Property Transfer — questions and answers.

1. Can I withdraw from the purchase agreement before the Land Registry has decided on registration? Yes, if the law or the contract gives you the right to withdraw. If you withdraw before the registration decision, the Land Registry will discontinue the proceedings. If the other party challenges the withdrawal, the Land Registry does not decide whether it is valid. According to the Supreme Court, it should invite that party to bring a court action. Once the action is brought, it will suspend the proceedings pending the court’s decision. If no action is brought, it may treat the withdrawal as accepted and discontinue the proceedings.
2. I signed a purchase agreement under duress or by mistake. Will the Land Registry stop registration if I notify it? It depends on the form of the agreement. If it was authorised by a lawyer or drawn up as a notarial deed, the Land Registry does not examine its validity. Notification alone will not stop registration, and the objection must be raised before a court. For other agreements, the Land Registry must address the objection, but you must prove duress or mistake with evidence. If you establish that the agreement is invalid, it will refuse the registration application; otherwise, the objection does not prevent registration from being approved.
3. Can we withdraw an application for registration in the cadastre, and what happens to the purchase agreement afterwards? Yes, if all the other parties to the proceedings agree. The cadastral office will then discontinue the proceedings, remove the pending-change marker and the agreement will lose the priority it acquired when it was received by the office. Withdrawing the application does not, however, terminate the agreement. That requires a written termination agreement or a valid withdrawal from the contract. If any party objects to withdrawal of the application, the cadastral office continues the proceedings.
4. Can a lawyer sign an addendum to the purchase agreement on my behalf under a power of attorney while registration is pending? Yes, if the power of attorney authorises them to do so. The Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Authority takes the view that the Land Registry should accept an addendum signed by a lawyer within the scope of the power of attorney even if it changes an essential term of the agreement. You should therefore define the scope of the power of attorney precisely and make changes to the price, the subject matter of the transfer or the parties subject to your own written consent.
5. We are applying for registration of title electronically, but our agreement was signed on paper. What must we do with it? The paper agreement must be converted into electronic form by guaranteed conversion, which in Slovakia may be performed, for example, by an attorney, a notary or a postal operator providing the universal service. A scan is insufficient, and the same applies to the application for registration of title if you signed it on paper. According to ÚGKK’s interpretation, the Slovak land registry is not required to accept a conversion performed under Czech or other foreign law.
6. A court imposed a security interest over the property I am buying only after the registration application was filed. Will it bind me? No, provided your registration application reached the Land Registry before the court order and registration is approved. A court-imposed security interest arises only upon registration in the Land Registry, which registers rights in the order in which it received the documents. Once registration is approved, you are the owner and, according to ÚGKK, the order against the seller will not be registered. If the order arrived first, the security interest will generally be registered and you will acquire the property subject to it.
7. How do I remove a court-created lien from the property’s ownership record? It depends on why the lien was extinguished. If the court cancelled the security measure, the lien is removed on the basis of its cancellation decision. If you have paid the debt, according to ÚGKK, the creditor should apply for removal, or you may apply with the creditor’s written confirmation of payment. If the first-ranking secured creditor has enforced its lien, according to ÚGKK, the Cadastre will also remove the judicial lien without a further court decision.
8. An apartment is being auctioned because of arrears owed to the building’s owners. Will the bank’s mortgage be extinguished? According to ÚGKK’s interpretation, priority is determined by the order of registration on the property title sheet. A mortgage registered before the apartment owners’ statutory lien therefore survives the auction, and the successful bidder acquires the apartment subject to it. In one dispute, the Košice Regional Court ruled differently and granted the apartment owners priority because ownership of the apartment had first been acquired before the mortgage was registered. When satisfying a bank’s claim that is due, a distinction must be drawn between a voluntary auction and an enforcement auction; the cited ÚGKK interpretation concerning deletion of a senior lien related to an enforcement auction.
9. The ownership record prohibits dealings without the tax authority’s consent. Can a bank sell the property as a secured creditor? Yes, if the bank is the first-ranking secured creditor and notifies the tax authority in advance of enforcement of its lien. The authority’s consent is then unnecessary. However, the bank may sell by direct sale, without an auction, only if the lien does not secure a consumer loan. If the bank sells in the owner’s name, according to ÚGKK, the Cadastre checks whether the tax authority received the notification before the sale agreement was concluded. If the bank does not rank first, or the owner sells the property themselves, the tax authority’s prior consent is required.
