Mexico City, Mexico – According to "Agrarian, Territorial, and Urban Development" Secretary Carlos Ramirez Marin, about 13 million houses, or 45 percent of the total housing stock in Mexico, lack titles and were built without permits, with many of the dwellings located in high-risk areas.

The lack of notaries in Mexico is one of the biggest obstacles to recording property titles, a problem that is especially acute among low-income households, Ramirez Marin said.

"Among those in the country’s wealthiest population, some 87% live in a house with the title in order, while among the poorest population, barely 50% have a title to their property," Ramirez Marin said in an address to the Mexican National Notaries Association.

President Enrique Peña Nieto overhauled the old Agrarian Reform Secretariat, creating the Agrarian, Territorial, and Urban Development Secretariat to deal with the problems of "territorial regulation, legal use of the land, urban development, and housing," the secretary said.

"Mexico must expand the activities of notaries to regulate land use and fight tax evasion," said Ramirez Marin. "Argentina has 21 notaries per 100,000 residents, Spain has seven notaries for every 100,000 people and Mexico barely has three per 100,000 residents."

The situation is particularly bad in states with high levels of inequality - while Campeche has 10 notaries per 100,000 people, Guerrero only has one.

Officials are working with public notaries to find ways to give citizens greater access to their services, Ramirez Marin said.

BN editor's note - Rather than relying solely on a notary public, we strongly recommended using a "Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals" (AMPI) certified realtor if you are a foreigner purchasing property in Mexico, to avoid complications or future property disputes. When making a real estate purchase in Puerto Vallarta we recommend: Tropicasa Realty,Timothy Real Estate Group, and BeachBay Properties.