Buying a house in Estonia: no transfer tax, one notary, one registration
Estonia keeps the house purchase small: the sale goes through the notary, and only with the entry in the kinnistusraamat are you the owner. The cost list holds the statutory notary fee and the state fee for that entry; the Estonian tax board knows no transfer tax for private individuals. After that you pay maamaks on the land every year, only from the year after the purchase, with a home discount that each municipality sets itself.
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Yes, you can buy a house or flat in Estonia, and the purchase is straightforward. It goes through the notary. You only become owner on the entry in the kinnistusraamat, the Estonian land register: the counterpart of the Dutch Kadaster.
Three things about the costs:
- On top of the price you pay the statutory notary fee and the state fee (the government charge) for the entry.
- A transfer tax is not in the list of taxes the Estonian Tax and Customs Board EMTA names for private individuals.
- The finding at EMTA: the annual land tax, the maamaks, you only pay from 1 January of the year after the purchase. The current year stays with the seller.
The pitfall is with a flat. As the buyer you stand surety for the previous owner's arrears to the apartment association.
In your first year you don't buy. You rent, you get to know Tallinn, Tartu or your island, and only then do you decide — why that order is fixed. This article is for the moment you are ready.
How does the purchase work, and when am I the owner?
The notary drafts the purchase agreement, explains the risks and files the entry. The chamber of notaries puts it in one sentence: the buyer becomes owner when entered as owner in the kinnistusraamat, not on signing, paying or handing over the keys.
The entry only follows once the state fee is paid. The notary gives you the amount and the payment details. After that you receive a notice at the e-mail address in the agreement.
If you pay without a mortgage, the chamber of notaries advises putting the money on the notary's deposit account before the purchase. Whoever pays earlier is not sure of getting ownership. Whoever pays later leaves the seller without certainty. Bear in mind that with your own money you sometimes have to show where it comes from. Whoever takes a mortgage lets the bank transfer the price after the purchase.
What exactly am I buying?
That is in the kinnistusraamat, which anyone can consult online. It makes a difference:
| Form | What you own |
|---|---|
| Korteriomand, apartment ownership | your flat plus a share of the rest of the building and the land |
| Kinnistu, registered immovable | land and buildings |
| Hoonestusõigus, right of superficies | a building on someone else's land, for a limited time, at most 99 years |
| Kaasomand, co-ownership | a share of the whole, no flat of your own |
With a flat, ask about the debts. According to the chamber of notaries, the buyer of a flat stands surety towards the apartment association for what the previous owner still owed, up to the value of the flat. So ask the seller for a statement from the association about arrears.
Record all defects and agreements in the purchase agreement. The chamber of notaries is firm about it: disclosing defects is the seller's duty, and what is not in the contract is hard to prove afterwards.
If the home is let, the lease continues until it ends, unless the seller ends it before the day of sale. According to the Law of Obligations Act, a new owner can only terminate it if they urgently need the home.
What does it cost on top of the price?
The notary fee is set in the Notary Fees Act and depends on the price and the size of the mortgages. Fees for copies may be added. The chamber of notaries has an online calculator. Together with the state fee for the entry, that is the cost list. A transfer tax does not come on top.
What do I pay every year after that?
The maamaks, on the land and not on the building. The municipality sets the rate: for residential land 0.1 to 1 percent of the taxable value. The notice is in e-MTA, the tax authority's online portal, by 15 February at the latest.
| Maamaks 2026 | When |
|---|---|
| Up to € 100 per municipality | by 31 March |
| More than € 100 | at least half, and at least € 100, by 31 March; the rest by 1 October |
| Less than € 5 | no notice |
For the land under your own home there has been a discount in euros since 2026, between € 0 and € 1,000. Each municipality sets it itself. If a municipality sets it at zero, there is no discount.
You are entitled to it if on 1 January, according to the population register, you live in a building on that land. So put your residential address right straight after the move. How to do that is in staying in Estonia. And since everything in this country is signed digitally, first arrange your ID card and e-services.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Estonia.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Notarite Koda — property transactions (ownership on entry in the kinnistusraamat, cost structure) — notar.ee
- EMTA — the maamaks (land tax, municipal rates, home discount and payment deadlines) — emta.ee
- EMTA — the other taxes for private individuals — emta.ee
- Riigi Teataja — the lease provisions of the Law of Obligations Act, also when a rented home is sold — riigiteataja.ee
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