Notaries will pass nearly 2 million deeds in 2022

Last year, civil-law notaries executed a total of 1,912,299 deeds. That's almost 90,000 fewer than in 2021, when notaries executed a record 2 million deeds. Despite the decrease, 1.9 million deeds is still a significant number: compared to 2017, the number increased by 235,000, a 14 percent increase.

The decline in 2022 is largely due to mortgage deeds and real estate transfers. For example, the number of mortgages fell by almost 51,000 last year to 425,000, a decrease of 11 percent. The number of transfer deeds decreased by the same percentage, from 42,000 to 337,500. The number of deeds in corporate law practice decreased by over 4 percent. In family law practice, the number of deeds actually increased. In 2021, civil-law notaries executed 632,000 deeds related to family matters, compared to 665,000 in 2022: an increase of over 5 percent.

Mortgage interest rate
The limited housing stock, but especially the sharp rise in mortgage interest rates in 2022, are the main reasons for the decline in the number of deeds in real estate. The number of mortgage deeds fell dramatically, particularly in the last quarter: 32 percent compared to the same period in 2021. The number of transfer deeds fell by almost 5 percent during the same period. It is striking that the number of transfer deeds increased by 9 percent in December of last year compared to December 2021.

Also fewer limited companies
The decline in business practice is primarily due to the establishment of private limited companies (BVs). While notaries executed approximately 79,500 deeds of incorporation for a BV in 2021, that number was 73,900 in 2022: a decrease of 7 percent. The number of other deeds in business practice also decreased, albeit much less sharply. The number of deeds regulating the transfer of shares decreased by 1 percent to 31,850. The establishment of foundations decreased by 9 percent to 6,850. The number of deeds amending the articles of association of BVs remained the same (15,850), while that of foundations increased by 3.3 percent to 14,850.

More (living) wills again
In family law, the number of wills increased by over 10,000 in 2022 to a total of 322,000, an increase of over 3 percent. The number of living wills rose by 12.5 percent, from almost 170,000 in 2021 to over 191,102 in 2022. Other deeds in family law saw an even greater relative increase. For example, the number of certificates of inheritance increased by 3,250 to 80,134 (4.4 percent). The number of cohabitation agreements decreased by 3,900 to 42,822 from 48,600, and the number of prenuptial agreements increased by 1,250 to 14,698, an increase of 11.5 percent. The number of donations also increased, from 12,624 to 14,167 deeds.