Property news
How buying actually works in each European market, and what changes when you are buying from abroad.81 articles
Since 2010 an Italian deed must declare that the cadastral plan matches the property. Where to get it free, the tolerances the law allows, and who fixes it.
Non-residents pay a flat 7.5% IMT with no relief of any kind. Two routes claw it back, but the application expires six months after you qualify.
Licencia de ocupación or cédula de habitabilidad, depending on the region. Which law demands it in Catalonia, Valencia, Andalusia and the Balearics.
Since 2024 the notary no longer demands the licença de utilização at the deed. What the RJUE requires now, the pre 1951 exemption, and what a buyer must check.
Britain adds 5% for a second home and 2% for non-residents. Germany adds neither: Grunderwerbsteuer runs 3.5% to 6.5%, set by the state, never the buyer.
The tax office's caderneta predial and the registry's certidão permanente describe one home from two sides. What each shows, what it costs, where debts appear.
British owners pay 24% on gross Spanish rent while EU owners pay 19% on profit. But the resale rate is 19% for everyone, whatever you have read.
France charges a British buyer 5.81% to 6.32% in transfer duty, less than an English second home costs at home. Brexit took the days, not the money.
Italy's cadastral extract shows category, class and rendita, not ownership. What the deed must declare since 2010, and where mortgages really appear.
Article 16 of the preleggi is the one real nationality gate in Italian conveyancing. It applies to British buyers, and it is a check by the notaio, not a bar.
Twelve diagnostics, a DPE valid ten years, and G homes barred from letting since 2025, F from 2028, E from 2034. What to check before the deed.
The état des risques is due at the first viewing and must be under six months old. Which zones trigger it, what it covers, and how to get it free on Géorisques.
Spain's land-registry extract shows the owner, mortgages, charges and size. What it proves, what it leaves out, the community debts it never shows, and the 9.02
Under article 63 of the Civil Code's implementing provisions, a buyer answers with the seller for two years of unpaid charges. What it covers and how to check.
The objektsbeskrivning is the broker's legally required property description in Sweden. What it must contain, who answers for errors, and how to complain.
Utrecht stopped selling the ground under leasehold homes in September 2025. What a buyer inherits, how the 2017 buy off scheme prices the canon, the exceptions.
The Hague sells the ground under a perpetual leasehold for a fixed sum by WOZ band once the canon is bought off. Which contracts qualify and the 15 year trap.
A Swedish energideklaration grades a house from A to G against the new build requirement. How the scale works, what it contains, and what a buyer can demand.
Joint debt averaged 405,000 kroner per cooperative flat sold in Q2 2026, Statistics Norway data shows. What the salgsoppgave must disclose, how banks count it.
A plomba is the flag the Czech cadastral office sets when a filing touches a property. Who is told, the 20 day waiting period, and how to watch a property.
Declaration of division, community rules, floor plan and resolution record decide what you own and pay in a German flat. What each is by law, where it sits.
Germany's building energy law has a new name. What a buyer must insulate within two years, when the duty lapses, and what the energy certificate rules require.
NHG requires a survey when urgent repairs exceed 10 percent of the market value. What the report must show, how it becomes a contract condition, when to order.
Hausgeld is the monthly charge a German condominium owner pays. What the law puts in it, the one official yardstick for the reserve, and the papers behind it.
The nota simple will not tell you whether anyone is living there. The seven checks that actually reveal occupation risk before you sign for a Spanish property.
Amsterdam's ground lease comes in two systems. What the deed must tell you, how the switch to eeuwigdurende erfpacht is priced, and where to find the figures.
Norway's tilstandsrapport grades each building part TG0 to TG3 under the 2022 regulation. What each grade means in law, what must be inspected, what you carry.
The isännöitsijäntodistus is the key document in a Finnish flat purchase. Who can order it, how old it may be, and the loan, repair and arrears lines to read.
The list vlastnictví is a public record with parts A to F. Where mortgages and easements sit, what the P mark means, and what an extract costs.
The ejendomsdatarapport gathers about 50 public records on a Danish property for 105 kroner. What it contains, how long it stays valid, and what it cannot show.
Denmark's electrical report grades faults as shock risk, fire risk, illegal, or to be investigated. What the rules require, how long it lasts, what is found.
Finnish listings show two prices. How velaton hinta, the housing company loan share and the 1.5 percent transfer tax fit together, with the tax office example.
In an oäkta housing association the gain is taxed at 25 percent instead of 22, deferral is normally lost, and a low fee can be taxed yearly. How to check.
Around 425,000 Dutch buildings face foundation damage by 2035, the Rli advises. What a QuickScan and a full funderingsonderzoek cost, and where the state helps.
A traditional putkiremontti costs a median 890 euros per square metre, 1,000 in Helsinki. The two documents the law makes the housing company show you.
Räntekänslighet shows how much a Swedish housing association must raise fees if rates climb one point. How it is calculated, what counts as high, where it sits.
Prague apartment prices rose 9% last year and supply trails demand. The complete guide for foreign buyers: legal checks, ownership types and what to verify.
You cannot sign a Spanish property deed, pay taxes, or open a bank account without a NIE number. Here is what it is, how to get one, and how long it takes.
Sweden lets any foreigner buy a sommarstuga with no residency required. Here is the full step-by-step process, from coordination number to signed contract.
Swedish buyers expect open SMS bidding and a 1.5% lagfart. Spain has neither. What replaces them costs more and binds you earlier than you think.
Norway charges 2.5% on market value at registration. Portugal charges a non-resident 7.5% on the deal, and the EEA appears nowhere in that rule.
Paragraph 311b BGB pushes a German purchase through a notary. The Italian compromesso needs none, and Italy takes 9% where North Rhine-Westphalia takes 6.5%.
