Montenegro guides: property, vehicles, tax and everyday life

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Sourced, up-to-date guides to property, vehicles, shopping, tax, work and everyday life in Montenegro.

All articles

A calculator and apartment keys on a wooden table by a window

Capital gains tax when you sell property in Montenegro: 15% on the gain, exemptions and the filing deadline

How much tax you pay when you sell a flat or plot in Montenegro, how the sale and purchase price are calculated, when no tax is due, what applies to inherited and gifted property and to foreigners, and when to file, with a worked example.

September 24, 2026

An empty meeting room with a long wooden table and a view of town rooftops

Property auctions in Montenegro: how to buy a flat at an enforcement sale and what changed in 2026

Who runs the public sale of a flat or house in enforcement proceedings, how the value is set and the sale order published, how much the deposit is, what the lowest price is at the first, second and third auction since the May 2026 amendments, and what the buyer gets with the property.

September 24, 2026

A dog sitting next to a travel bag on a terrace overlooking the sea

Travelling with a dog or cat to and from Montenegro: pet passport, rabies vaccination and the titre test the EU no longer requires

What the Montenegrin rulebook requires for the non-commercial movement of dogs and cats, what changed on 19 June 2026 for travel from Montenegro to the European Union, how many pets may travel with their owner and what applies to a pet in a rented flat and in a building.

September 24, 2026

An old stone house with an olive grove and a stone wall on a hill

Acquisitive prescription of property in Montenegro: 10 and 20 year periods, possession in good faith and cadastre registration

How ownership of land or a house is acquired by prescription, what possession in good faith and lawful possession mean, when the period is 10 and when 20 years, what applies to heirs and public goods, how prescription is registered and what to watch when buying a plot.

September 24, 2026

A car on a coastal road by the sea and mountains in Montenegro

Driving licence for foreigners in Montenegro: driving on a foreign licence, the six-month limit and exchange without a test

Who may drive in Montenegro on a foreign driving licence and for how long, what the law says about the international driving permit, how a foreign licence is exchanged for a Montenegrin one without a test and which fines apply from August 2026.

September 24, 2026

An unmarked bank card and a passport on a wooden table next to a cup of coffee

Opening a bank account in Montenegro as a foreigner: the right to a basic account, ten working days, refusal and fees

A law applied since 2023 gives every consumer lawfully staying in Montenegro the right to a payment account with basic features, regardless of nationality. Who has the right, how quickly the bank must answer, when it may refuse, what the account covers and where to compare fees.

September 24, 2026

A hand writing with a fountain pen on a blank sheet of paper on a wooden desk beside reading glasses

Making a will in Montenegro: handwritten, witnessed or at a notary, the forced share and what applies to foreigners with property

Who can make a will, which forms are valid, what a will at a notary costs, how large the forced share that cannot be bypassed is, how a will is revoked and registered and which law applies when a foreigner leaves property in Montenegro.

September 24, 2026

A bright living room in a flat with a sofa, wooden floor and a large window

Home insurance in Montenegro: sum insured, underinsurance, reporting a claim and what happens to the policy when you sell

What the Law on Obligations says about property insurance: how the sum insured affects the payout, which losses are not covered, what happens if the premium is unpaid, the three-day deadline to report a loss, the payment deadline and how the policy passes to a buyer.

September 24, 2026

An underground garage of a residential building with empty parking bays and concrete pillars

Buying a garage or parking space in Montenegro: separate unit, co-ownership share or common area

The same words in a listing, garage space, can mean three legally different things. How to tell what is for sale, what the title extract shows, who has a right of first refusal, which tax applies and what the rules are for parking in a building's yard.

September 24, 2026

A surveying instrument on a tripod and a wooden stake on an empty plot, with a stone wall and trees behind

Plot boundaries in Montenegro: survey reports, splitting a plot and settling a boundary

Who prepares a survey report and within what deadline, how a plot is split and when parcelling is allowed after the 2025 amendments, what an urban plot is, how a court settles a boundary and who owns the fence on it.

September 24, 2026

A gravel track between dry-stone walls leads past olive trees to a walled plot

Right of way in Montenegro: how an easement over a neighbour's land is created, registered and ended

Montenegrin law calls a right to cross a neighbouring plot a real servitude. How it is created by contract, court decision or prescription, what an access of necessity is, how it is entered on sheet G, when it ends and what to check before buying a plot.

September 24, 2026

A utility cabinet with a closed electricity meter box and water pipes in an apartment building hallway

Transferring electricity and water to the new owner in Montenegro after buying a flat: EPCG, the water utility and the building

After you buy a flat, electricity and water bills keep arriving in the previous owner's name until the customer's name is changed. Which documents EPCG asks for, what the water utility in Podgorica asks for, what applies to inheritance and gifts, who is liable for old debt and what to tell the building manager.

