How to sell an apartment in Estonia yourself

01Data and documents before the sale

The land register shows the owner of the apartment, mortgages, prohibition entries and restrictions. An owner can view their own registry part free of charge in the e-land register.

When a building or a part of it is sold, an interested person must be able to see the energy certificate, and the sale listing must contain the certificate data, including the energy class (Building Code § 67; Ministry of Climate). Energy certificates are issued only through the building register and are publicly visible there. The certificate of an existing building is valid for 10 years (Ministry of Climate).

The building register also shows the building's use permit and the procedures related to it (ehr.ee). How to check it, and what a missing use permit means for a sale, is set out on the page House legalization.

The seller must tell the buyer about all known defects and circumstances that affect use — for example construction faults, damp, mould, missing permits, a tenancy or disputes with neighbours. These are written into the contract (Chamber of Notaries).

02The price from public transaction data

The price statistics of the Land and Spatial Development Board show average transaction prices. They include only purchase-sale transactions, the apartment report is split by total floor area, and only apartments sold as dwellings are counted (query guide). Compare your apartment with transactions in the same area and of a similar size, not with asking prices in listings.

03The listing

A listing can be placed on property portals and in your own channels. Every listing must contain the energy certificate data and the energy class (Building Code § 67).

• address, total area, number of rooms and floor;
• price;
• energy class and energy certificate data;
• photos and a description that does not hide known defects.

04Viewings and offers

A real estate transaction must be notarised. A simple written agreement or handing over money is not enough: the buyer becomes the owner only when the transfer is entered in the land register (Chamber of Notaries). The agreement with the buyer is finalised at the notary.

05At the notary

The notary drafts the contract from the parties' information and the register data; the parties do not need to write it themselves. The notary checks the land register data, the parties' identity and right of representation, and whether the consent of a spouse, co-owner, bank or anyone else is needed. The buyer completes an anti-money-laundering questionnaire and shows the source of the funds (Chamber of Notaries).

The contract is signed at the notary's office or by remote certification. The notary submits the data to the court's land registry department; once the entry is made, the parties are notified by e-mail (Chamber of Notaries).

06State fee

A state fee is paid for the land register entry (State Fees Act). The Chamber of Notaries' calculator shows the state fee on a separate line from the notary fee (calculator).