The Ministry of National Assets issued Ministerial Order No. 2/2026, which reorders the administration and allocation of State-owned real estate, updates the regularization of small property titles and repeals fourteen earlier orders. What changes and what it means for possessors and companies?

On June 30, 2026, the Official Gazette (Diario Oficial) published Ministerial Order No. 2/2026 (Orden Ministerial N° 2/2026) of the Ministry of National Assets (Bienes Nacionales), issued on June 17 and signed by Minister Catalina Parot Donoso. The text reworks the fundamental criteria that guide the administration and allocation of State-owned real estate, the regularization of possession and granting of title to small property, and repeals fourteen earlier ministerial orders, some in force since 1979.

This is not a minor change of form. The stated aim is to limit discretion in decisions on State-owned property and to consolidate in a single body the criteria that the Regional Ministerial Secretariats (SEREMI) and other units of the Ministry must follow.

An updated policy framework

The order sets out the guidelines that must govern all management of State-owned property, among them the safeguarding of ownership and the territorial integrity of the State, the contribution to local, regional and national development, and unlocking the productive, tourism or renewable-energy potential of properties. As cross-cutting rules, it prioritizes public tender as the procedure for sale and paid concession, requires that property disposals be reported under international public sector accounting standards (NICSP), and directs that both the underuse of properties with usable potential and the spread of irregular settlements be avoided. It also incorporates the use of a geo-referenced cadastre, electronic case files and remote oversight.

Disposal and administration of State-owned assets

The document systematizes the various avenues for managing State assets:

  • Sale of property, as a general rule through public tender and, exceptionally, through direct sale.
  • Gratuitous transfers to legal entities, non-profit organizations, indigenous communities and individuals.
  • Use concessions (for consideration and free of charge), allocations (destinaciones), dedications and de-dedications to public use (afectaciones y desafectaciones), leases and easements.
  • Occupation permits, generally for a fee, with mandatory recording in the Lease Collection System (Sistema de Cobranza de Arriendos, SICAR) to ensure traceability and financial control.

Regularization of small property titles

For the firm’s work, the central point is the treatment of regularization. The order reaffirms Decree Law 2,695 (D.L. 2.695) as the path to regularize possession of small property and establish ownership in favor of the material possessor who lacks title or holds a defective one, and it further specifies the properties to which the procedure does not apply:

  • Land included in housing developments declared to be in an irregular situation under Law No. 16,741 (Ley N° 16.741).
  • Indigenous lands governed by Law No. 19,253 (Ley N° 19.253), except for the statutory exceptions.
  • Agricultural communities governed by Decree with Force of Law No. 5 of 1967 (DFL N° 5 de 1967).
  • State-owned properties registered in the name of the Treasury (Fisco) and other State institutions, and estates devolving in their favor.
  • Cases under Law No. 20,234 (Ley N° 20.234) on irregular settlements.

The order also develops Law No. 19,776 (Ley N° 19.776), the “Ley del Sur” (Southern Law), which establishes an expedited procedure to grant ownership titles to descendants or persons whose occupation derives from a pre-existing State title granted by the Ministry. Its three aims are to regularize ownership under decrees that were not registered in time (extending to descendants and third-party acquirers), to require real and effective occupation of at least five years prior to the law’s entry into force, and to respect an area limit tied to the decree originally granted.

Other relevant matters

The order also addresses the oversight of State-owned property, distinguishing between managed property, unmanaged property, disposed-of property and national assets for public use; it creates the instrument of Protected National Assets (Bienes Nacionales Protegidos, BNP) to safeguard natural, cultural and historical heritage; it regulates the Heritage Routes (Rutas Patrimoniales); and it modernizes the processing of vacant estates (herencias vacantes), now channeled through the Virtual Records Office (Oficina de Partes Virtual) using the Clave Única digital ID.

Implications for possessors and companies

By bringing together and updating in a single body criteria that were scattered across rules from different eras, the order provides greater predictability to those who handle procedures before the Ministry: applicants for title perfection, concession holders, lessees of State property and sponsors of projects that require State land. It is advisable to review the status of titles, identify the applicable regularization or allocation route, and anticipate the procedural and substantive requirements that each procedure demands.

The full text is Ministerial Order No. 2/2026, published in issue No. 44,487 of the Official Gazette of June 30, 2026 (CVE 2828332), available for download at the foot of this article. In our Land Title Regularization practice we support possessors in perfecting title to small property and assist individuals and companies in their procedures before the Ministry of National Assets. If you would like to have your case assessed, contact us.

This article is general and informational in nature and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case. The legislation cited should be verified in its current version before making any decisions.