Real Property Law

Our English-speaking lawyers provide legal assistance if you plan to purchase an apartment, a house, a residential building, a building plot, a retail outlet, or an industrial property and need a lawyer to draft the related contracts or if you require legal advice during the sale of your property.
The solicitors of our law office can also help if you need assistance in renting or leasing a property, if you need to draft or amend the deed of foundation or the bylaws of a condominium, or if you encounter a legal problem relating to the deed of foundation, the bylaws, the individual condominium units (apartments or garages) or the shared part of the property. We are also there for you if you need assistance in issues related to the amendment of the status of a property, i.e. the merger, division or creation of plots, the registration of a new building in the land register or the assignment of a new plot number to an existing building.

When do you need a legal counsel?

Pursuant to Hungarian law the registration of real property ownership rights or other rights related to real properties into the land register are subject to a contract drafted and countersigned by a lawyer (or a notary public).
When legal issues related to condominiums are involved (e.g. the amendment of the deed of foundation or the bylaws) it is important to note that a solicitor may draft the amendment of the condominium documents subject to resolutions of the general meeting of the condominium, i.e. the lawyer must either be present at the general meeting or shall identify, at a later time, the owners who passed the resolution and signed the documents before such amendments are signed. Such identification takes the form of inspecting and photocopying personal identification documents, in most cases of the personal identity card and the so-called address card (“lakcímkártya”).

When are you advised to employ a lawyer?

When selling or purchasing real property it often happens that the acting lawyer is selected by the other party. A real property is a high-value asset, we therefore strongly advise you to hire your own legal counsel to ensure the comprehensive representation of your interests.
When letting a real property it is not compulsory to hire a solicitor. If, however, you do hire one, he or she shall be obliged to identify both the tenant and the landlord and to inspect the Title Deed from the Land Registry (“tulajdoni lap”) to ensure that the property is let by a party actually authorised to do so.

Acquisition of property by foreign citizens

Buying a real property by foreign citizens in Hungary is subject to a permit. No permit is required for citizens of the EU and of countries that have signed an international treaty with Hungary on the unrestricted acquisition of real property. Unfortunately this does not apply to the ownership of agricultural land  which, at present, cannot be acquired by foreign citizens.