Documents for selling a property: a starting checklist

The core document is the notary deed or another title basis — for example a voluntary division agreement, a court decision, or a certificate of heirs combined with other documents in the case of an inherited property. It matters that the document accurately reflects the current owner and the property as registered.

If the title basis is older or more complex — for example a chain of transfers — it is worth reviewing the documents in advance, so questions do not arise at the last minute in front of the notary.

For properties within a cadastral area, a cadastral schema (for a self-contained unit) or sketch (for a plot) issued by the Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Agency is required. It confirms the property's identifier, area and boundaries according to the cadastral map.

Per the AGKK's own clarification, sketches and schemas do not have a fixed validity period — they reflect the cadastral map's data and remain current as long as that data hasn't changed, regardless of the issue date. So the task before a transaction isn't to re-certify the document because of an expired term, but to verify that the data in it is unchanged and matches the property's current situation.

The tax assessment is issued by the municipality where the property is located and is needed to calculate the fees due on the transaction, and in certain cases for the transaction itself before the notary. It does not reflect the market value of the property, but an administrative base set under a statutory methodology, and it follows its own rules on currency, separate from those for a sketch or schema.

The encumbrance certificate from the Registry Agency is a snapshot of the position as at the date it was issued — it shows registered mortgages, injunctions or other encumbrances current as of that date. It does not guarantee the property's status after that date, so it is usually requested close to the transaction date.

For a mortgaged property, the mechanics of settling the remaining debt and releasing the mortgage are agreed specifically with the lending bank and the notary on a case-by-case basis — prior consent or release of the mortgage is not always an absolute precondition for the transaction itself. For co-ownership, selling the whole property with all co-owners involved and selling only one co-owner's share are different situations that require separate review — including compliance with the right of first refusal when a share is sold. For an inherited property, a certificate of heirs is usually added as part of the title basis. The notary checks the documents required for the specific case before scheduling the transaction.

It is also worth reading about setting a realistic sale price, since preparing documents and pricing strategy often proceed in parallel.

A sensible order is to first check the notary deed or other title basis, then order a sketch or schema from the cadastre and confirm its data still matches the property's actual situation, and request the tax assessment and encumbrance certificate closer to the transaction date, since the encumbrance certificate reflects a position as at a specific date.

This order avoids a common mistake: leaving one's own documents until a buyer is already in place, which delays the whole process. The sketch or schema does not lose validity on its own, but it is still worth checking it against the current cadastral map shortly before the transaction, to catch any changes in the data.

It helps to keep everything in one folder — paper and scanned — with a short list of when each document was issued and by which institution. When the buyer or their lawyer asks for copies, you send them straight away instead of searching. If you spot an inconsistency, such as a different area in the deed and in the schema, note it and clarify it before viewings rather than during negotiations.

If the property was acquired many years ago or the documents have passed through several owners, allow more time. Older deeds sometimes describe the property with data that no longer matches the cadastre, and reconciling them is not a one-day task.

Put together a starting list of the documents you already have and share them with a notary or lawyer early in the process, so any gaps are identified in time. You can also look at our transaction services for support organising the documentation.