Eritrea

Registering Property in

Eritrea

Listed below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standard Property Transfer

  • Property Value: ERN 308,605.23
  • City: Asmara

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
* 1 Obtain tax clearance from Inland Revenue

There are no costs involved unless there are unpaid taxes for the concerned building and other buildings owned by the owner.

Agency: Inland Revenue 		7 days (simultaneous with proc. 2,3,4 & 5) 15 ERN
* 2 Tax clearance from Commercial bank



Agency: Commercial Bank of Eritrea 		1 day (simultaneous with proc. 1,3,4 & 5) 50 ERN
* 3 Tax clearance from the bank for unpaid loans from housing and commercial bank



Agency: Housing and commercial bank 		1 day (simultaneous with proc. 1,2,4 & 5) 20 ERN
* 4 Tax clearance from Municipality



Agency: Municipality 		1 day (simultaneous with proc. 1,2,3 & 5) 25 ERN (1-5 days); 50 ERN (express 1 day)
* 5 Obtain mortgage clearance from Cadastral Office

The clearance secures that the property is free from any mortgage and pledge.

Agency: Cadastral Office 		1 day (simultaneous with proc. 1,2, 3 & 4) 15 ERN
6 Submit all registration documents and clearances to the Notary Public and define tax to be paid

The Public Notary examines all the documents thoroughly, with all the clearances and delivers the documents, particularly the previous survey plan, to the Department of Infrastructure for new plan (from the previous owner to the new owner).

Agency: Notary Public Office 		1 day no cost
7 Creates a map of land

The Department of Infrastructure prepares a map and ensures compliance with all building regulations. The Department of Infrastructure sends the new map to the Public Notary, and the Public Notary, based on the declared price of agreement or on the recorded value in the computer (database), orders the buyer or any beneficiary to pay 9% of property value.

Agency: Dept. of Infrastructure 		2 months no cost
8 Buyer pays tax at Municipality

The buyer pays the necessary tax at the Municipality.

Agency: Municipality 		1 day 5% for Municipality
9 Buyer pays tax at Inland Revenue

The buyer pays the necessary tax at the Inland Revenue.

Agency: Inland Revenue 		1 day 4% of property value as valuated by committee
10 The Public Notary approved the contract in front of the parties and two witnesses

The Public Notary reads the content of the contract in front of the parties and witnesses. All parties must give their own free will for the contract to be effective. The Notary duly monitors the documents particularly whether the transfer payment is fully paid or not, and sends all the relevant documents to the Cadastral Office.

Agency: Notary Public Office 		1 day included in the 9% of property value
11 Submit registration of title at the Cadastre

At this point in the process the buyer obtains full possession of the title. They give copies of the title to the Cadastre and the Municipality.

Agency: Cadastral Office 		1 week 150 ERN
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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