Sweden Land and Property

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The laws to record an transfer of land ownership date back to the 1300's. The transaction took place with a "fastebrev" that was submitted to the local court (ting). When the Jordabalken was written with the Swedish 1734 Legal reform, rules as to how the transaction should take place were created. The purchaser would take the purchase contract to the häradsrätt. The häradsrätt would require a certain amount of time to pass before validating the purchase. The standard according to the law of 1734 was 1 year after "3 consecutive ting" were held. The 3 tings were called the first, second, and third uppbudet. If there were no disputes, for example inheritance rights or by neighbors over boundaries etc. during the waiting time then the Häradsrätt would issue a fastebrev (or lagfart) which showed official registration.

In 1800 the waiting time was reduced and the häradsrätt would issue a fastebrev at the closest ting after the 3rd uppbudet. Beginning in 1806 it was also required to provide further documentation as to the purchasing circumstances and at the time of the 1st uppbud. The documentation was turned in with the purchase contract.

Where are the transaction recorded?
From medieval times the fastebreven and uppbuden were recorded in the Domböcker of the tingsrätt, or häradsrätt. These were mixed among the lawsuits and cases. As time went on, the courts might have organized the land transactions using a pattern or form in the Domböcker. This lead to creating separate books for recording transactions. Often these are Småprotokoller. The Småprotokoller would include Uppbudsprotokoller, and Lagfartsprotokoller. They also include transactions related to marriage, divorce, fines, and other court settlements. Generally there is no alphabetical index for the Fastighetsförsäljningarna (real estate transactions) before 1875 when the Lagfarts- and Intecknings- böckerna were created.