Yes, when transferring to a third party. The Land Communities Act requires the owner of a share to offer it to the other owners of shares in the common property; the offer may be made through the committee. Only if they express no interest may the share be transferred to a third party. The general right of pre-emption does not apply to transfers between co-owners. Transferring a share in only some of the plots forming common property is prohibited altogether.
A share in an urbarial land community is not transferred in the same way as an ordinary co-ownership share. It is governed by Act No. 97/2013 Coll. on Land Communities, which has its own rules that overlap only partly with the Civil Code. Most registration applications rejected in this area fail on two points: not offering the share to the other shareholders and trying to transfer less than the law permits.
Offering the share to the other shareholders
The law distinguishes according to whom you are selling the share:
If the owner of a share in common property transfers the co-ownership share to a third party, the owner must offer it to the other owners of shares in the common property; the share may be offered through the committee. If the other owners of shares, or the community acting on their behalf under subsection 10, express no interest in the share, it may be transferred to a third party.
— Section 9(8) of Act No. 97/2013 Coll. (unofficial translation)
The rules are more flexible between co-owners: the general provision on the right of pre-emption does not apply to a transfer of a share in common property between co-owners, unless it is a transfer under Section 11(2) (Section 9(7)). Selling to a fellow member of the land community and selling to an outside investor are therefore different transactions requiring different procedures.
In practice, the dispute is usually not about whether an offer should have been made, but whether it can be proved. An offer made orally at the assembly or confirmed only by a statement from the chair tends to be weak evidence.
What cannot be transferred
This provision stops the most transactions and often surprises both parties:
The transfer or passing of ownership of a share in common property in respect of only some of the plots forming that common property is prohibited.
— Section 9(9) of Act No. 97/2013 Coll. (unofficial translation)
Under Section 8(1), common property is a single immovable thing that may consist of several plots. You therefore cannot sell “a share in the better plot” and keep the rest. If someone offers to buy only some of the plots, an agreement in that form will not pass registration. The law also states that a building is not common property.
When the community itself buys the share
If the committee concludes the share transfer agreement on behalf of the co-owners, all owners of the common property acquire the share in proportion to their existing shares, and the community pays the price (Section 9(10)). The buyer is therefore not the community as an entity, but the shareholders, each proportionately. This must be reflected in both the drafting and registration.
A transfer to the community itself is also restricted: it is prohibited if the community’s share in the common property or jointly managed property would exceed 49% (Section 9(11)).
What passes with the share
Membership of the community arises and ends with the transfer or passing of ownership of the share (Section 9(2)). The acquirer assumes the rights and obligations of a member to the extent of the share acquired and joins the community agreement on that date (Section 9(3)). The buyer therefore acquires not just land but membership, with everything the community agreement contains. Before buying, it is worth reading that agreement as carefully as the title record.
Where transactions most often fail
- The offer to the other shareholders cannot be proved, or no offer was made at all.
- The agreement transfers a share in only some of the plots forming the common property.
- The share is expressed as a fraction that does not match the title record, or the common property is recorded on several title records and the participation ratio is unclear (Section 9(5)).
- Some shares are administered by the Slovak Land Fund, changing the parties with whom negotiations must take place.
How we can help
When you sell a share, we prepare an offer that can be proved and an agreement that avoids a prohibited scope of transfer; see buying and selling land. If you are buying a share, we recommend property legal due diligence, including the community agreement, because membership passes with the share. If the other party has presented an agreement, we can review it through our purchase agreement review service.
If registration has already been suspended or refused, contact us promptly. The time allowed to supplement an application is often short, and defects in land community transactions are harder to remedy because more people are involved.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 16 August 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.
