Court fees when buying property

What court fees are paid for

Court fees when buying property relate to the keeping of the land and mortgage register, that is the public register in which the legal status of a property is disclosed. The most important of them concerns the entry of the right of ownership in your favour — only this entry confirms towards third parties that you are the owner of the unit.

If you buy on credit, a second significant item will arise: the fee for the entry of the mortgage, which the bank establishes on the property as security for its claim. In some situations there are also fees for setting up a new land and mortgage register or for other applications, for example to delete earlier encumbrances.

Where the amount of the fees comes from

The amount of court fees for entries in the land and mortgage register is not arbitrary — it is governed by the Act on court costs in civil cases. These fees are usually fixed, that is set as a specific amount rather than a percentage of the property value. Thanks to this they are predictable regardless of whether you are buying a studio or a large house.

Since the regulations are sometimes amended, before the transaction it is worth confirming the current rates with the notary or checking the current wording of the Act. The notary preparing the deed will always give you the exact amounts in the settlement, so you do not have to calculate them yourself — the important thing is to know that such a cost will arise at all.

Who collects and passes on the fees

In practice court fees are most often collected by the notary when drawing up the notarial deed. It is the notary who, on your behalf, files the application for entry in the land and mortgage register via the ICT system, and passes the collected amounts to the relevant land and mortgage register court. Thanks to this you do not have to go to the court in person or fill in forms.

On the settlement from the notary's office you will see the court fees as separate items, alongside the notary fee and the PCC tax. It is worth noting that these are different types of dues going to different institutions — the fee is the notary's remuneration, PCC is a tax, and the court fees are the cost of keeping the land and mortgage register.

Buying on credit versus buying for cash

Whether you finance the purchase with cash or a mortgage translates directly into the total of court fees. When buying for cash you will pay mainly for the entry of the right of ownership. When buying on credit, the fee for the entry of the mortgage in favour of the bank is added, so the total cost is higher.

Although the difference across the whole transaction is not enormous, it is worth taking into account when comparing offers and planning your own contribution. Court fees, like PCC and the notary fee, belong to the purchase-related costs that you usually cannot cover with a loan and for which you must have your own funds set aside.

How to budget for the fees

When planning the purchase of a flat, treat court fees as one of several fixed elements of additional costs. Although individually they may be small compared with the price of the property, together with the PCC tax, the notary fee and any agent's commission they form an amount that can significantly burden your budget.

A good habit is to prepare a simple list of all purchase-related costs before choosing a specific offer. This will let you realistically assess how much cash you need to gather beyond your own contribution to the loan itself, and avoid a situation where at the notarial deed stage there are not enough funds for the formalities.

Summary: court fees in the cost of purchase

Court fees cover entries in the land and mortgage register — above all the right of ownership, and with a loan also the mortgage. Their amount stems from the Act on court costs in civil cases and is usually fixed, independent of the property value. In practice they are collected and passed to the court by the notary. Buying on credit costs more in this respect than for cash. Include these fees in your budget together with the other purchase-related costs.