Definition : Immovable hypothec (conventional)

Guarantee taken by a creditor, affecting immovable property and granting him certain specific rights upon such property to secure the payment of a debt. The immovable hypothec ensures, without limitation, that the creditor is to be preferred over certain other creditors of the debtor and that he will be able to exercise a hypothecary remedy, even if the property changes hands. It must, under pain of absolute nullity, be granted by notarial act en minute and it must be published at the registry office to be set up against third persons. It is usually granted by a financial institution (the creditor) to allow a buyer (the debtor) to acquire an immovable (e.g. a condominium or a house).