Is it better to rent or to buy an apartment in Albania?

Buying costs about 2.5% of the price in fees and the yearly running costs of a flat are low (EUR 140-240 for a 55 m² flat in Durrës, before utilities), so owning beats renting once you stay long enough to absorb those fees and the 3% agency commission on a later sale. In Durrës a beach 1+1 that rents for EUR 390 a month sells for about EUR 82,500 at the October 2026 index median, a gross yield of 5.7%; with 25% down and a euro mortgage at the 5.00% average rate the payment is about EUR 408 a month over 20 years. Rent first if you are not sure of the town or plan to stay under three years.

Data compiled by Fedir AlpatovUpdated

The same flat, rented and bought

The example is a 55 m² one-bedroom flat in the Durrës beach district (Plazh), the kind of flat most foreign buyers on Domlivo look at. The price is the Durrës index median per square metre at 23 October 2026; the rent is the September 2026 median asking rent. Change the price in the purchase cost calculator and the rent in the rental yield calculator to fit the flat you have in mind.

Renting against buying a 55 m² 1+1 in Durrës Plazh
ItemRentingBuying
Price or rentEUR 390 a month (median ad, September 2026)EUR 82,500 (55 m² at EUR 1,500/m², Durrës index median; live: 1,500)
Money needed on day oneDeposit of 1-2 months: EUR 390-78025% down payment EUR 20,625 plus about EUR 2,100 in fees; or the full price in cash
Monthly paymentEUR 390, rising with each new leaseEUR 408 mortgage over 20 years at 5.00% in euro (EUR 362 over 25 years); nothing if paid in cash
Yearly fixed costsNone beyond utilitiesAbout EUR 140-240: building tax, municipal fees, building administration
Gross yield if you let it instead-5.7% a year (EUR 4,680 of rent on EUR 82,500)
Cost of leavingNotice of 30-90 daysSeller's agency commission 3% and 15% tax on any gain
Sources · 10
  • DATA-RENT-DURRES-00061+1 (EUR-priced, n=18): min 300 / median 390 / max 550; 2+1 (EUR-priced, n=14): min 300 / median 500 / max 7001_1_min_300_median_390_max_550
    Confidence: LOWPeriod: listings dated 2026-09-06 to 2026-09-09verified 2026-09-09MerrJep.al "Apartamente me qera Durrës" (listing sample)
  • DATA-RENTBUY-CALC-0001408 EUR/monthMortgage payment on a EUR 82,500 Durrës 1+1 with 25% down
    Confidence: ESTIMATE (calculated, not measured)Period: 2026-10verified 2026-10-24DomLivo research calculation engine

    Price = 55 m² at the Durrës index median of EUR 1,500/m² (23.10.2026). Rate = Bank of Albania average on new euro house loans, June 2026 (DATA-MORTGAGE-0002). Down payment = the 25% minimum for a euro loan on a first home (DATA-MORTGAGE-0003).

  • DATA-RENT-ALB-00111–2 practicesecurity_deposit_usually_1_2_months_rent_termination
    Confidence: MEDIUMPeriod: undated (current practice)verified 2026-09-09Avokat-al.com "Çfarë duhet të dini para se të nënshkruani kontratë qiraje afatgjatë"
  • DATA-MORTGAGE-0003First home 85% (lek) / 75% (euro); second or rental home 80% / 70%Maximum loan-to-value for a first home: 85% in lek, 75% in foreign currency (from 1 July 2025)
    Confidence: MEDIUMPeriod: 2025-07 onwardsverified 2026-10-19Balkanweb interview with a Bank of Albania director on the new mortgage limits (1 July 2025)

    Figures from a Bank of Albania director interview and confirmed in ABI Bank's 2026 loan sheet; the Bank of Albania press release of 7 May 2025 does not list them.

  • DATA-PURCHASE-CALC-0001Transaction cost % of price · 2.5% · 1.5% opt / 5.5% cons (conservative buffer; the buyer pays no transfer tax) · DATA-PURCHASE-CALC-0001…0003 · MEDIUMTransaction cost % of price
    Confidence: ESTIMATE (calculated, not measured)Period: 2026verified 2026-09-10DomLivo research calculation engine

    Derived parameter, defined in ROI-MODEL-ALB-2026 § INPUTS › ROI_INPUTS row 02.

