Real estate · Slovakia
Property exchange agreement
Consolidating land with a neighbour, swapping flats within the family or exchanging shares? We prepare an exchange agreement under § 611 of the Civil Code, where each party is both seller and buyer, so both properties must be checked and addressed together. We oversee valuations and balancing payments, encumbrances on both sides and registration, so the exchange proceeds as one linked transaction rather than two separate transfers.
- Checks on both properties
- Balancing payments and encumbrances addressed
- Agreement and Land Register registration
What we'll do for you
Complete preparation of a property exchange, from checking both title deeds through registration of the changes in the Land Register.
Select an item to see the details.
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Initial consultation
We discuss both properties, agreed values and any balancing payment, explaining whether an exchange suits your circumstances and what it requires.
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Checks on both properties
We check title deeds, security interests, easements, enforcement entries and access on both sides — because the other property's risks become yours in an exchange.
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Bespoke exchange agreement
Precise identification of both properties, values and balancing payment, mutual liability for defects and links between the transfers so that one cannot proceed without the other.
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Balancing payment and encumbrances
We structure the balancing payment, including lawyer escrow where appropriate, and address security interests through bank cooperation, removal of the encumbrance or assumption by the new owner.
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Land Register registration
We prepare and submit the registration application. If the exchange agreement covers properties in several districts, we file a single application with any competent district office, which decides the entire application. We monitor the proceedings until both transfers are registered.
Deliverablea signed exchange agreement and both ownership transfers recorded in the Land Register
How it works
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- Consultation and checksday 0
We check both properties and highlight encumbrances or risks before you commit to the exchange.
- Agreement and signatures
We prepare the exchange agreement with the balancing payment and linked obligations. Both parties' signatures as transferors have to be officially certified; certification is not required if we authorise the agreement — we offer authorisation for exchange agreements and will go through both routes with you.
- Land Register registrationdepending on the Land Register
We file a single registration application with the competent district office and monitor the proceedings until both new owners are registered.
No-obligation enquiry
Ready to start?
Send us an enquiry. We usually reply within 24 hours with a price confirmation and next steps. The first 30-minute consultation is free and commits you to nothing.
- 1Send your enquiry via this form
- 2Usually within 24 h you get a price confirmation and plan
- 3We start work only after your approval
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What clients ask
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How does an exchange agreement work legally?
Under § 611 of the Civil Code, sale agreement provisions apply correspondingly to exchanges. Each party is treated as the seller of what they give and the buyer of what they receive. In practice, both have a seller's duties and liabilities, and the agreement must address both properties with equal care.
What if the properties have different values?
A balancing payment addresses the difference and is agreed directly in the exchange agreement. We link payment to the transfer, with arrangements ranging from payment at signing to lawyer escrow released after registration, depending on amount and trust between the parties.
One property has a mortgage. Can it be exchanged?
Yes, but the security interest must be addressed before registration or as part of the exchange. An encumbrance does not disappear merely because ownership changes, and the new owner would acquire it with the property. Depending on circumstances, we arrange bank cooperation, repayment and removal or assumption of the encumbrance, reflecting the conditions in the agreement.
We are exchanging only parts of plots. What is needed?
Where parts of parcels are exchanged, new parcels must first be created by a geometric survey plan prepared by a surveyor. It becomes part of the agreement and the basis for Land Register registration. We can arrange the plan and align the agreement precisely with it.
Would two sale agreements be simpler?
Usually not. With two separate sale agreements, one transfer may proceed while the other does not — for example, one registration is approved and the other suspended — leaving one party without either property or consideration. An exchange agreement links both transfers into one transaction; that link is precisely why careful preparation matters.
Legal Q&A
Common questions on this topic
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Further reading
Gift, sale at a nominal price or exchange: which agreement to choose when transferring property within the family
Parents want to transfer a flat to their child; siblings want to swap plots of land. The choice between a deed of gift, a sale agreement and an exchange agreement has consequences for tax, marital ownership and inheritance, and for whether the transfer can later be undone. We compare them using situations that recur in families.
Read more →
Exchanging flats by exchange agreement: linking two transfers, a mortgage and a balancing payment
A family is moving to a larger flat and the parents to a smaller one, and they want to exchange rather than arrange two sales. An exchange agreement makes this possible through one document and one registration, but each party is both seller and buyer. We explain what an agreement exchanging flats must deal with and where the risks arise.
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The lawyer in a transaction brokered by an estate agency: whom do they work for and what follows from that
The agent recommends a lawyer who prepares the contracts for both seller and buyer, and the agency pays them a retainer. Whose interests does the lawyer then protect, what may they tell the agent, and what happens if the parties fall out? We explain what the Act on Advocacy says and how to set the arrangement up so that everyone can trust it.
Read more →