Access to personal data in public land registers:Balancing publicity of property rights with the rights to privacy and data protection

When you buy a house, some of your personal details are included in the deed drawn up by the notary. Personal details (including name, first names, date and place of birth, residence, address, marital status, ID number, the price you paid for the house and the maximum mortgage loan) are entered into public registers for registrable property (kept by the land registry). These data can be retrieved by anyone who is willing to pay a small amount of money for this (varying from 2 to 16 euros). This dissertation focusses on whether or not this is desirable in view of the privacy of home owners. We studied current procedures for providing access to personal details in the Netherlands, Germany, England and Wales. It is concluded that the current situation is not desirable. Personal details can and should be made less easily accessible, especially in the Netherlands