Notary and Property Registry in Cuba, step by step

Every transfer of a home in Cuba — sale, permuta, donation or inheritance — passes through the same two institutions: a notary, who authorises the deed, and the Property Registry, which records who owns what. Most of the delays and almost all of the failed transactions happen because something was done in the wrong order.

This guide sets out the sequence, what each step is for and how long it realistically takes. The framework is Law 175 "On the Notariat", in force since 7 January 2026, which replaced the 1984 rules on state notaries.

What the notary does, and what they do not

The notary is a public official who verifies the legality of the act and gives it public faith. They check that the parties are who they say they are, that the seller is the registered owner, that the property is free of liens, that the taxes have been settled, and they authorise the deed that transfers ownership.

What the notary does not do is inspect the house, judge whether the price is fair, or protect you from a bad decision. They confirm the transaction is lawful, not that it is a good idea. The physical and commercial due diligence remains entirely yours.

Step 1 — Documents, before anything else

The seller assembles the property title and, if the home came from an inheritance, the deed declaring the heirs and the adjudication. The buyer needs little more than an identity document, but if either party acts for someone else, the notarised power of attorney has to be ready, original and specific to this transaction.

This is also where problems surface: a title that was never registered, an inheritance nobody adjudicated, an extension that was never legalised. Every one of them takes weeks or months to solve, and none of them can be solved at the notary’s desk on signing day.

Step 2 — The Registry certificate

Request an up-to-date ownership and liens certificate from the Property Registry for the property in question. It states who the registered owner is and whether the home carries charges, seizures or limitations, and it is the single most protective document in the whole process for a buyer.

Ask for it recently issued, not one the seller has had in a folder since last year. Between one certificate and the next, a home can acquire an embargo, and it is the buyer who bears it.

Step 3 — The technical description

The official description of the home — surface, boundaries, rooms — has to match the building. Where a home has been extended, subdivided or altered without permits, the description must be updated with the Physical Planning office before the deed can be signed.

It is the step people most often try to skip, and the one that most often stops a transaction. Sellers should resolve it before listing; buyers should confirm it is resolved before agreeing a price.

Step 4 — At the notary: taxes and deed, in one act

With the documentation complete, the parties appear before the notary. The taxes are settled in that same act — the buyer’s transmission tax and the seller’s income tax, at a reference rate of 4% each, calculated on a value that cannot be lower than the minimum reference value. The old thirty-day window to pay afterwards no longer exists: without the payment credited, there is no deed.

The notary then reads and authorises the public deed, both parties sign, and authorised copies are issued. That is the moment ownership changes hands, and it is the moment payment of the price should be tied to.

1. 1Both parties appear with identity documents and the complete file.
2. 2The notary verifies title, Registry certificate and technical description.
3. 3Both taxes are settled and credited.
4. 4The deed is read, authorised and signed.
5. 5Authorised copies are issued to the parties.

Step 5 — Registration: the step people skip

The deed transfers ownership; the registration protects it. Take the authorised copy to the Property Registry and have the new ownership recorded. Until that entry exists, the world — including the next buyer, the next notary and any court — still sees the previous owner.

An unregistered deed is the origin of a large share of the documentation problems in the Cuban market. It becomes visible years later, when the owner tries to sell, swap or leave the home to their children, and discovers that on paper the house is not theirs.

How long it takes, realistically

A transaction where all the paperwork is genuinely in order can be signed within weeks: the Registry certificate and the appointment are the pacing items. One that needs an inheritance adjudicated or a technical description updated moves in months, and the estimate depends entirely on the office and the province.

The variable nobody controls is the queue. Build slack into any commitment that depends on a signing date, and never make a payment contingent on a date rather than on the deed itself.

If you are abroad

Every step above can be handled by an attorney-in-fact acting under a notarised power of attorney, granted before a Cuban consulate or before a local notary with subsequent consular legalisation. Cuba is not part of the Hague Apostille Convention, so the route is legalisation rather than apostille.

The powers must be specific enough to cover what is actually needed — signing the deed, paying or collecting, requesting certificates and registering the title. A power that stops short forces a second consular procedure from the other side of the world.