Many people in Slovakia may not even know that they may be entitled to land after their ancestors. This is particularly the case when the ownership was not resolved in the past, the inheritance proceedings were not completed or the names of the owners were lost in older records.
The Slovak Land Fund publishes a list of unidentified owners, which contains data from the real estate cadastre. Such a list can help people find out if their relative or ancestor’s name is on it.
However, finding a name does not automatically mean that the land belongs to a specific person. Rather, it is the first step, after which ownership must be verified and eventually resolved through inheritance proceedings.
Your ancestor may also be on the list
Slovak Land Fund regularly makes available an overview of land for which the owner is not clearly determined. The list is updated twice a year and is based on data entered in the real estate cadastre. It can be especially useful for the public if they want to check if there is a family member among the names listed.
However, such a finding does not mean that a person automatically acquires land. If the name of a deceased relative appears in the list, it is first necessary to check whether inheritance proceedings have already taken place after him. If so, the competent court can assess whether it is a newly discovered property that was not included in the past.
In the event that the inheritance proceedings did not take place at all, it is possible to request its additional initiation. It is resolved through a notary or a court, not through the Slovak Land Fund. In this case, the fund only provides an overview of the data and does not have the authority to decide who owns the land.
Since it is an extensive list, the data is divided into several files according to cadastral territories. They are available in CSV and XLSX formats, which makes it easier to search by name, surname or location.
The lists are divided alphabetically
The published documents contain an overview of undetected landowners by individual cadastral territory. Each file contains data from the real estate cadastre, for example the name of the cadastral territory, serial number, title deed number and the name of the unknown owner. This information makes it easier for people to check if there is a person on the list who could be their ancestor or relative.
Since it is a very extensive list, the Slovak Land Fund did not divide it into one document, but into several files. They are sorted according to the initial letters of the cadastral territories. Separate documents are available for territories starting with A to G, H to J, K to L, M to O, P to R, S to U and V to Z.
The lists are published in two formats, namely CSV and XLSX. The XLSX format is particularly suitable for opening in Excel, where you can search by name, surname or municipality. The CSV format can be used for simple data processing in other programs. These documents are informative in nature and serve as an aid in the search for possible ancestral property.
