Registering Property in Honduras

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

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Change Selection

Property Value: HNL 1,805,863
City: Tegucigalpa

	Procedure	Time to complete:	Cost to complete:
1	Verification of property background	1 day	HNL 550 (HNL 300 for full certificate “certificación integra” + HNL 250 for non-encumbrance certificate “certificado de libertad de gravamen”)
2	Verification that the municipal taxes have been paid	2 days	No cost
3	The notary issues the deed (preliminary)	2 days	3-5% of transaction price (Notary’s fees)
4	Payment at the bank of taxes and fees	1 day	1.5% of property price (Transfer Tax)
5	Notary issues the final copy of the deed (“Testimonio”)	1 day	no additional cost
6	Registration at the Property registry	14 days	No cost
7	Register the change of ownership in the Cadastre office	2 days	HNL 250

Procedure 1.: Verification of property background
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: HNL 550 (HNL 300 for full certificate “certificación integra” + HNL 250 for non-encumbrance certificate “certificado de libertad de gravamen”)
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The buyer can verify the property background at the on-line Unified Registry System (SURE): www.ip.hn.

Procedure 2.: Verification that the municipal taxes have been paid
Time to complete:: 2 days
Cost to complete:: No cost
Name of Agency:: Cadastre
Comment:: The municipal tax number of the property is needed to check who is the registered owner of the land in the cadastre.

Procedure 3.: The notary issues the deed (preliminary)
Time to complete:: 2 days
Cost to complete:: 3-5% of transaction price (Notary’s fees)
Name of Agency:
Comment:: After getting the legal documentation from the parties, the notary issues the preliminary deed (“escritura matriz”). Notary’s fees are usually calculated based on the market value of the property according to regulations setting minimum tariffs. For properties with a value below HNL 25,000, the rate cannot be below HNL 1000 while for properties with a higher value, the fee cannot be below 3% of the property value. Fees are negotiated between the notary and parties.

Procedure 4.: Payment at the bank of taxes and fees
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: 1.5% of property price (Transfer Tax)
Name of Agency:: Commercial Bank
Comment:: The transfer tax (1.5% of value of property, for urban property with improvements) must be paid at a bank. The taxes are calculated based on either the official value of the property (determined by the Cadastre for tax purposes) or the insured value, whichever is higher.
With the introduction of the Property Law in 2004, the transfer tax was cut from 3 to 1.5%, the registration rights and the stamps have been eliminated.

Procedure 5.: Notary issues the final copy of the deed (“Testimonio”)
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: no additional cost
Name of Agency:
Comment:: After receiving the receipts of the payment of the taxes and fees in the previous step, the notary issues the final copy of the deed ("testimonio"), which should be presented later at the Property Office.

Procedure 6.: Registration at the Property registry
Time to complete:: 14 days
Cost to complete:: No cost
Name of Agency:: Property registry (“Instituto de la Propiedad”)
Comment:: The new deed must be registered in the Property Office by the notary.

Procedure 7.: Register the change of ownership in the Cadastre office
Time to complete:: 2 days
Cost to complete:: HNL 250
Name of Agency:: Cadastre ("Dirección General de Catastro y Geografía")
Comment:: The change of ownership must be registered in the Cadastre office ("Dirección General de Catastro y Geografía") by the notary. The deed duly registered in Procedure 6 must be presented at the cadastre.