When it is required
Under article 110 of the Civil Code, notarial certification of a transaction is required in the cases the law names and at the demand of one of the parties. Examples of the cases the law names:
- contracts of sale, exchange and gift of a house or flat (article 14 of the Housing Code);
- a contract of gift of any real property (article 504 of the Civil Code);
- a rent contract, including transfer of housing on condition of lifelong maintenance (articles 513 and 531 of the Civil Code);
- a will: it is certified by a notary or in an equivalent way, for example by the chief doctor of a hospital (articles 1124 and 1126 of the Civil Code);
- a marriage contract (article 30 of the Family Code);
- an agreement on the payment of alimony (article 131 of the Family Code);
- a mortgage contract (article 271 of the Civil Code);
- a power of attorney to make a transaction that requires the notarial form (article 135 of the Civil Code).
What the notary checks
The identity and legal capacity of the parties, the freedom of their will, the completeness of the documents, and whether the transaction complies with the law.
If the form is broken
Under article 112 of the Civil Code, a transaction that does not keep the required notarial form is invalid and is void. This is the fastest way to lose money. There is one exception: if one party performed the transaction and the other avoids the notarial formality, the court may declare the transaction valid at the demand of the party that performed it.
Advice
Check the list of documents by telephone before you visit the notary: one missing document costs a whole day.