# No clear title to your Mexican property?

> No escritura, nothing registered in your name, or it turns out to be ejido land? The sale may be void, or fixable. Here is how to find out what you actually own.

- Author: Jorge Sánchez (LL.B. UDLAP · Master in judicial review (USC) · Maestría en Derecho Constitucional y Amparo (IBERO)), Riviera Maya Law
- Reviewed: 2026-06-16
- Canonical page: https://rivieramaya.law/guides/no-clear-title-mexico

Few moments sink the stomach like discovering that the home you paid for in Mexico is not, on paper, yours. Maybe there is no escritura. Maybe a deed exists but nothing was ever registered in your name. Maybe the land turns out to be ejido. Here is the first thing to know: what you do next depends almost entirely on what the public record shows, not on what you were told.

## First, find out what you actually hold

The only ownership that counts against the world is a public deed (*escritura pública*) granted before a *notario público* and inscribed in the Public Registry of Property (*Registro Público de la Propiedad*, RPP) for the municipality.

- A title search at the RPP shows who is registered as the owner today, and whether there are liens, prior owners, or other red flags.
- A private contract, a receipt, or holding the keys is **not** title. It may be useful evidence, but it is not ownership.

## The three ways a "sale" leaves you without title

1. **An unnotarized private contract.** You signed a *contrato privado* and paid, but the sale was never formalized into an *escritura* or registered. This is the most common version, and the seller may still be the registered owner.
2. **Ejido land sold as private.** Communal (*ejido*) land sold to you as if it were private property. As a rule it cannot be privately owned until it is converted to *dominio pleno*.
3. **They sold what they didn't own, or a double sale.** The seller was not the registered owner, or sold the same property to more than one buyer. The registry, not the contract, decides who prevails.

## Your realistic options

1. **Confirm the registry status.** Everything starts with a title and lien search. It tells you which of the situations above you are actually in.
2. **Complete or regularize, if it's curable.** Where the seller is genuine and the property is registrable, the fix may be finishing the notarization and registration you were owed.
3. **Civil action.** Depending on the facts: compel the deed (specific performance), or void or rescind the sale and recover what you paid.
4. **Criminal complaint (*denuncia*).** Where there was deceit, such as forged documents, ejido sold as private, or a knowing double sale, fraud is a crime, and a *denuncia* before the Fiscalía can run alongside civil recovery.
5. **Mind the clock.** Legal deadlines (*prescripción*) run in the background, and a registered third party can complicate matters the longer you wait.

## What to bring to a review

- The contract and every amendment, your proof of payment (transfers, receipts), and any "escritura" or document you were handed.
- The property's location and, if you have it, the *folio real* or registry data.
- The full names and IDs of the seller and any intermediary, and the messages between you.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is a private purchase contract enough to own property in Mexico?

No. A private contract (contrato privado de compraventa) can create obligations between the parties, but ownership of real estate is proven by a public deed (escritura pública) granted before a notario público and inscribed in the Public Registry of Property (RPP). Until that registration exists in your name, you do not have a title the state recognizes against third parties, no matter how much you paid.

### I bought what turned out to be ejido land. Do I own it?

Almost certainly not as a private owner. Ejido land is communal land under a separate regime, and as a rule it cannot be sold as private property until it has been formally converted (a process called dominio pleno). A private contract over ejido land sold as if it were private is a common and serious problem. Whether anything can be salvaged depends on the land's exact status, which a title search confirms.

### Can I still fix it if the seller disappeared or won't cooperate?

Sometimes. The path depends on what you hold and on what the registry shows. Options can include a court action to compel the deed, or to void the sale and recover what you paid, and where there was deceit, a criminal complaint. None of this is guaranteed, and deadlines (prescripción) run in the background, so an early review matters.

### What does it cost to find out where I stand?

A confidential first review is a flat-fee consultation (currently $150 USD). A formal title and registry search is quoted at a fixed price before any work begins. You will know the price, and whether the situation is worth pursuing, before you commit.