Buying property in Slovenia: what it costs, what to check and who can buy
In two minutes you see what the deal costs beyond the price, whether you can acquire property in Slovenia as a foreign citizen or company, what has to be checked before signing and how we protect the money until the title is registered. The result is an orientation and a starting point for an initial consultation, not advice.
Three steps you take. The review is ours.
Enter the transaction, tick what applies to your property and situation, and choose a signing date. The result is your personal review: what the deal costs, whether you can buy, what has to be checked and when money may move.
Mistakes in a property deal do not show at the viewing but after signing, when they are hard or impossible to fix: a mortgage the seller did not delete, an easement nobody mentioned, a pre-emption right nobody checked, a price paid before registration, or a foreign buyer whose title the Land Register cannot register. The review above tells you what the deal costs beyond the price, whether you can buy, what has to be checked and when money may move. The review itself is done by us, before signing, in English.
Every amount and deadline on this page has its source in a rule in force in 2026, listed below. What they mean for your deal we assess together with you at the initial consultation.
Five places where a deal fails.
Eligibility
EU, EEA, EFTA and OECD citizens buy like Slovenians. Candidate country citizens need a reciprocity decision before registration, other citizens buy through a company. Whoever skips this signs a contract the Land Register will not register.
Entries
The Land Register on the day of the viewing is not the one on the day of signing. Charges, easements, annotations and pending entries are checked right before signing and the entry is filed right after certification, because the order counts.
Money
Payment before registration without escrow, a loan in the wrong order, a seller bank without a deletion consent, a transfer from abroad stuck in a source of funds check. Each scenario means one side waits for the other without protection.
People
Co-owners, heirs, spouses, pre-emption beneficiaries, tenants. Whoever is missing at signing or was not notified can challenge the contract or block the entry.
Papers
Permits, cadastre, energy certificate, tax certificate, approval of the administrative unit, apostille on a power of attorney, a court interpreter. A missing paper does not void the contract, but it stops certification and registration for weeks.
That is why we run the review as one project: we check the position, prepare or review the contract, coordinate the notary and the bank, file the entry and monitor the release of the money. You sign, we manage. How we work on purchases and sales →
Where the numbers and rules come from.
All values apply on 23 September 2026 and were verified in official sources (PISRS, the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, gov.si). We update them when the rules change.
- Who can acquire property: citizens and legal persons of the EU, EEA, EFTA and OECD countries under the same conditions as Slovenian citizens on the basis of international agreements, without a reciprocity decision. Citizens and legal persons of EU candidate countries (North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia) with a final reciprocity decision of the Ministry of Justice under the Reciprocity Act (ZUVza-1): decision within 30 days of a complete application, valid one year, per property, attached to the Land Register deed, administrative fee 22.60 EUR. Citizens of other countries only by inheritance. Source: gov.si, e-uprava.gov.si, ZUVza-1 (Official Gazette 27/17).
- Real estate transfer tax: ZDPN-2, the seller is liable (Article 5), the base is the price (Article 8), rate 2 percent (Article 9), return within 15 days (Article 11), assessment within 30 days (Article 13), without proof of payment the notary does not certify the signature (Article 15). On a transfer with VAT the tax is not paid (Article 4).
- VAT on new builds: 9.5 percent for apartments up to 120 m2 and houses up to 250 m2 within social housing policy, otherwise 22 percent (ZDDV-1, Article 41 and Annex I). Sales of older buildings are VAT exempt (Article 44) with an option to tax between VAT payers (Article 45).
- Court fees for the Land Register procedure: ZST-1, tariff number 91011 (registration of title by property value, from 5 EUR below 20,000 EUR to 80 EUR at 70,000 to 300,000 EUR and 100 EUR up to 400,000 EUR), 91012 (registration of a mortgage 50 EUR), 91014 (priority notice 25 EUR).
- Notarial tariff (Official Gazette 59/19, 9/21 and 143/21), Annex 1: tariff number 8 (certification of a signature on a contract by value, 6 to 114 EUR, plus 16 EUR if the notary checks the content), tariff number 11 (escrow of money by value, for example 318 EUR at a price up to 298,350 EUR, at most 912 EUR), tariff number 1 (notarial deed by value, for example a mortgage agreement, 314 EUR at a value up to 367,200 EUR, at most 1,140 EUR), tariff number 13 (Land Register application 42 EUR). 22 percent VAT is added.
- Agent commission: the statutory cap in Article 5 of the Real Estate Agency Act (ZNPosr) was annulled by the Constitutional Court in two steps, on 26 October 2023 for all deals except residential ones with natural persons (Official Gazette 116/23) and on 2 September 2025 for those too (decision U-I-205/19, U-I-230/19, Official Gazette 76/25). The amount is a matter of agreement, paragraph 3 of Article 5 still applies: the agency may charge only its client under a brokerage agreement.
