Buying a flat at a notary in Montenegro: the purchase contract, notary fees and cadastre registration

How much does a purchase contract at a notary cost? It depends on the value of the flat: 480 € for a flat worth 80,000 to 119,999.99 €, and above that 13 € more for every started 15,000 €, at most 8,000 €. VAT is added.

Once buyer and seller agree on a price, the next step is the notary. Local searches show what people most want to know: "kupoprodajni ugovor kod notara cijena" (purchase contract at a notary, price), "ugovor kod notara cena" (contract at a notary, price) and "notar kupoprodajni ugovor za stan" (notary purchase contract for a flat), and from Serbia comes "solemnizacija ugovora" (solemnisation of a contract). The answer on price changed on 9 April 2026, when a new notary tariff came into force.

This article follows a purchase from agreement to registration: why a notarial deed is mandatory, what the notary does, what it costs, which taxes follow the signing and when you become the owner.

Why a notarial deed and not certified signatures

A legal transaction whose subject is the transfer or acquisition of ownership of real estate must be made as a notarial deed. A transaction not made in that form has no legal effect. A contract signed at home with only the signatures certified therefore does not transfer the flat.

There are two routes to that form:

• The notary drafts the contract. The notary establishes the parties' identity, draws up the deed, reads and explains it, and the parties sign in the notary's presence.
• The notary confirms a private document. If you prepared the contract yourself or with a lawyer, the notary can confirm it, provided it meets the legal requirements of form and content. A document confirmed this way has the status of a notarial deed. This corresponds to what Serbia calls solemnisation.

Advice, drafting, reading and explaining the document are included in the notary's fee and are not charged separately.

What to sort out before the notary

The notary records what the parties declare, but does not replace your own check of the flat. Before signing:

1. Check the cadastre extract: owner, share, encumbrances and annotations. How to do it is covered in our article on checks before buying.
2. Agree who pays the notary. All parties to the transaction are jointly and severally liable to the notary unless they agree otherwise, so put it in the contract.
3. If you paid a kapara, know what you actually paid. The difference between a kapara, an advance and a withdrawal fee is explained in our article on deposits and preliminary contracts.
4. If you cannot attend in person, a representative can sign for you, but the form required for the contract also applies to the power of attorney. A power of attorney to buy a flat must therefore be a notarial deed, and its fee under the tariff is 60 €.

What the notary charges for a purchase contract

The fee is set by the value of the subject, and the basis is the flat's actual market value. Until an official register of market values is set up, the notary may determine the market value if the price stated by the parties does not match it. The tariff is mandatory: a notary may charge neither more nor less than prescribed.

For a flat worth 200,000 €, the amount above 119,999.99 € covers six started blocks of 15,000 €, so the fee is 480 € + 6 × 13 € = 558 €. VAT is added to the fee, as are any charges and duties set by other regulations. The fee includes certification of the deed, certification of signatures, copies of attachments and certified copies issued right after signing.

Other amounts from the same tariff that matter when buying a flat:

The notary is entitled to the fee as soon as the work is done and may ask for an advance. Certified copies are handed over only once everything is paid, and the notary must issue a receipt. If you disagree with the bill, the dispute can be settled amicably before the Notarial Chamber.

What happens after signing

The notary must deliver a certified copy of the contract to two places:

• The authority responsible for the cadastre, because the contract transfers ownership of real estate. That authority sends its decision on registration to the notary and the parties. Since July 2026 the notary may also deliver the copy electronically, with a qualified electronic signature.
• The tax office of the municipality where the flat is, within 15 days of drawing up the copy, because the transfer is taxable.

Amendments to the Law on State Survey and Real Estate Cadastre from December 2025 introduced an electronic counter through which registration requests can also be filed by those who certify the documents on which registration is based, with detailed conditions to be set by the Ministry. Ask your notary whether they or you file the registration request, and how you will receive the decision.

Taxes the buyer pays

For a flat worth 200,000 €, transfer tax comes to about 7,000 €. On the first sale of a new flat by the developer, no transfer tax is paid because VAT is included in the price. Details are in our articles on property transfer tax and on annual property tax.

If the parties terminate the contract by agreement within 90 days of concluding it, before registration in the cadastre, that is a ground for the transfer tax to be assessed again.

When you become the owner

Ownership of real estate acquired through a legal transaction passes on registration in the real estate cadastre. Neither the signature at the notary, nor the price paid, nor the keys handed over make you the owner by themselves. Registration is therefore the last and most important step: when the decision arrives, check the new cadastre extract and make sure you are registered as the owner, with the correct share and no unexpected encumbrances.

If this is your first purchase in Montenegro, the whole path from choosing a flat to registration is set out in our guide to buying property, and you can browse current offers in our real estate listings.

Frequently asked questions

Is certifying the signatures at a notary enough? No. A contract transferring ownership of real estate must be a notarial deed, or a private document confirmed by the notary under the rules for notarial deeds.

Who pays the notary, the buyer or the seller? The parties are jointly and severally liable to the notary unless they agree otherwise. So state in the contract who bears the costs.

Can the notary charge less? No. The tariff applies in every case, and agreeing a higher or lower fee is prohibited.

Can I buy a flat if I cannot come to the notary? Yes, through a representative. The power of attorney must be in the same form as the contract, so a notarial deed, and its fee is 60 €.

When do I become the owner of the flat? On registration in the real estate cadastre, not on signing the contract.

Sources

The notarial deed form, confirmation of private documents and delivery of certified copies are set out in the Law on Notaries (articles 51a, 52 and 82), the form of a power of attorney in article 86 of the Law on Obligations, and electronic delivery in the Rulebook amending the Rulebook on the Work of Notaries (Official Gazette of Montenegro 88/2026). The fees are taken from the Tariff on Fees and Expenses of Notaries (Official Gazette of Montenegro 49/2026). Transfer tax is governed by the Law on Property Transfer Tax (articles 6, 7, 11, 15, 16 and 19), acquisition of ownership on registration by the Law on Property Relations (article 84), and the electronic counter by the amendments to the Law on State Survey and Real Estate Cadastre (Official Gazette of Montenegro 160/2025). Fijaka is a listings platform and does not give legal advice; for a specific contract, consult a notary or a lawyer.