agricultural land belongs either to unidentified owners or to people whose inheritance proceedings were never conducted after their death. In such cases, agricultural land may be administered by the Slovak Land Fund.
Which Region Is Most Affected?
The highest proportion of owners aged 100 or older is recorded in the Trenčín Region, where they account for more than 7% of all owners with recorded dates of birth. Among individual districts, Nové Mesto nad Váhom leads the ranking, with the figure exceeding 11%.
The fewest such records are found in the Bratislava Region, at just over 2%. The Bratislava V district, which includes Petržalka, Jarovce, Rusovce and Čunovo, stands out in particular: owners born before 1926 account for only around 0.18% of all owners. A likely explanation is the extensive development of Petržalka, where apartments were more often transferred to new owners and old records gradually disappeared.
Old records are more common for land than for houses and apartments. The land register still contains around 1,200 family houses and 174 apartments or non-residential premises belonging to people who were born at least 100 years ago. However, approximately 150,000 such owners are listed solely in connection with land plots, most often arable land.
Impact on Road Construction
The problem extends beyond land-register statistics. When land needs to be purchased for road construction, a single plot may have dozens or even hundreds of co-owners. Because of inheritance across several generations, ownership shares become increasingly fragmented: even a plot measuring just 50 square metres may have around 100 owners, each holding only a small share.
Resolving ownership issues remains one of the significant factors slowing motorway construction. If a planned road passes through 50 plots with a total of 500 owners, purchasing the land can take between five and 10 years.
One example is the bypass around the town of Šaľa in the Nitra Region. In 2018, around 100 compulsory acquisition proceedings were still underway there. Initially, the process involved 162 owners, but their number increased as inheritance proceedings were conducted and previously unrecorded inheritance was discovered.
During the construction of the D1 motorway near Považská Bystrica, the state also had to resort to compulsory acquisition because it was unable to reach agreements with 13 owners.