  • DATA-MORTGAGE-00025 %Average rate on new house-purchase loans in euro: 5.00% (June 2026)
    Confidence: HIGHPeriod: 2026-06verified 2026-10-19Bank of Albania, Monthly Statistical Report, June 2026 (tables 1-14, 1-18b)
  • DATA-RENTBUY-CALC-0002140–240 EUR/yearYearly fixed costs of owning a 55 m² flat in Durrës
    Confidence: ESTIMATE (calculated, not measured)Period: 2026verified 2026-10-24DomLivo research calculation engine

    Sum of DATA-KB2-DURRES-0002, DATA-KB2-DURRES-0001 and DATA-BUILDING-0004 (Tirana administration fee bands used as a proxy) at 92.02 ALL/EUR.

  • DATA-RENT-CALC-0003Gross LTR yield, beach 1+1 (390 EUR × 12 ÷ 82,500) · 5.7% · DATA-RENT-CALC-0003Gross LTR yield, beach 1+1 (390 EUR × 12 ÷ 82,500)
    Confidence: ESTIMATE (calculated, not measured)Period: 2026 (listings Jun–Sep 2026), BoA H2 2025, Deloitte 2024verified 2026-09-10DomLivo research calculation engine

    Derived parameter, defined in CITY-DURRES-2026 § RENTS › RENTS_1 row 06.

  • DATA-PURCHASE-00043 % of sale priceagency_commission_seller_3_of_price_buyer_1
    Confidence: MEDIUMPeriod: undated (current pages)verified 2026-09-09realestate.al — Commissions
  • DATA-TAX-001015 % of gaincapital_gains_tax_on_sale_of_real_estate
    Confidence: HIGHPeriod: 2026 (current)verified 2026-09-09PwC Tax Summaries Albania — Individual income determination

What buying costs on top of the price

There is no transfer tax for a buyer of a flat in Albania. You pay the notary (a percentage of the price on a sliding scale, 0.35% at EUR 45,000 and less above), the ASHK registration of 5,000 lek, and, if you came through an agency, usually 1% of the price; the seller pays the 3% commission. Domlivo's working figure for all buyer costs is about 2.5% of the price, which is far below the 7-12% common in Italy, Germany or Poland and the main reason buying pays off quickly here.

Owning is cheap too. The annual building tax is 0.05% of the reference value (about EUR 20 a year for a 55 m² flat in Durrës), municipal cleaning and lighting fees about EUR 65 a year, and the building administration 400-1,200 lek a month depending on the block. Utilities are the same whether you rent or own.

One-off and yearly costs of owning
CostAmountWho pays
Notary feeSliding scale, about 0.35% at EUR 45,000Buyer, unless agreed otherwise
ASHK registration of the contract5,000 ALL (about EUR 54)Buyer
Agency commissionBuyer 1%, seller 3% (published schedules of two Tirana agencies)Each side
Transfer taxNone on flats and houses (land only, paid by the seller)-
Annual building tax0.05% of the reference value; 33.75 ALL/m² a year in DurrësOwner
Municipal fees (cleaning, lighting, greenery)6,000 ALL a year in Durrës; 417 ALL a month in TiranaOwner (often passed to a tenant)
Building administration400-500 ALL a month in older blocks, 1,000-1,200 in new ones (Tirana)Occupant
Tax when you sell15% of the gain (sale price minus purchase price)Seller
Sources · 11

When renting is the better choice

  • You have not lived in the town through a winter. Durrës, Vlorë and Sarandë empty out from October to May, and many holiday flats have no heating. A 9-month winter lease costs EUR 200-350 a month for a beach 1+1 in Durrës and tells you more than any viewing.
  • You may leave within about three years. Buying and selling together cost about 5.5-6% of the price in fees and commissions, plus 15% tax on any gain, so a short stay rarely recovers them even in a rising market.
  • Your budget needs a euro mortgage for more than 75% of the price. Banks lend at most 75% in euro (85% in lek) and the instalment may not exceed 35% of your income; foreigners are financed case by case.
  • You want flexibility between Tirana and the coast, or between Albania and another country.