- Deposit: Articles 64 and 65 of the Obligations Code (on performance the deposit is set off, if the buyer fails the seller keeps it, if the seller fails they return double). Written form: Article 52. Certification of the signature on the Land Register deed: Article 33 of the Land Register Act (ZZK-1). Priority notice: Articles 68 to 73 ZZK-1, valid one year.
- Capital gains tax: 25 percent, after 5 years of ownership 20, after 10 years 15 (Article 132 ZDoh-2), after 15 years exempt (Article 96), exemption for an apartment or house with registered permanent residence and actual living for the last three years (Article 96). Applies to non residents for property in Slovenia. Acquisition and sale value are adjusted by 1 percent of standard costs.
- Agricultural and forest land: Agricultural Land Act (ZKZ), offer at the administrative unit with a 15 day deadline (Article 20), order of priority buyers (Article 23), application for approval within 30 days and certification only on a final decision (Article 22).
- New builds: Protection of Buyers of Apartments and Single Occupancy Buildings Act (ZVKSES), conditions for concluding the contract (Article 5), deposit at most 10 percent of the price (Article 11), simultaneous performance (Article 12), security of payments by bank guarantee or escrow services (Article 13), retention of part of the price (Article 15), handover protocol (Article 19), guarantee for hidden defects (Article 26).
- Foreign documents and language: a power of attorney signed abroad needs notarial certification and an apostille or legalisation unless a bilateral treaty applies. The notary must ensure that a party who does not understand Slovenian understands the deed, as a rule with a court interpreter (Notaries Act). A Slovenian tax number is needed for the tax return, the contract and registration (Tax Procedure Act).
The calculation does not include bank and valuation costs, the energy certificate, administrative fees, translations and our work. The split of costs between the parties is a matter of agreement. For companies and VAT payers the tax treatment differs and we assess it separately. Buying property does not give a residence permit.
Tjaša Ozimek
She leads the firm's real estate and private wealth practice: legal due diligence, contracts, the Land Register and payment security in the purchase, sale and transfer of property.
View profile →Buying property in Slovenia: frequently asked questions
Can I buy property in Slovenia as a foreigner?
Citizens and companies from the EU, the EEA, EFTA and OECD countries acquire property under the same conditions as Slovenian citizens, with no special decision. Citizens of EU candidate countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia) need a reciprocity decision of the Ministry of Justice before the title can be registered. Citizens of other countries cannot acquire property directly, except by inheritance, and usually buy through a Slovenian company. The tool shows which group you are in and what it means.
Are the calculated costs accurate?
They are an orientation based on the rules in force: real estate transfer tax of 2 percent, the notarial tariff (Official Gazette 59/19 with amendments), court fees under the Court Fees Act and, for candidate country citizens, the fee for the reciprocity decision. The commission of an agent is no longer capped by law and is a matter of agreement, so you enter your own percentage. The calculation does not include bank costs, valuation, the energy certificate, translations or our work. We tell you the price of our work before we start.
Who pays the notary, the court fee and the tax?
The seller is liable for the transfer tax. Notary and registration costs are split by agreement, usually the buyer pays escrow and registration and the seller the certification of their own signature. We write it into the contract, so there is no discussion after signing.
What is notarial escrow and why do I need it?
The buyer deposits the price with the notary, who pays it to the seller or their bank only once the conditions are met, as a rule the registration of your title free of charges. The buyer does not pay before receiving, and the seller does not hand over before the money is secured. We draft the release conditions.
Do I have to come to Slovenia to sign?
No. You can sign through a power of attorney certified by a notary abroad with an apostille or legalisation, which we draft for the Slovenian notary. If you sign in Slovenia and do not read Slovenian, the notary requires a court interpreter, which we arrange. You will also need a Slovenian tax number, which we obtain for you.
How long does it take from signing to registration?
Usually a few weeks. The seller files the tax return within 15 days, the tax authority assesses the tax within 30 days, after payment the notary certifies the Land Register deed and the application for entry is filed. The order of entries is protected from the moment of filing. With a loan, a seller mortgage, agricultural land or a reciprocity decision the path is longer.
I am selling. Do I pay tax on the gain?
Capital gains from property in Slovenia are taxed in Slovenia also for non residents: 25 percent, after five years of ownership 20, after ten 15, after fifteen years no tax. The sale of an apartment or house where you had registered permanent residence and actually lived for the last three years is exempt. The tool shows the calculation in step 1.