How does buying property in Albania work, and what does it cost? (2026)

The order is the same for a foreign and an Albanian buyer. The notary does most of the legal checking, and the purchase is complete only when ASHK, the State Cadastre Agency, has registered the deed and issued a property card in your name.

Two costs are set by law: the notary fee, a percentage of the value, and the ASHK registration fee, a fixed amount. Everything else is agreed with the person who provides the service, and none of it is a tax.

The notary percentages are published by band, and the sources do not say whether each band applies to the whole value or only to the part of the value inside it; the example shows both results. The Domlivo purchase cost calculator works out the same lines for any price and lets you set the translator, lawyer and agency amounts yourself; it assumes €100 for the translator and €800 for a lawyer as editable defaults, not as published prices.

The buyer of a flat or a house pays no purchase tax at all. The tax on the sale is the seller's: 15% of the gain, worked out on the official reference price when the contract states less, and paid before ASHK registers the deed. Sellers sometimes ask the buyer to carry it; that is a commercial term, so read the preliminary contract.

Once you own the property, the municipality charges a small annual tax on the building, and any rent is taxed at 15% of the gross amount.

The notary is a public official, not the seller's or the buyer's adviser. Before signing, the notary identifies both sides (a foreign buyer by passport), checks in the electronic register that the seller owns the property, has the deed read and translated for a buyer who does not speak Albanian, and records how the price was paid. A notary may not handle more than 150,000 ALL of the price in cash, so the price goes by bank transfer.

ASHK, the State Cadastre Agency, is Albania's land register. It records the deed, and the buyer becomes the registered owner when the new property card is issued. Filing late costs 10% of the fee for each day of delay, up to 300,000 ALL, so the notary usually files straight after signing.

• A valid passport.
• A marriage or family certificate where your marital status matters for ownership, with an apostille and a certified Albanian translation.
• A power of attorney if someone signs for you; drawn up abroad it needs an apostille, and in Albania the notary charges 3,000 ALL for a special power of attorney.
• Proof of the payment: the bank transfer to the seller.
• The preliminary contract, if you signed one.