10. The previous owner built a garage in the courtyard, but it does not appear on the title sheet. Did we buy it together with the house? If the garage is a separate building and was not covered by the registration of the transfer, ÚGKK’s interpretation is that you did not acquire it when buying the house, because ownership of immovable property under a contract arises only upon registration. It can first be registered in the name of the person who had it built, namely the seller, who can then transfer it to you under a new contract. For a building dating from 1976 to 1989 without an occupancy approval document, ÚGKK considers it an obstacle if the seller transferred the land before 1 April 2024 and held no other right to it. In that situation, the solution must be assessed individually and may sometimes require court proceedings.
11. We built our house during our marriage, but only my husband is listed on the title deed. How can I have my name registered too? If the house came into existence during the marriage and no exception or restriction of the scope of BSM applies, it forms part of the spouses’ community property regardless of who is listed on the title deed. According to ÚGKK’s interpretation, the land registry will amend the registration by a record entry based on an application, the marriage certificate and a solemn declaration by both spouses. ÚGKK does not consider a gift agreement between the spouses an appropriate route. If your husband will not sign the declaration, the court will decide, on a claim being brought, whether the house forms part of BSM.
12. When gifting a house, can we also register an obligation to care for a parent as an encumbrance? According to ÚGKK’s interpretation, yes. The law allows an encumbrance to require the owner to take positive action, and ÚGKK considers this to include providing personal care to a specifically identified person. Once registered, the obligation is borne by every subsequent owner of the house, not just the child receiving the gift. The scope of care must be described in the contract with sufficient precision for the Land Registry to register it and to make clear what care the owner must provide.
13. How can I reserve a right of pre-emption when selling or exchanging land so that it also binds subsequent owners? Expressly agree in the contract that it is a right in rem and have it registered in the Cadastre. Only then will it also bind subsequent acquirers of the land. Otherwise, it binds only your buyer. According to ÚGKK, it can be agreed in an exchange agreement as well as a sale agreement. If it is also to apply to gifts or subsequent exchanges, the contract must expressly provide for this.
14. I am buying a house in Czechia, but someone else owns the land beneath it. What should I watch out for? First establish why the house is not part of the land, as this has been an exception in Czechia since 2014. For buildings that already belonged to someone other than the landowner on 1. 1. 2014, the landowner has a statutory right of pre-emption over the house. If the seller does not offer the house to them, they may later require you to transfer it to them on the same terms on which you bought it. Also check the legal basis on which the house stands on the land and, if possible, buy the house together with the land.
15. I am selling an apartment in Czechia that I bought in 2021 or later. When can I sell it without paying income tax? For an apartment acquired on or after 1. 1. 2021, income from its sale is exempt if more than 10 years elapse between acquisition and sale. You can sell it tax-free earlier if you resided there for at least 2 years immediately before the sale, or if you use the proceeds to meet your own housing needs within the prescribed time. Specific exclusions apply to business assets and future sales. Following removal from business assets, the restriction lasts 2 years for the residence-based exemption and 10 years for the ten-year holding-period exemption.
16. I am buying a flat with a tenant living in it. Must I honour their tenancy agreement, or can I evict them after the purchase? Yes, you must honour the agreement. On registration of your ownership in the Land Register, you assume the position of landlord, and the purchase alone is not grounds for termination. An ordinary residential tenancy ends by written agreement, expiry of the agreed term or notice on statutory grounds. For an ordinary tenancy under the Civil Code, notice may also be given if you need the flat for yourself or close family members, but the tenant is entitled to a replacement flat, and eviction may take place only once it has been secured.
17. I am selling an apartment financed by a ŠFRB loan. What should I do, and what happens to the fund’s security interest? You can repay a loan from the State Housing Development Fund before selling. On written request, the fund must allow early repayment of the outstanding loan balance and may not charge a fee for doing so. The fund’s security interest does not cease to exist on sale. The outstanding loan balance is therefore paid from the purchase price, for example through escrow, the security interest is deleted from the Land Registry after repayment, and you will generally receive the remainder of the price only then.