A Finnish flat is shares in a housing company. A German flat is Wohnungseigentum, governed by a Teilungserklärung, and the transfer tax at least doubles.
A French second home costs 5.81% to 6.32% in transfer duty, under the 8% the Netherlands now charges. And you get ten days to change your mind, not three.
Registering a Danish home transfer costs 0.6% plus a fixed fee. The cheapest Spanish region charges 6%. Here is what else changes, and what does not.
Sweden charges 1.5% stämpelskatt and nothing on a bostadsrätt. Italy charges 9% on a second home, taxed on the price unless you ask for the cadastral value.
In Norway an accepted bid is binding. In Germany nothing binds until a Notar reads the Kaufvertrag aloud, and the transfer tax is set by the Bundesland.
France charges 5.81% to 6.32% in transfer duty on an existing home. That is above Bavaria's 3.5% and below the 6.5% of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Spain has no housing company. A flat is real property carrying the seller's unpaid community charges, and the transfer tax starts at 6%, not at 1.5%.
Non-residents pay a flat 7.5% IMT in Portugal with no relief at all, and the three days to change your mind under Dutch law have no counterpart there.
Registering a Danish transfer costs 0.6% plus 1,850 kroner. Italy charges 9% on a second home, or 2% on a main one. Here is the rest of what changes.
Swedish stämpelskatt is 1.5% plus 825 kronor. A French home costs 5.81% to 6.32% in duty, and buys you ten calendar days to change your mind.
Norway is not in the EU, so Norwegians expect the higher Spanish tax rate. They do not pay it. EEA membership keeps them at 19%, and Schengen keeps them longer.
Non-residents pay a flat 7.5% IMT in Portugal, with no relief at all. The binding moment also arrives long before any notary reads a word of the contract.
An asunto-osake has no Italian equivalent, and the tax shows it: 1.5% at home becomes 9% in Italy, or 2% with prima casa relief. Here is what else changes.
A Dutch buyer gets three days to dissolve the purchase. In Germany the notary reads the contract aloud and the signature binds you on the spot.
Denmark makes you apply for permission to own a home. France checks the deed, not the buyer. And your six days to withdraw become ten free ones.
A Swedish bostadsrätt carries no transfer tax at all. Portugal has no such tenure and charges a non-resident 7.5%, refunded only on a six month clock.
Norway is outside the EU, so Norwegians expect Italy's reciprocity test. It does not apply to them. What applies is 9% registration tax, or 2% on a main home.
Germans buy more Spanish homes by count than any nationality but the British. The Spanish notario looks like a Notar and protects you far less. Here is the gap.
You never owned the flat in Finland, only shares in the company. France sells the flat itself, and the duty goes from 1.5 percent to almost six.
Denmark decides who may own a Danish holiday home. Germany applies no nationality test at all, but transfer tax jumps from 0.6% to at least 3.5%.
Article 7:2 BW gives three days from the moment the deed reaches your hands. Italy gives none, charges 9% on a second home, and keeps the caparra you paid.
Swedish bids are open and non binding until signature, there is no cooling off period, and the survey is your problem. The full process for Dutch buyers.
Swedish banks lend to non residents, but on different terms. Deposit levels, the April 2026 rule change, amortisation, and how the Dutch route compares.
Lagfart, fastighetsavgift, rental tax and 22 percent on exit. What a Swedish holiday home actually costs a Dutch buyer, and how Norway and Denmark compare.
Non-residents pay a flat 7.5% IMT in Portugal with no relief at all, against 1.5% at home. Two routes refund it, but the claim expires in six months.
Sweden concludes a sale on a document the parties sign themselves, at 1.5% stamp duty. Germany voids it without a Notar, and charges at least 3.5%.
Dutch buyers are the second largest foreign group buying Spanish homes. The three days to change your mind do not exist in Spain, and the notary is not yours.
An accepted bid binds you in Norway. France gives ten days to withdraw, then charges 5.81 to 6.32 percent transfer duty against your 2.5 percent.
Denmark makes a foreign buyer ask the Ministry of Justice. Portugal asks nothing and charges non-residents 7.5%, refunded only inside six months.
Portugal and Sweden have had no tax treaty since 2022. Sweden taxes rent at 30% and gains at 22%; Portugal credits under CIRS article 81. Plus the new ID rule.
No notaio, no proposta with caparra, no rogito. 8 differences Italian buyers must know about bostadsrätt, lagfart, imposta di registro and box 3.
No notaire, no compromis de vente, no 10-day SRU cooling off. 8 differences French buyers must know about bostadsrätt, lagfart and Swedish mortgages.
Bostadsrätt looks like asunto-osakeyhtiö but is not the same. 8 differences Finnish buyers must know about cottages, bids, mortgages, and tax in Sweden.
Skåne is cheaper than Copenhagen, but bostadsrätt is not andelsbolig and Öresund commuters must file in both countries. 8 differences Danes must know.
No notaris, no 3 days bedenktijd, no VvE. 8 differences Dutch buyers must know about bostadsrätt, lagfart, Swedish mortgages, and box 3 tax.
Sweden offers no notary, open SMS bidding, lower mortgage rates, and a cooperative share model. Here are 8 differences from Czechia you must know first.
A strong NOK makes Sweden cheap, but bostadsrätt is not borettslag and lagfart is not dokumentavgift. 8 differences Norwegian buyers must know first.
No Notar, no Grundbuchauszug, no Schufa. 8 differences German buyers of Swedish cottages and apartments must know about BRF, lagfart, and mortgages.
The 1976 treaty lets Spain and Sweden both tax your Swedish rent and gains. Add Modelo 720 above 50,000 euro and, since July 2026, a Swedish ID for lagfart.