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.
The municipality needs part of your land for a pavement or a local road, while you would like to bring the strip of municipal land behind your fence into your garden. Instead of two sales, an exchange suggests itself. For a private person this is an ordinary exchange agreement under Section 611 of the Civil Code, but a municipality cannot deal with its property freely and must comply with the Act on Municipal Property. It is worth preparing for those rules before you settle the details.
Why an exchange goes through “special regard”
Transfers of municipal property are carried out by public commercial tender, by auction or by direct sale (Section 9a(1) of Act No. 138/1991 Coll.). On an exchange, the municipality receives for its land a particular plot from a particular person, so a tender, while possible, is hard to use. In its judgment in case no. 4Cdo/162/2018, the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic described the special-regard route for exchanges as more practical and legitimate, and concluded that with an exchange agreement a reason worthy of special regard is in principle always present. It was assessing the wording in force until the end of 2010; today the exemption is that in Section 9a(15)(f), and its conditions have since become stricter:
- the transfer is decided by the municipal council by a three-fifths majority of all councillors, not merely of those present,
- the municipality publishes the intention and the general value of the land on its official notice board, on its website if it has one, and in another suitable manner at least 15 days before the approval,
- the special regard must be reasoned in accordance with the municipality’s principles of asset management,
- the value is determined by an expert valuation which, on the day of approval, must not be more than nine months old; for a very low value the Act does not require one (Section 9a(15)).
On such a transfer the municipality may also agree a price lower than the general value (Section 9a(16)), which will be reflected in the balancing payment. If you have built a structure on the municipal land, the exemption for land built on by the acquirer may also come into play (Section 9a(15)(b)).
The resolution and the contract must match
The council approves a particular transfer: the plots, their areas, the other party and the balancing payment. The contract subsequently signed by the mayor must correspond precisely to the resolution. If the terms agreed in negotiations change, a fresh resolution may be required, as the Supreme Court also accepted in the judgment cited above. If only parts of plots are being exchanged, have the survey plan drawn up before the intention is published, so that the resolution and the contract work with the same parcel numbers.
Publication of the contract and registration
A contract by which a municipality deals with its property must be published (Section 5a(1) of Act No. 211/2000 Coll.) and takes effect on the day following publication (Section 47a(1) of the Civil Code). Missing the deadline has a harsh consequence:
Where a contract has not been published within three months of its conclusion or of the granting of consent, where consent of the competent authority is required for its validity, the contract is deemed not to have been concluded.
— Section 47a(4) of Act No. 40/1964 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
File the application for registration only together with confirmation of publication. One advantage is that where a municipality is a party to the contract, the signatures on it need not be officially certified (Section 42(3) of the Land Register Act).
How to proceed
First agree with the municipality which plots are to be exchanged and on what terms, and ask for the timetable for publication and for the council meeting. Draft the contract so that it corresponds to the resolution, and agree who will obtain the expert valuation and the survey plan. The general rules on exchanges, including tax and pre-emption rights, are examined in the question on an exchange agreement for immovable property. We prepare the contract with the municipality and file the registration application within our exchange agreement service; where the municipality is merely selling or buying land, we act within our purchase and sale of land service.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 12 September 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.