18. When do I become the owner of a property: on signing the agreement or on land registration? You become the owner only when ownership is registered in the land registry, not when the agreement is signed. Signing creates contractual obligations only; the seller remains the owner until the registry’s decision. That is why the price should be paid through escrow, releasing funds only after registration, rather than paid to the seller before registration is permitted.
19. What must an estate agency agreement contain? Under an estate agency agreement, the agency undertakes activities aimed at concluding a property agreement, and the client undertakes to pay commission. The agreement should clearly define its scope, commission amount and payment date, duration, any exclusivity, and the agent’s duties. Where the client is a consumer, additional protection applies, including a ban on unfair terms.
20. What is the difference between constitutive registration, a declaratory record and a note in the cadastre? These are three types of cadastral entry with very different effects. Constitutive registration creates, changes or terminates a property right, based on an agreement and only on application. A declaratory record merely records an existing right, based on a public document such as an inheritance certificate or judgment. A note records a fact concerning the property, rather than a right, such as enforcement or a court dispute.
21. What does a pending-change marker on a title sheet mean? A pending-change marker (plomba) warns that rights to the property are affected by a change and cadastral proceedings are underway. The office marks it no later than the working day after receiving the document and removes it only when the entry is made or a decision becomes final. While it remains, the resulting legal position is uncertain, making dealings with the property unwise.
22. What can a title sheet tell me? A title sheet has three parts: A lists the properties and their details; B lists owners, shares and acquisition titles together with notes; C records encumbrances — easements, security interests and pre-emption rights. The data is reliable and binding, but only until proved otherwise. A title sheet does not reveal the amount of debt secured by a security interest or which specific agreement transferred each parcel to the owner.
23. What do notes on a title sheet mean? A note records a fact relating to a property or person, rather than a right. The law distinguishes notes restricting the owner’s dealings with property (enforcement, interim injunctions or seizure) and information-only notes (expropriation proceedings, disputes over rights in rem or the start of security enforcement). Notes appear in Part B of the title sheet and are removed when the grounds for recording them cease to exist.
24. How long does land registration take, and can it be expedited? The standard period is 30 days from receipt of the application for registration. If the agreement is authorised by an attorney or drawn up as a notarial deed, the land registry decides within 20 days; expedited proceedings with a higher administrative fee take 15 days. In practice, people lose most time not because of these periods, but because proceedings are suspended over errors in the agreement or application.
25. When does a real estate agency become entitled to commission? It depends on the brokerage agreement. Under the Commercial Code, commission generally becomes due as an entitlement when the brokered agreement is concluded. If commission is tied only to securing an opportunity to enter into an agreement, entitlement arises once that opportunity is secured. For a consumer client, remuneration is payable only if the result was achieved through the broker’s efforts.
26. How can I find the owner of land and its parcel number? The quickest way is through the cadastral mapping application: click on a parcel to display its number, title sheet number and owner. Title sheet data is published free of charge, but is for information only; an extract issued by the land registry is an official public document. If no owner is registered, the parcel must be matched to the historical land book records and the original owners traced there.
27. How can I find out who previously owned a property? A standard title sheet extract shows only the current position. A copy of the original title sheet with a chronology of changes contains the registration history; the district office’s cadastral department issues it on request for an administrative fee. If you need to investigate further, the owner’s legal predecessors and successors also have access to the document collection — including a buyer after the transfer.
28. Must I approach the other co-owners before selling my share in a property? Yes. When a co-ownership share is transferred, the other co-owners have a statutory pre-emption right. You must first offer them the share on the same terms as the intended sale to a third party. Transfers to a close person are exempt: a direct-line relative, sibling, spouse or another person meeting the statutory definition. An overlooked co-owner can challenge a transfer that bypasses this right.
29. How does a reservation agreement work, and what happens to the reservation fee? A reservation agreement is an unnamed contract: the law does not regulate it specifically, but it is valid if it does not conflict with the law’s content or purpose. Its wording is decisive, particularly the parties’ commitments and what happens to the reservation fee if no purchase agreement is concluded. An agreement with a consumer must not contain unfair terms.
