Is a deposit (kapar) safe when buying property in Albania? (2026)
The Albanian Civil Code gives the kapar real teeth: walk away as the buyer and you lose it, but if the seller backs out they owe you double (Neni 602). The protection only works when the deposit is named kapar in a written preliminary contract, ideally at the notary, and paid by bank transfer after the ASHK checks. A typical kapar on the coast is 5 to 10 percent of the price.
Daten zusammengestellt von Fedir AlpatovAktualisiert
What the Civil Code actually says about the kapar
Kapari is not just an advance: it is a legal device defined in the Civil Code (Neni 601). It proves the contract exists and secures its performance, and the code attaches automatic consequences to whoever breaks the deal.
| Situation | What the law says |
|---|---|
| The purchase completes | The kapar counts toward the price: it was always part of the payment |
| The buyer (who gave the kapar) is at fault for the deal failing | The buyer loses the kapar |
| The seller (who received the kapar) is at fault | The seller returns double the kapar |
| Damages beyond the kapar | The party at fault also owes damages, the kapar counting toward them, unless the contract says otherwise |
Quellen · 1
- DATA-LEGAL-0032Civil Code Neni 601: kapari is a sum one party gives the other on account of the contract price, to prove the contract and secure its performance. Neni 602: if the contract fails through the fault of the party who GAVE the kapar, that party loses it; if through the fault of the party who RECEIVED it, that party returns double. The party at fault also owes damages, the kapar counting toward them, unless the contract provides otherwise.Kapari (earnest money): buyer in default loses it, seller in default returns doubleVerlässlichkeit: HIGHZeitraum: 1994-2026geprüft 2026-11-06Civil Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 7850 of 29.7.1994, consolidated up to Law No. 113/2016)
Read in the consolidated Albanian text (WIPO Lex), Kreu VI "Kapari dhe privilegjet".
Why the paper the kapar sits on matters
The final sale of immovable property in Albania is valid only as a notarial act that is then registered at ASHK (Civil Code Neni 83 and 750). A private paper never transfers ownership, however much money changed hands.
The preliminary contract (kontrata e porosisë, or a promise of sale) is where the kapar lives. Sign it at a notary: a notarised preliminary contract states exactly who sells what to whom, for how much and by when, names the payment a kapar so Neni 602 applies, and is far harder to dispute than a receipt. With a new build, the preliminary contract with the developer plays the same role, and our off-plan guide covers its extra checks.
Whatever the form, the word matters: money handed over without being named kapar in writing is just an advance. An advance comes back if the deal dies, but it carries no double-return sanction against a seller who walks away.
How to hand the money over safely
- Pay the kapar only after the ASHK checks. A fresh kartela with a clean Section D comes first: a deposit paid before the title check is a loan to a stranger.
- Pay by bank transfer, to the seller named in the kartela, with the purpose stated. Albanian notaries may handle cash only up to 150,000 lek (about €1,600), and a transfer leaves the proof a court would want.
- Put the conditions in the same document: the deadline for the final deed, who pays which costs, and that the kapar returns in full if a stated condition fails, a mortgage refusal included, when you agree one.
- On an off-plan purchase, never pay ahead of the construction stages written in the contract.
How much, and when
On the Albanian coast a kapar of 5 to 10 percent of the price is the common range in practice: enough to take the listing off the market, small enough to walk away from if the seller turns out to be the problem and the double-return has to be chased.
The usual sequence: ASHK checks, then the notarised preliminary contract with the kapar, then the final deed within the agreed weeks, where the rest of the price is paid and the kapar is credited. With clean papers the whole path from reservation to a registered title typically takes four to eight weeks.
Fragen und Antworten
Quellen
- Civil Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 7850 of 29.7.1994, consolidated up to Law No. 113/2016). Kuvendi i Republikës së Shqipërisë (text via WIPO Lex), 1994-07-29 (abgerufen 2026-11-06)