Registering Property in Cape Verde

This topic examines the steps, time, and cost involved in registering property in Cape Verde.

View all indicator data and topic details for this economy.

Change Selection

Property Value: CVE 12,851,857
City: Praia

	Procedure	Time to complete:	Cost to complete:
*1	Obtain property title from property registry (certidão predial)	7 days (simultaneous with procedure 2)	CVE 300
*2	Obtain copy of the cadastral certificate (certidão matricial) at municipality	7 days (simultaneous with procedure 1)	CVE 1000
3	Parties sign promise to sell contract	1 - 2 days	CVE 70,000 (lawyer’s fees)
4	Public deed for property transfer	35 days	Around 2% of sale price (~CVE 160,000) (including stamp duty—paid by the buyer)
5	Pay property transfer tax (IUP) and register the new owner for tax purposes at the Municipality	1 day	3% of property value for IUP + CVE 1,000 (Municipality registration fee)
6	Register the new public deed under the buyer’s name at the property registry (certidão predial)	27 days	Around 2% of sale price (~CVE 160,000)

* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

Procedure 1.: Obtain property title from property registry (certidão predial)
Time to complete:: 7 days (simultaneous with procedure 2)
Cost to complete:: CVE 300
Name of Agency:: Property registry
Comment:: The title is valid for 6 months.

Procedure 2.: Obtain copy of the cadastral certificate (certidão matricial) at municipality
Time to complete:: 7 days (simultaneous with procedure 1)
Cost to complete:: CVE 1000
Name of Agency:: Municipality
Comment:: The registry of the municipality exists for tax purposes; it includes the value of the property plus information on who owns the property.

Procedure 3.: Parties sign promise to sell contract
Time to complete:: 1 - 2 days
Cost to complete:: CVE 70,000 (lawyer’s fees)
Name of Agency:
Comment:: This is not a mandatory procedure but it is standard practice. The contract can be written by anyone. The parties can write it themselves if they want but they normally contract a lawyer to draft it. Normally the buyer pays a deposit of 10% to 20% of the price value when signing this contract.

Procedure 4.: Public deed for property transfer
Time to complete:: 35 days
Cost to complete:: Around 2% of sale price (~CVE 160,000) (including stamp duty—paid by the buyer)
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The public deed can be done with any notary, even outside the country. This procedure can be done faster if the parties use a notary outside of Praia. For the public deed each of the companies must present a copy of the minutes of the meeting where it was decided that the company can buy or sell the property.

Procedure 5.: Pay property transfer tax (IUP) and register the new owner for tax purposes at the Municipality
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: 3% of property value for IUP + CVE 1,000 (Municipality registration fee)
Name of Agency:: Municipality
Comment:: The IUP can be paid at any time as long as it done within 30 days of the date of public deed. It i necessary to submit the IUP payment proof to register the deed.

Procedure 6.: Register the new public deed under the buyer’s name at the property registry (certidão predial)
Time to complete:: 27 days
Cost to complete:: Around 2% of sale price (~CVE 160,000)
Name of Agency:: Property registry
Comment:: There is no provisional registration, unless there is some problem with the property, but in general that does not happen. Registration is not mandatory. However, if one wants to sell the property through a public deed one must register the property first.