30. Does a real estate agency have anti-money laundering (AML) obligations? Yes. A real estate agency is an obliged entity under the Act on Protection against the Legalisation of Proceeds of Crime. It must identify and verify clients, perform risk-based due diligence, have an internal AML programme and report unusual business transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit. Failure to comply can lead to substantial penalties.
31. Defects appeared after I bought the property. What can I claim from the seller? If a defect later emerges that the seller did not disclose, you are entitled to a reasonable reduction in the purchase price. If it makes the property unusable, or the seller gave false assurances about its qualities, you may withdraw from the agreement. Speed is crucial: notify the seller without undue delay, and no later than 24 months after taking possession, or your rights expire.
32. Is VAT payable when selling property? It depends on whether the seller is VAT-registered and when the building received occupancy approval. Supply of a building, including the land beneath it, is exempt if it takes place five years after occupancy approval permitting first use or the start of first use. A VAT payer may opt to tax the transaction, but the law prohibits that for a residential building, an apartment and an apartmán unit in a residential apartment building.
33. When is income from selling property exempt from income tax? Generally after five years from acquisition of the property, or from its removal from business assets. For property inherited in the direct line or by a spouse, the period starts when the deceased acquired it. Beware of the exception: if you entered into an agreement for a future sale within that period, the exemption does not apply even if the purchase agreement is signed later.
34. How much of a purchase price can be paid in cash? From 1 January 2026, cash payments exceeding EUR 5,000 are prohibited. The higher EUR 15,000 threshold applies only where both parties are individuals acting outside business. If even one party is a business, the lower limit applies. Splitting one payment into smaller amounts circumvents the prohibition.
35. We gifted property to our children. Can we ask for it back? Only exceptionally. A donor may seek return of the gift if the recipient behaves towards the donor or their family in a way that grossly breaches good morals. Ordinary disagreements or a cooling relationship are insufficient: serious or persistent misconduct is required. It is therefore better to protect the donor when making the gift, typically through an easement granting lifetime use.
36. May a real estate agency draft property purchase agreements itself? 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.
37. What deposit can I request when letting an apartment, and when must I return it? For a short-term apartment tenancy under Act No. 98/2014 Z. z., the security deposit may not exceed three times the monthly rent and charges for services associated with using the apartment. The landlord must return the unused balance within one month of the apartment being vacated and tenancy claims being settled, unless otherwise agreed. The short-term tenancy regime requires, among other things, the landlord’s registration with the tax office.
38. Can a client withdraw from a brokerage agreement within 14 days? Where a real estate agency concludes a brokerage agreement with a consumer remotely or away from its business premises, the consumer generally has 14 days to withdraw without giving a reason. The period is 30 days following an unsolicited visit by the trader or at a sales event. To start providing the service during that period, the agent needs the consumer’s express consent and acknowledgement that full performance of the service ends the withdrawal right.
39. The creditor no longer exists, but its security remains on our title sheet. How do we remove it? Termination of a security right and its removal from the cadastre are different things. Repayment ended the right, but the entry remains until someone applies for removal. The security provider may also apply, but must attach confirmation of discharge or another document proving termination issued by the secured creditor. If the creditor no longer exists, it is necessary to investigate any legal successor, usable documents and a possible court route. Supplementary liquidation requires genuine unliquidated assets; the need to confirm a debt that has already been repaid is not sufficient by itself.
40. Our company’s property is subject to enforcement. Can we sell it at all? Usually not directly. When deciding on registration, the district office checks whether the right to deal with the property is restricted. If it is, registration proceedings are suspended. Possible routes include paying the debt and ending enforcement, agreeing a solution with the enforcing creditor, or a sale through enforcement of security by the first-ranking secured creditor. Each has different consequences for the buyer and the encumbrances that remain.
41. 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.
42. 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.
43. 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.
44. 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.
45. I owned an apartment before our wedding. Can it subsequently become part of marital community property? Not merely through an agreement extending marital community property. An agreement under Section 143a governs the regime for future acquisitions; it does not alter existing ownership of an apartment acquired before marriage. Nor will a notarial deed by itself make such an apartment part of marital community property. If one spouse gifts a share to the other, co-ownership in defined shares arises. The appropriate approach depends on whether the objective is joint ownership, protection of investments or inheritance planning.
