New electronic administration system for real estate transactions in Hungary

Property ownership in Hungary

In Hungary, property ownership is established through registering real estate transactions with the land registry. Depending on whether you purchase real estate or another type of transaction is taking place (e.g. inheritance or registering a beneficiary), the process must involve lawyers or notaries who act on behalf of their clients. The completion of modification requests on the title deeds has always been a lengthy procedure but now, with the introduction of the new electronic administration system, the land registry is expected to become more precise and more efficient.

E-ING: the system for real estate transactions

Starting from January 15, 2025, lawyers and notaries can file modification requests electronically through the E-ING system (the name is made up of “electronic” and “ingatlan”, which means real estate in Hungarian). However, the paper-based system is still available, and it will remain so until around September 2025. (More precisely, until the 500,000^th decision is made this year, which is expected to happen sometime in September based on the figures of previous years.)

The introduction of the new system and the relevant new regulations mostly concern the lawyers and notaries handling real estate transactions. The effects on the population are limited. Most importantly, administration is expected to become faster and more efficient.

Buyer’s right to retaining property rights

The most important change for the general population is probably a new concept: the Buyer’s right to retaining property rights (“tulajdonjog fenntartáshoz kapcsolódó vevői jog”). This is relevant if you are buying real estate and you are paying in instalments (typical when you take a loan to finance the purchase). When you agree with the previous owner, first this right should be registered on the title deed as step one, and ownership can be transferred only in a second step, once the purchase price is paid in full. As a result, two changes are necessary in the land registry from now on, which means an extra trip to the lawyer, and the fee for making a change to the registry must be paid twice too.

More cases require authorization

Previously, lawyers and notaries could request a copy of the title deed of a piece of property based on the land registry number. From now on, however, they will need an authorization from the owner to do this. As a result, prospective owners cannot easily get information about their future neighbors, which might be essential especially when someone is buying agricultural land (which is not really relevant for third-country nationals, who cannot buy agricultural land in Hungary).

In any case, authorization can be given in person, or electronically with an e-signature, through Ügyfélkapu+, or through DÁP.

Immediate registration

The greatest innovation of the E-ING system is that in certain simple cases, real estate transactions will become automatic, and will not need approval from an administrator of the land registry (unless one of the stakeholders requests it explicitly). In the below cases, the change of ownership may be immediately updated on the title deed:

• If there are no claims on the property and ownership is transferred as a whole
• When mortgage is being registered or deleted
• When enforcement rights are being deleted

When a case is more complicated, e.g. because there are several owners, one of the owners is a foreign national or a minor, or if there are claims registered on the title deed, the approval of an administrator will still be required even when the transaction is registered through E-ING.

At the same time, certain updates will become automatized, such as the deletion of beneficiary rights when the fixed term for such rights expires or when the holder of such rights dies.

Property purchase in Hungary

If you are a third-country national who is planning to purchase real estate in Hungary, you will perceive little to no change to real estate transactions. You will still need a lawyer to prepare the documents, and they will file the data update request with the land registry once the contract is completed, either on paper or electronically. If you are buying real estate through your Hungarian company, you might be able to take advantage of the automatized procedure.

Do you need help navigating Hungarian bureaucracy? Helpers offers administrative assistance to foreigners living, working, and doing business in Hungary. Whether you are interested in company setup, residency application, or real estate investment, we would be happy to assist you.

Did you like this article? Follow us on Facebook, or sign up for our monthly newsletter.