Buying a house in Hungary: free for EU citizens, one hectare for whoever isn't a farmer
As an EU citizen you buy a home in Hungary without a permit, with four percent transfer tax and a lawyer who draws up the deed. The limit lies with land: whoever is not a registered farmer may own at most one hectare of agricultural land in total, and every purchase of it passes the agricultural authority. A village house with a large orchard is therefore sometimes not a house but land.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, as an EU citizen you buy a home, apartment or building plot in Hungary without a permit. Think of a village house with a patch of land around it, for the price of a garage at home.
On top of the purchase price, count on:
- four per cent transfer tax (two per cent above a billion forint);
- a lawyer who draws up the deed;
- the registration in the land registry;
- possibly the agent.
The pitfall is exactly that patch of land. Whoever is not a registered farmer may own at most one hectare of agricultural land in total. Every purchase of it goes past the agricultural authority, and farmers from the neighbourhood have a right of first refusal: the right to buy first.
In your first year you don't buy. You rent, you get to know the village or the town outside the summer visit, and only then do you decide. Why that order is fixed. This article is for the moment you've got that far.
Do I need a permit?
Whoever comes from outside the EU needs a permit from the kormányhivatal (the regional government office) to buy a home in Hungary. For EU citizens that doesn't apply: you buy a home, a flat or a building plot on the same footing as a Hungarian. The government decree that regulates the permit is aimed at foreigners from outside the EEA (the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).
Who draws up the deed, and when am I the owner?
In Hungary it's not the notary but a lawyer who draws up the purchase deed, and the deed is only valid with their countersignature. Take your own lawyer, not the seller's or the estate agent's. The lawyer:
- checks the extract from the land registry, the tulajdoni lap, for mortgages, attachments, easements and pre-emption rights;
- often puts the money in an escrow account, a separate account where the money is safe until the transfer;
- lodges the entry.
You're the owner on entry in the land registry, not on signing.
What does buying a house in Hungary cost on top of the price?
The transfer tax is, according to the NAV (the Hungarian tax authority), four percent on the market value up to a billion forint, and two percent above that. The ceiling is 200 million forint per property.
Do you sell another home within three years before or one year after the purchase? Then you pay the four percent only on the difference between the two values.
On top come the lawyer, the entry in the land registry, and possibly the estate agent.
| Item or period | What applies |
|---|---|
| transfer tax | 4% up to 1 billion forint, 2% above, at most 200 million forint per property |
| other home sold within 3 years before or 1 year after the purchase | 4% on the difference in value |
| purchase deed | by a lawyer, with countersignature |
| ownership | on entry in the land registry |
| agricultural land without farmer status | at most 1 hectare in total (2013 act, article 10) |
| purchase contract for agricultural land | to the agricultural authority within 8 days; pre-emption holders have 30 days after publication |
How much agricultural land may I own?
Here Hungary differs. Agricultural and forestry land falls under an act of its own from 2013. That says: whoever is not a registered farmer may own at most one hectare of agricultural land in total, including what they want to buy. A registered farmer is a Hungarian or an EU citizen with an agricultural qualification or three years of demonstrable farming in Hungary.
Every purchase of agricultural land must moreover be approved by the agricultural authority. The seller sends the contract in within eight days of signing. Farmers from the area have a pre-emption right, which they can invoke within thirty days of publication of the contract.
A village house with an orchard of a hectare and a half behind it is therefore not a house but land. The purchase is refused, or the neighbour buys it from under your nose. Have the lawyer check in the land registry how the plot is classified before you sign, and where necessary have a piece split off.
Where is my house taxed?
With property the tax treaty doesn't follow your place of residence but the bricks: income from immovable property may be taxed in the state where that property is situated. That's in article 6.
So a property in Hungary is taxed there. On top comes the municipal property tax, which differs per municipality. A home you keep in the Netherlands stays taxed in the Netherlands. Hungary exempts that Dutch part from its own tax.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Hungary or go straight to step 5.2 in the open plan.
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.
- NAV — the rate of the transfer tax on the purchase of a home — nav.gov.hu
- Act on the transfer of agricultural and forestry land (2013), section 10 — the one-hectare limit for whoever is not a farmer — net.jogtar.hu
- Government Decree 251/2014 — the acquisition of real estate by foreigners — net.jogtar.hu
- Agreement Netherlands-Hungary for the avoidance of double taxation — wetten.overheid.nl
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