46. What am I buying with an apartment? Does it include the cellar, balcony and parking space? Along with an apartment, you acquire a share in the building’s common parts and facilities, appurtenances and land. Balconies and loggias are excluded from floor area; a terrace is included if it is not a common part of the building. A garage parking space is not a separate non-residential unit. Under Section 20a, the exclusive right to use it is linked to a share in the garage and cannot be transferred separately; leasing a parking space is a different contractual basis.
47. I am buying a flat. Do I also get a share in the land beneath the building and the surrounding garden? Not automatically, and not in the same way. A share in the land beneath the building is calculated like a share in its common parts: the flat’s floor area divided by the total floor areas in the building. For adjoining land, the law allows the buyer and building owner to agree the share. The agreement must address rights to both plots, and ownership is acquired only through registration in the cadastre.
48. The other owners outvoted me at the meeting. Can I challenge the decision? Yes, but the deadline is short. An outvoted owner may apply to court within 30 days of announcement of the voting result, otherwise the right expires. If they could not learn of the result, the outer limit is three months from its announcement. They may also seek temporary suspension of the decision’s effect. First, however, check whether the majority required by law for that issue was actually achieved.
49. We are buying a cooperative apartment. How does this differ from owning an apartment outright? You are buying membership rights and duties in a housing cooperative, not the apartment itself. The cooperative remains the building’s owner, and you acquire membership carrying the right to use the apartment. The transfer is therefore not entered in the land registry; it takes place through a membership transfer agreement. Unlike an ordinary cooperative, a housing cooperative does not require its board’s consent to the transfer.
50. A security right in favour of the other owners is registered over the flat. Can it be removed? No. This security right arises directly by law in favour of the other owners of flats and non-residential premises in the building, securing claims related to the building and the flat. It is registered in the cadastre, and the law expressly prohibits removal while the secured asset exists. It is therefore neither a defect in the flat nor evidence of the seller’s debt, but a normal feature of almost every flat’s title sheet.
51. The land registry has an error: an incorrect area or owner. How can I have it corrected? Apply for correction under Section 59 of the Cadastral Act. The district office corrects data inconsistent with the underlying documents, as well as incorrectly depicted boundaries and areas. Error correction is a non-contentious procedure: the land registry never decides ownership through it. If ownership is disputed, an action for a judicial declaration of ownership is required.
52. I am buying property in Czechia. How does land registration work, and how does it differ from Slovakia? The Czech cadastral office may permit registration only after a 20-day protection period from sending notice to the owner. The application must use a prescribed form, and the office actively notifies the owner of the pending-change marker. Slovakia’s 30-, 20- and 15-day periods are, by contrast, maximum decision periods; there is no mandatory waiting period. When buying in Czechia, allow longer between signing and registration and keep the price in escrow until then.
53. We are selling a listed cultural monument. Must we offer it to the state first? Yes. Anyone intending to sell a cultural monument or part of one must first offer it to the state in writing through the Slovak Ministry of Culture, specifying all sale terms. If the state does not accept within 60 days of receipt, its pre-emption right expires and the property may be sold to a third party. This duty does not apply to buildings merely located in a heritage area or protection zone that are not themselves listed monuments.
54. We bought a property “as is”. Can we still claim for defects? Generally, yes. Under the law and case law, an “as is” clause applies to assets transferred as a whole without individual specification. A house or apartment is individually identified in the purchase agreement, so such a clause does not exclude the seller’s liability for hidden defects. Claims for concealed defects and false assurances about properties remain available. If the seller was acting as a business and you bought as a consumer, the clause does not stand at all. Speed matters: rights concerning hidden defects expire if you do not notify the defect within 24 months of handover.
55. Is buying property from a bankruptcy estate worthwhile? Will I take over the title sheet encumbrances? Encumbrances are often less problematic than they appear. Realising assets in bankruptcy extinguishes all security rights, subject to narrow exceptions, so the buyer generally does not take over old security interests on the title sheet. The real risks lie elsewhere: the administrator sells without warranties of physical condition and sale terms usually exclude defect liability; bids are commonly binding; and a co-owner’s pre-emption right may overtake a winning bid for a share. Due diligence should therefore precede the bid.
