Legal Q&A · Property Transfer

May a real estate agency draft property purchase agreements itself?

Law as at 21 July 2026

Answered by , Czech and Slovak attorney, admitted to the Slovak and Czech Bars (SAK 300422 · ČAK 19654).

Short answer

Regularly drafting documents recording legal acts for remuneration constitutes legal services reserved to attorneys. A real estate agency regularly drafting purchase agreements in this way would provide legal services without authorisation. Moreover, only an attorney may authorise a property transfer agreement, meaning draft it and confirm its compliance with the law.

Under the Advocacy Act (No. 586/2003 Z. z.), legal practice includes drafting documents recording legal acts, giving legal advice and preparing legal analyses where performed regularly and for remuneration (Section 1(2)). In Slovakia, attorneys and other persons specified by law provide these services (Section 1(3)). A real estate agency that regularly drafts property purchase agreements for payment would therefore provide legal services without authorisation.

This does not prevent an agent helping a client with supporting documents or communication. The boundary is regular paid contract drafting and legal advice, which belong to an attorney.

Who may authorise an agreement?

The rules are particularly strict for authorisation of a property transfer agreement. Authorisation involves drafting the agreement, establishing the parties’ identities and assessing whether the agreement conflicts with or circumvents the law or breaches good morals. The attorney confirms this with an authorisation clause (Section 1a). An authorised agreement has a practical advantage: the land registry decides within a shorter period and the work is covered by the attorney’s insurance. Only an attorney, not a real estate agency, may authorise it.

How to arrange this in practice

A sensible division of responsibilities is straightforward: the agency brokers the transaction and coordinates cooperation; an attorney prepares and authorises the agreement and handles the registration application. An attorney is then responsible for the legal correctness of the agreement, and the agency avoids the risk of unauthorised legal services. We prepare and authorise agreements and handle registration through preparation of agreements and registration applications and comprehensively through legal services for real estate agencies. We also offer attorney authorisation of an agreement separately.

This answer provides general information on the law as at 21 July 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.

More legal questions

All questions and answers
  1. The land registry found an error in the agreement. Can it be corrected after the registration application was filed? Yes, but only through an addendum to the agreement. After filing, the Cadastral Act permits no other method for correcting writing or calculation errors and other obvious inaccuracies; a notarial deed follows special legislation. Proceedings are suspended and a correction deadline is set. If defects are not remedied in time, proceedings are discontinued and the document loses its registration priority.
  2. There is a garage and cellar by the house that are not on the title sheet. Can we sell them with the house? The absence of an entry does not in itself prevent a sale. It is first necessary to determine whether the structure is a separate building, an appurtenance or part of the house, and whether it is subject to registration. The agreement must identify its subject matter with certainty and the seller must prove ownership; Section 30(4)(a) of the Cadastral Act expressly contemplates a document proving an unregistered right. Prior registration may be a prudent course, but it is neither the only lawful option nor a reason to remove the structure from the agreement automatically.
  3. The building manager refuses to issue a no-arrears certificate. Will this stop our flat sale? A certificate from the building manager or the chair of the owners’ association confirming that the owner has no arrears in service charges or contributions to the operation, maintenance and repair fund is a statutory annex to a flat transfer agreement. Without it, the agreement lacks a legally required annex and registration proceedings are usually suspended. An exception applies to the first transfer of ownership of a flat or non-residential premises in the building, such as a developer sale.
  4. A co-owner sold their share to a stranger without offering it to me. What can I do? Breach of a pre-emption right does not itself invalidate the transfer. It is a ground of relative invalidity: the transfer is regarded as valid until the affected person invokes invalidity. Invoking it is a substantive legal act that must be addressed to the parties concerned, not just the land registry. Without that step, the transfer stands even though no offer was made.

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Mgr. Patrik Tulinský, LL.M. Czech and Slovak attorney · SAK 300422 · ČAK 19654

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