When buying is the better choice

  • You will stay, or come back every year, for five years or more. At EUR 390 a month you pay EUR 23,400 of rent in five years; the same money is a quarter of the Durrës flat above.
  • You pay in cash. Then your yearly cost of owning is a few hundred euro of fees and taxes, against EUR 4,680 of rent, and you keep the flat's value, which the Bank of Albania's house price index put 28% higher at the end of 2025 than a year earlier (no one can promise that continues).
  • You want a residence permit based on property. Owning a flat, with no minimum value, gives the right to a one-year renewable permit under Article 84 of Law 79/2021; renting does not.
  • You want the flat to pay for itself when you are away. Beach flats in Durrës earn a gross 5.7% on a yearly lease and more by the night in summer; management companies take 10-30% of that.

Before you decide, put your own figures into the two calculators: the purchase cost calculator shows the fees for any price, the rental yield calculator what a flat earns. Then compare the flats on Domlivo at the price the index says is typical for the town.

Market figures behind the comparison
FigureValuePeriod
Durrës asking price per m², medianEUR 1,500 (EUR 1,500 when this page was written)Live index
Average rate on new house loans3.77% in lek, 5.00% in euroJune 2026
Maximum loan-to-value, first home85% in lek, 75% in euroFrom July 2025
House price index, Albania+28% in a year (second half of 2025); Tirana +4.4%H2 2025
Advertised rent growth+8-12% in 2025-2026; sitting tenants +1-8.5% a year2026
Sources · 8

Questions and answers

About 2.5% of the price: notary on a sliding scale, 5,000 lek ASHK registration and usually a 1% agency fee. There is no transfer tax on flats.

Sources

  1. DomLivo research calculation engine. DomLivo Research Department (accessed 2026-09-10)
  2. MerrJep.al "Apartamente me qera Durrës" (listing sample), 2026-09-09 (accessed 2026-09-09)
  3. Avokat-al.com "Çfarë duhet të dini para se të nënshkruani kontratë qiraje afatgjatë" (accessed 2026-09-09)
  4. Balkanweb interview with a Bank of Albania director on the new mortgage limits (1 July 2025). Balkanweb, 2025-07-01 (accessed 2026-10-23)
  5. Bank of Albania, Monthly Statistical Report, June 2026 (tables 1-14, 1-18b). Bank of Albania (accessed 2026-10-23)
  6. realestate.al — Commissions (accessed 2026-09-09)
  7. PwC Tax Summaries Albania — Individual income determination, 2026-07-22 (accessed 2026-09-09)
  8. alprofitconsult.al — Tarifat, taksat dhe tatimet e kalimit të pronësisë, 2023-06-13 (accessed 2026-09-09)
  9. Council of Ministers Decision (VKM) No. 462 of 31.07.2025 on ASHK service fees, amending VKM 389/2020. State Cadastre Agency (ASHK), 2025-07-31 (accessed 2026-10-19)
  10. PwC Tax Summaries Albania — Individual other taxes, 2026-07-22 (accessed 2026-09-09)
  11. Bashkia Durrës — "Paketa Fiskale 2024" (DOCX), 2024-02-01 (accessed 2026-09-09)
  12. Bashkia Tiranë — "Paketa fiskale (taksa dhe tarifa)", 2026-01-01 (accessed 2026-09-09)
  13. TiranaPost — "Ligji i ri për administrimin e pallateve: Sa do të paguajnë banorët" (accessed 2026-09-09)
  14. Telegrafi.com "Shqiptarët dhe të huajt blejnë shtëpi për t'i dhënë me qira, por biznesi po ndryshon" (BoA 6M-II 2025 survey coverage), 2026-08-30 (accessed 2026-09-09)
  15. Investropa "Updated Rents in Albania (2026)", 2026-07-03 (accessed 2026-09-09)
  16. Sot.com.al (reprint of Monitor.al) "Të paktën 600 euro në muaj / Shtëpitë me qira bëhen mollë e ndaluar", 2026-08-09 (accessed 2026-09-09)
  17. Law No. 79/2021 "Për të huajt" (On foreigners), consolidated text as amended by Law 43/2025. Albanian State Police (ASP), 2025-11-01 (accessed 2026-10-19)

What is missing

Gaps we know about: questions we have no reliable data for yet.

  • Typical cost of home insurance for a flat (optional, required by banks on a mortgage) not sourced.
  • Tirana example not built: the index sample for Tirana is still small (10 flats).
  • No bank publishes mortgage terms for non-resident buyers; to be asked directly.