Updated: 02/07/2022
If you qualify as a foreigner or are buying property with a foreigner, you will have to go through a special procedure to obtain a foreign person's authorisation to acquire property.
The Hungarian State protects Hungarian property, especially Hungarian farmland. The Land Traffic Act also states that a foreign person may not acquire ownership of Hungarian farmland. In addition, it is in the public interest that a foreign person who, for example, has a criminal record, should not be allowed to acquire real estate in Hungary. Foreigners can only acquire ownership in the case of real estate that is not considered to be agricultural land, but in their case a special authorisation procedure must be carried out, after which the competent metropolitan and county government office of the place where the real estate is located grants the foreign person a permit to acquire ownership. The government office may also refuse to grant the permit if certain conditions are met.
Natural persons who are citizens of the European Union or of a country which is a member of the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) or a Swiss citizen, as well as legal persons who have their head office in the same territory (EU, EEA or Switzerland) are treated in the same way as Hungarian citizens. Thus, these natural and legal persons may acquire real estate in Hungary without having to apply for a permit to the competent metropolitan and county government office of the location of the real estate they wish to acquire, only that the appropriate legal reference to the exemption is included in the contract. It is important to note that the United Kingdom will no longer be a member of the European Union from 1 January 2021, so that the licensing procedure will be compulsory for its citizens and legal entities acquiring real estate.
If a foreign person wishes to acquire real estate that is not prohibited by the Land Traffic Act (apartments, residential houses and other non-agricultural and non-forestry land), he or she must apply for a permit to acquire the real estate from the competent metropolitan and county government office of the place where the real estate is located. If you do not do so and do not attach your permit to your application for registration of ownership, the land registry will reject your application for registration of ownership.
The fee for the licensing procedure is HUF 50.000,- which must be paid to the Government Office. The Government Office has 45 days to complete the procedure, which means that it must decide whether to grant or refuse the application within 45 days at the latest.
When examining the application, the Metropolitan and County Government Office will check that the acquisition of the property does not infringe:
- public interests (e.g. the applicant is subject to expulsion or a ban on entry and residence abroad, has an arrest warrant, has a criminal record, or the acquisition of real estate is contrary to the public interest for reasons of public security, public order or public health)
- municipal interests (based on a declaration by the mayor of the municipality where the property is located)
If the foreigner who intends to buy the property does not agree with the rejection of his/her application for a permit, he/she cannot appeal, but can bring an administrative appeal against the decision within 30 days of the date of notification of the decision.
In case of a positive decision by the Government Office, the permit must be attached to the foreign person's application for registration of ownership together with the case file, on the basis of which the Land Registry will finally register the ownership as indicated in the sale contract and the application for registration of ownership. In addition to the lawyer's fee, the additional cost of registration is HUF 6,600 per property.
If your property purchase also requires the acquisition of property by a foreign person, or if you need bilingual documentation, please contact me at any of the following contact details for further information or to request a quote - in English and Hungarian. We can provide legal representation in any language for foreigners buying real estate.
📞+36304572289
📧drszalai@drszalailegal.hu
After sending your data we contact you by phone or e-mail and give you a preliminary legal opinion and information on the common processes of similar cases and the foreseeable costs. First contact and consulation is not charged.