56. We want to gift our house to our children but live there for life. How can we do this safely? Agree the gift and lifetime residence easement in one contract and register them simultaneously, so the recipient acquires the house already subject to your right. Define the scope of use and how house and utility costs are shared. “We will gift it first and add the easement later” offers no protection: between the registrations you have no right, and creating the easement then depends on the new owner’s willingness.
57. The client bought the property after the estate agency agreement ended. Is commission still payable? Usually yes, if the estate agency introduced the buyer. The Commercial Code expressly states that concluding the brokered agreement after the agency agreement has ended does not prevent commission becoming due. For a consumer client, the Civil Code awards remuneration where the result was achieved through the intermediary’s efforts. Causation matters, rather than the calendar date, and the agency must prove it. No commission is payable where the client found the buyer independently without the agency’s involvement.
58. Do I need my spouse’s consent when selling or buying property? If the property forms part of marital community property, its sale is not an ordinary matter. Without the other spouse’s consent, the agreement is voidable; the overlooked spouse may invoke invalidity within a three-year limitation period. The clearest consent is to sign as a seller, or otherwise provide a separate written declaration with a certified signature. A property purchase falls into marital community property by law regardless of who signed. Property acquired before marriage, by gift or inheritance is sold by its sole owner.
59. A relative and I are exchanging plots. How does an exchange agreement work, and what about tax? An exchange agreement is a purchase agreement with payment in kind: each party is the seller of the plot they give and the buyer of the plot they receive. Ownership of both plots passes through cadastral registration under one agreement. A difference in value is settled by a balancing payment. For tax, both parties transfer property; income is the value of the plot received plus any balancing payment. The five-year ownership exemption is assessed separately for each party, and a new period begins for the received plot.
60. Our agreement was authorised by a lawyer. Who is liable if something goes wrong? The lawyer who drew up an authorised agreement is liable for its content. With such an agreement the district authority examines only whether it is consistent with the cadastral records and whether the procedural conditions are met, so the Act places the assessment of lawfulness and of the risk of damage on the lawyer. A lawyer is liable to the client for damage caused in the practice of law and must be insured against that risk. That liability does not, however, extend to everything that can go wrong on a transfer: if the other party fails to pay or to hand over the property, that is primarily a breach of contract by that party and is pursued against it.
61. The buyer is taking out a mortgage and the bank wants me, as the seller, to sign the security agreement. Why, and is it safe? A bank may make drawdown of the loan conditional on security over the property being bought, yet the buyer becomes the owner only upon registration in the cadastre. A security right may be created over an asset owned by the security provider, who need not be the debtor, so the bank may ask for the seller’s signature or for an agreement over property the buyer will acquire in the future. The risk for the seller is that their property secures someone else’s loan before they have been paid. Before signing, therefore, agree when and how the security right will end if the purchase does not go ahead.
62. I signed an agreement for a flat and the bank refused my mortgage. Do I still have to buy it? Refusal of a mortgage does not by itself cancel an agreement you have signed. You may withdraw from an agreement only where the law allows it or where you have agreed it, so what matters is whether the agreement contains a financing condition or a right to withdraw if the loan is refused. If it does not, you remain bound, and the seller may demand performance, an agreed contractual penalty or compensation for loss. The sooner you raise the situation with the seller and with other banks, the more options remain.
63. We are buying a flat on a mortgage as an unmarried couple. How should we set it up so that both of us are protected? Unmarried partners have no undivided co-ownership, so they acquire the flat into co-ownership in shares in the proportions stated in the purchase agreement. Towards the bank, both of them are usually co-debtors jointly and severally, regardless of the share each has in the flat. Set the shares according to what each of you is putting into the flat, and agree in writing on repayment and on what happens if you separate. A co-debtor who is not registered as an owner is repaying a loan on someone else’s flat and has only monetary claims against the other, not a share in the flat.
64. We would like to exchange plots of land with our municipality. How is such an exchange carried out and what should we watch for? A municipality may deal with its property only by the procedure laid down in the Act on Municipal Property. Neither a tender nor a direct sale fits an exchange in practice, so it is usually approved as a transfer on a reason worthy of special regard: the municipality publishes both the intention and the value of the land at least 15 days in advance, the council approves it by a three-fifths majority of all councillors, and the value is supported by an expert valuation save for small amounts. An exchange contract with a municipality must be published and takes effect only on the day after publication. Signatures on it need not be certified.
