In brief

• Who concludes the contract: The sale and purchase contract for Albanian property must be signed before a notary (notary public); this is the form required by law.
• When the property becomes yours: When your ownership has been registered at the State Cadastre Agency (abbreviated ASHK in Albanian). Signing the contract alone is not enough.
• What to watch out for: Albanian law restricts foreigners from buying land, so you also need to check how the land the property stands on is classified.
• Whom to turn to: A local lawyer, who checks the documents, and an interpreter if you do not speak Albanian.

Buying property abroad is a big decision, and there is no need to rush it. In this article we go through how a purchase in Albania works: what happens at the notary, what cadastral registration means, and what is worth having checked in advance.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Before any specific purchase, always ask an Albanian lawyer for an opinion. We do not state prices, fees or costs in this article; we write about those separately.

Can you buy property in Albania as a foreigner?

According to the official website of the Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA), acquiring property takes two steps: first a contract or an official decision comes into being, and then the ownership must be registered in the property register. In the case of a sale, the contract must be concluded as a notarial deed.

The restrictions on foreigners apply to land. The official website and a 2025 guide by an Albanian law firm state the following:

• Agricultural land, forest, meadow, pasture: a foreigner cannot acquire ownership of it, but can lease it for up to 99 years.
• Other land: a foreigner can buy land if they carry out an investment whose value is at least three times the value of the land.
• Albanian company: these restrictions do not apply if the buyer sets up a new Albanian company, even one that is one hundred percent foreign-owned. However, this raises separate legal and tax questions, so it is only worth embarking on with an expert.

The two sources describe the restrictions as applying to land. We found no separate ban on apartments or buildings in them. Even so, it is important to know that the classification of the plot belonging to a house matters, so in every case you should have your lawyer check exactly what can be bought.

The rules may change, so it is always worth confirming the current position with an Albanian lawyer before buying.

The steps of the purchase in order

According to the Albanian law firm’s guide, buying an apartment generally proceeds as follows. The sequence shows an average sale and purchase; individual cases may differ.

1. Checking the property. The buyer (in practice, their lawyer) reviews the property’s title documents and, if necessary, has the property measured. According to the guide, legal due diligence is strongly recommended, depending on the value of the property.
2. Preliminary agreement. In practice, a deposit or preliminary contract is often drawn up before the notarial contract. Its content differs from case to case, so it is also worth having a lawyer review it.
3. The notary’s check. Before the contract is signed, the notary checks electronically that no encumbrance, pledge or other restriction is registered on the property.
4. Signing before the notary. The sale and purchase contract must be concluded in writing, before a notary. The notary also registers the contract at the cadastre office.
5. Depositing the purchase price. The buyer pays the full purchase price into the notary’s escrow account. An escrow account is a blocked account from which the money is only passed on once the conditions have been met.
6. Registration application. After the full purchase price has been deposited, the notary submits the contract to the State Cadastre Agency (ASHK).
7. Registration and certificate of ownership. The agency registers the new owner and issues the certificate of ownership. According to the guide, this happens within 30 days at most.
8. Payment of the purchase price. Once the ownership has been registered, the purchase price is transferred to the seller’s bank account.

By law, registration must be requested within 30 days of the conclusion of the contract. If this is missed, a fine may be imposed.

What is worth having checked before buying

According to the Albanian law firm’s guide, the cadastre office issues three documents about a property: the certificate of ownership, the property sheet and the cadastral map. These prove who the owner is. The register’s data is not public; the authorities, the courts and notaries have access to it. The buyer therefore has to rely on the lawyer and the notary.

The following are worth clarifying before you sign anything:

• Who the owner is: The seller’s name should match that of the registered owner. If the property has several owners, all of them must take part in the sale. The other owners also have a right of pre-emption: according to an English translation of the Albanian Civil Code, a co-owner who wants to sell their share to someone who is not a co-owner must first notify the other owners in writing, and they then have three months to respond. The translation may not be the current text, so it is worth confirming the present rule with an Albanian lawyer.
• Whether there is an encumbrance on the property: In the case of a mortgage or seizure, the sale is only possible if the debt has been paid and the seizure lifted.
• What can be bought: The classification of the plot matters, as we wrote in the section “Can you buy property in Albania as a foreigner?”.
• What the building’s legal situation is: It is worth having your lawyer review the building permit and the occupancy permit.

Not everything ends with the contract. According to the guide, the buyer can report a defect within 10 days of discovering it, and can enforce it at the latest within two years of handover. According to the guide, for a building this period can in certain cases be as long as 10 years; it is worth clarifying the conditions with your lawyer.

Notary, lawyer and interpreter: who does what

The notary. Mandatory for a sale and purchase. The notary prepares and certifies the contract, checks electronically that there is no encumbrance on the property, holds the deposited purchase price and submits the registration application to the cadastre office. The notary is a public official.

The lawyer. In Albania, using a lawyer is not mandatory, but it is worthwhile. The lawyer reviews the title documents and the content of the contract in the buyer’s interest. We recommend that every buyer has a local lawyer review the purchase contract before signing it.

The legal interpreter. Anyone who does not speak the language should also use a legal interpreter so that they understand exactly what they are signing. In a contract, an inaccurate translation can lead to a serious misunderstanding.

We replace neither the lawyer nor the notary. What we can offer is to accompany you from the start of the journey through to the sale and purchase, and if you have a question, you can ask it.

Frequently asked questions

Is a notary required for the sale and purchase? Yes. By law, the sale and purchase contract for a property must be concluded in writing, before a notary.

When does the property become mine? When your ownership has been registered at the cadastre office. Signing the contract alone is not enough.

How long does registration take? According to the guide, the agency issues the certificate of ownership within 30 days at most.

Is it mandatory to hire a lawyer? It is not mandatory, but we strongly recommend it, especially at higher values.

Can I buy land as a foreigner? With restrictions. A foreigner cannot acquire ownership of agricultural land, forest, meadow or pasture, but can lease it for up to 99 years. For other land there are investment conditions.

Can the rules change? Yes. That is why it is always worth confirming the current position with an Albanian lawyer before buying.

If you would like to think it over further

Buying property abroad is a big decision, and there is no need to rush it. We do not pressure anyone, and we do not promise anything we cannot be sure of keeping. If you have a question about how buying in Albania works, write to us and we will discuss how we can help.

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