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Ask for the kartela e pasurisë first and pull it from ASHK yourself: it is the one document that proves who owns the property and which encumbrances sit on it. After that come the leje përdorimi for any finished building, a notarised and registered kontrata e porosisë for off-plan, and the encumbrance extract on the parent plot, not just the unit.
Since Udhëzim 1/2024, the preliminary purchase contract for an off-plan unit, the kontrata e porosisë, must be notarial and entered in the ASHK register. That rule closed the double-sale loophole: before it, one unit could go to several buyers on private paper, each of them believing they had bought the apartment. A private, unregistered version of this contract has no legal force, however detailed it is and however many people signed it. If a developer offers you anything less than a registered notarial contract for an off-plan unit, walk away before a deposit moves.
Every step, fee and tax, with who pays each, is set out in How does buying property in Albania work, and what does it cost? (2026).
| Document | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Vërtetim pronësie (ownership confirmation) | ~1,100 lek |
| First registration | up to 8,000 lek |
| ASHK registration (general) | ~5,000 lek |
| Notary fee | ~0.35% of the price, plus 1,000 lek |
None of these fees is large enough to justify skipping a check: pulling every document on this list costs a rounding error next to a single title dispute. Registration has an official 21-day turnaround, but in practice it takes two to four weeks, longer if the title turns out to be complicated. That is one more reason to have every document above checked before a deposit is paid, not after.
If you don't speak Albanian, budget for a sworn translator too, typically €50-150. When you can't follow the notarial deed yourself, a Ministry of Justice sworn translator has to co-sign it. Unlike an agent, the translator is a legal requirement at the signing itself, separate from all the documents above.
What a foreigner may and may not own, rule by rule with the law behind it, is in our guide Can foreigners buy property in Albania? (2026).
Get the kartela e pasurisë and the parent-plot hipotekë extract yourself before any deposit moves, and check that the leje përdorimi exists before you assume a finished building is finished on paper. Once the documents check out, the rest of the process runs on a predictable timeline. Before you commit, read about the eight ways a title can still go wrong with the documents in hand.
The kartela e pasurisë, the ownership extract. Pull it yourself, independently of the seller or agent, before any money changes hands.
The occupancy permit. Without it, a building can't be properly registered, mortgaged or resold, however finished it looks. Buyers often skip this check because they assume a finished-looking building has one.
No. Since Udhëzim 1/2024, an off-plan purchase contract must be notarial and registered with ASHK. A private, unregistered version has no legal force, no matter how detailed it is.
Not much: a basic ownership confirmation costs about 1,100 lek and a first registration up to 8,000 lek. Checking everything on this list costs little next to what a skipped check can cost.