65. My brother and I each own half of a house and of a plot of land. Should we exchange our shares or dissolve the co-ownership? Both routes lead to the same result: each of you becomes the sole owner of one property. An exchange agreement suits the case where two co-owners exchange shares in two things and nobody else is involved. An agreement dissolving and settling co-ownership is more flexible: it can cover all the co-owners, the division of a thing, compensation and differing values, and if you cannot agree, the court will decide. Encumbrances survive either route, and you should have the tax consequences calculated before signing.
66. Can we move into the house we have bought before registration in the cadastre? Yes, if you agree it with the seller, but you become the owner only upon registration in the cadastre. Until then you are using someone else’s house on the basis of the agreement, so set out in it the handover date, the passing of the risk of damage, payment of utilities and insurance, and what happens if registration is not approved. Without such terms, the seller bears the risk of accidental destruction of the house until you become the owner on registration.
67. We are buying a house that can only be reached across a neighbour’s land. How do we secure access? Access must be secured by a right that passes to you as well, not by an oral understanding between the seller and the neighbour. The safest arrangement is a co-ownership share in the access road, or an easement of way and passage attached to ownership of the house and registered in the Land Register. If there is none, create it before the purchase or together with it, and make payment of the price conditional on it.
68. The seller wants to take the solar panels, the kitchen units and the shed. What belongs to the house we are buying? A component of the house, meaning anything that cannot be separated without impairing it, passes to the buyer automatically. Appurtenances are a separate thing, so list them expressly in the purchase agreement, and the same goes for kitchen units, appliances and furniture. A shed or garage recorded in the Land Register is a separate property and must be identified in the agreement as the Land Register records it, that is by its house number, if it has one, and by the plot on which it stands.
69. We want to withdraw from the purchase of a house because of a serious defect. How is the money returned and what happens in the cadastre? You may withdraw for a defect if the defect renders the house unusable, or if the seller’s assurance about its qualities has proved untrue. A valid withdrawal cancels the agreement from the outset, the seller returns the purchase price and you return the house. The cadastre records the seller as owner again by a declaratory record, provided the withdrawal is not disputed; if the seller challenges it, ownership will be decided by a court.
70. What information must an estate agency give a client before an agency agreement is signed? Where the client is a consumer, the estate agency must state clearly before signing what service it provides, who it is, how much the commission will be or how it is calculated, for how long the agreement is concluded and how it can be brought to an end. Where the agreement is signed at a viewing, at the client’s home or at a distance, further information is required, including instructions on withdrawal and a model form, and all the information given becomes part of the agreement. In every case, it is the agency that must prove the client received it.
71. Our agents work as self-employed contractors. Does the estate agency risk a penalty for illegal employment? Cooperation between an estate agency and agents who are self-employed is lawful if the agent works independently. What matters is how the relationship actually operates: if the agent works in a subordinate position, personally, on the agency’s instructions and in its name, the work is dependent work, and dependent work cannot be performed under a commercial contract. The agency then risks a fine for illegal employment from EUR 4,000, or at least EUR 8,000 where two or more people are concerned at the same time, up to EUR 200,000.
72. We hold a cooperative apartment as a married couple. Can one of us transfer it without the other? If the right to a tenancy of a cooperative apartment arose during the marriage, the spouses are joint members of the cooperative and both must sign the membership rights transfer agreement. If one spouse held membership before the wedding, that spouse is the sole member, but the apartment is in their joint tenancy and the transfer directly affects the other spouse. It is therefore safe to have both spouses’ signatures on the agreement, including when buying from a married couple.
73. We have bought a cooperative apartment. Can we require the cooperative to transfer it into our ownership? Yes. A tenant of a cooperative apartment who is a member of the cooperative is entitled to have the apartment transferred into ownership, and the cooperative must conclude an agreement with them within two years of the request; after that period they may apply to the court. The price you pay the cooperative is the outstanding investment loan attributable to the apartment, together with its accessories. You can make the request only once the transfer of membership has taken effect in relation to the cooperative.

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