How much is the estate agent's commission for selling an apartment? It is not set by law. It is agreed, so the only accurate amount is the one written in your brokerage contract.
Ask how much an agency charges and almost everyone gives the same answer: three percent. The number has been repeated for so long that it sounds like a regulation. It is not.
Montenegro has no legally set rate for a broker's fee. The amount is agreed, which is why in practice you see a range rather than a single number. What the law regulates is not how much, but who may act as a broker and what they must tell you in advance. For a seller that difference is worth more than any percentage, and this article explains it.
If you are thinking of selling without an agency, we have set out the process and the taxes in the guide to selling an apartment.
What the law actually changed
The Law on Real Estate Brokerage (Zakon o posredovanju u prometu i zakupu nepokretnosti) was adopted on 30 July 2025, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro no. 89/2025 on 5 August 2025 and entered into force on 13 August 2025. The August 2026 amendment (114/2026) extended the deadline for agencies that were already operating to comply.
What the law introduced concerns entry into the business and transparency:
| What was introduced | What it means for you |
| Register of brokers | A public electronic database of those allowed to broker; agencies that operated before the law must register by 13 August 2027 |
| Professional exam for agents | A broker is no longer anyone with a business card |
| General terms of business with the fee | The fee must be displayed in advance, at the office and on the website (Article 23) |
| Written brokerage contract | Must contain the fee, how and when it is paid, and the term of the contract (Article 18) |
The contract is concluded for a fixed term; if no term is agreed, it is deemed to run for six months (Article 19). The broker must inspect the ownership documents and warn you about registered encumbrances and pre-emption rights (Article 20).
What the law did not introduce: a fixed rate. The price of the service remains a matter of the market and of agreement. That is why the accurate answer to the question in the title is "as much as you agree", and the seller's job is to agree it knowingly.
So why does everyone say three percent
Because it is a common market practice passed on by word of mouth, not a rule. The problem starts when it is accepted as a given, so nobody negotiates and nobody checks what exactly is included. Two agencies can ask for the same percentage and provide very different services: one only publishes a listing, the other organises viewings, prepares the paperwork and takes you to the notary.
That is why the percentage on its own tells you nothing. The question is not only how much, but for what.
What to ask for before you sign
- Check the register. The broker should be registered; agencies that operated before the law have until 13 August 2027, so ask at least for proof that the application to register has been filed.
- Ask for a written brokerage contract. A verbal agreement is exactly what disputes later arise over.
- Have the fee amount or rate written into the contract, clearly and without referring to "usual practice".
- Ask when the broker earns the fee. By law, when the deal is concluded, unless it is agreed that the moment is the signing of a preliminary contract in the prescribed form; no part of the fee may be demanded in advance (Article 27).
- Ask what is included. Photos, publication, viewings, preparing documents, attending the notary. Write the list into the contract.
- Ask whether the contract is exclusive and how long it lasts. Exclusivity must be expressly agreed; if during that period you sell through another broker, you owe the first one the agreed fee as damages (Article 31).
- Check what the listing says. Under the new law a broker must state its name and its Register of Brokers number in the listing (Article 25).
If an agency avoids putting any of this in writing, that is an answer in itself.
With an agency or without
This is a real decision, not an advertising one. Both options make sense, depending on what you lack.
An agency makes sense when you have no time for viewings, when the apartment is empty and you are in another town or country, when you need someone to filter out time-wasters, or when the paperwork is not simple.
Going it alone makes sense when the apartment is registered and unencumbered, when you are available for viewings, and when you are ready to write the listing properly. The legal part of the work is done by the notary anyway, not the agency: a property purchase contract is concluded before a notary, and ownership passes with registration in the cadastre.
If you go it alone, posting a listing is free, and how to write a listing that actually gets calls is in a separate article with examples.
The fee is not the only cost of selling
When you work out the net amount you are left with, the commission is only one item:
- Capital gains tax of 15% on the difference between the sale and acquisition price, with an exemption if the property was your only and main place of residence.
- The cost of obtaining documents, above all the title extract.
- Notary costs, by tariff depending on the value.
- The transfer tax is paid by the buyer, not you, and it is often wrongly counted as a seller's cost.
Frequently asked questions
Is three percent the legal rate? No. It is a common practice passed on by word of mouth, not a rule.
Who pays the commission, the buyer or the seller? Whoever concluded the brokerage contract and took on that obligation. That is why it has to be written down before the deal, not agreed at the end.
When does the agency earn the fee? When the deal covered by the brokerage contract is concluded, or on the signing of a preliminary contract if that was agreed. No part of the fee may be demanded in advance.
Can I sell without an agency? You can. There is no legal obligation to hire a broker; you conclude the contract before a notary anyway.
How do I check an agency? Through the register of brokers, and by whether it is willing to put the fee and the scope of the service into the contract.
Source
The Law on Real Estate Brokerage was adopted on 30 July 2025, published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro no. 89/2025 and has applied since 13 August 2025; it was amended in 2026 (114/2026).
The fee is not set by law; check the specific terms in your contract and the broker's status in the register.