September 24, 2026

A residential building with a new insulated facade and balconies on a sunny day

Energy performance certificate in Montenegro: when it is needed to sell or let, who issues it and what classes A to G mean

What the region calls an energy passport, Montenegrin law calls a certificate of a building's energy performance. When an owner must have it to sell or let a flat, what it contains, how long it is valid, who issues it, what classes A to G mean and what the law says about fines.

September 24, 2026

A hand signing a document with a fountain pen on a wooden desk next to a stamp

Power of attorney from abroad to buy or sell property in Montenegro: form, apostille and revocation

Buying or selling a flat through an attorney is possible even when you are outside Montenegro, but the power of attorney must have the right form. What the law requires of a power of attorney for property, when a foreign document needs an apostille, what is certified at a Montenegrin court, what a notary charges and how to revoke it.

September 24, 2026

Waiting area of a public health centre with empty chairs and a reception window

Health insurance for foreigners in Montenegro: who is covered by the Health Insurance Fund and who needs a private policy

A foreigner with residence in Montenegro is not automatically insured. Who becomes insured with the Health Insurance Fund, what applies with permanent and with temporary residence, what cover a residence permit requires, what about the family and what the insurance covers.

September 24, 2026

Empty ground-floor commercial premises with a large blank shop window and a concrete floor

Leasing commercial premises in Montenegro: contract, costs, alterations, notice and tax on the rent

Leasing a shop or an office has its own rules, different from renting a flat. What contract the law requires, who pays routine upkeep and building costs, when the tenant may alter the premises, how long the notice period is and how the rent is taxed.

September 24, 2026

An emptied flat on moving day with boxes and keys on a table

Ending an apartment lease in Montenegro: notice period, termination without notice, deposit and tenant eviction

How long the notice period is when the lease does not state one, when a lease can be ended at once, what happens when the flat is sold during the lease, what the law says about handing the flat back and the deposit, and whom to turn to when a tenant will not move out.

September 24, 2026

An elderly woman and a younger woman drinking coffee at a kitchen table in a sunny flat

The lifelong maintenance contract in Montenegro: notarial deed, when the flat passes, tax, termination and heirs' rights

A flat in exchange for care until the end of someone's life is a contract with strict rules. Why it must be a notarial deed, when the carer becomes the owner, who pays tax and when, how the contract ends and when the legal heirs can challenge it.

September 24, 2026

An old stone house with separate entrances and an outside stone staircase on a steep street in a coastal town

Co-owned property in Montenegro: selling your share, the co-owners' right of first refusal and division

When a flat or house is registered to several owners, each can sell their own share, but must first offer it to the others. How long the right of first refusal lasts, what one co-owner can do alone and what needs everyone, how to exit co-ownership, and what tax and notary fees apply.

September 24, 2026

An empty bright primary school classroom with wooden desks, a green board and plants on the windowsill

Schools in Montenegro for foreign children: state schools, international schools and transferring from abroad

A child who moves to Montenegro with a residence permit has the same right to a state school place as a local child, and primary school is free. How the state system works, what happens if your child does not speak the language, how a school report from abroad is recognised, and which international schools confirm their programmes on their own websites.

September 24, 2026

A used car parked by the sea in a coastal town, two people talking next to it

How to sell a car in Montenegro: the contract, the 5% used vehicle tax and transferring ownership

Selling a used car runs from the listing to registration in the new owner's name. What the sale contract must say, what a notary charges to certify it, who pays the used vehicle tax under the 2025 law and when, and what the buyer needs to register the car.

September 24, 2026

Aerial view of plots, roofs and streets in a coastal town, with plot boundaries clearly visible

The Montenegrin cadastre extract (list nepokretnosti): how to get it online and how to read it before you buy

Since July 2026 the cadastre extract can be downloaded electronically with an electronic signature. How to get it, what it costs, what sheets A, B, V and G mean, the difference between full registration, provisional registration and annotations, and which entries among the encumbrances should raise a red flag for a buyer.

September 24, 2026

An older couple and their adult daughter at a kitchen table in a bright flat, with keys and coffee cups on the table

Gifting a flat in Montenegro: the notary, taxes, forced shares and revoking a gift

Giving a flat to a child or another relative goes through a notary just like a sale, but with different costs and different risks. What the notary charges, who pays transfer tax, when capital gains tax arises, how the gift affects the inheritance and when it can be revoked.

September 24, 2026

An old stone house with closed wooden shutters in a coastal village, olive trees in front

Inheriting property in Montenegro: who inherits, how probate works at a notary, what it costs and when tax is due

When the owner of a flat dies, the heirs do not have to start the procedure themselves, but they should know what lies ahead. Orders of inheritance, the probate hearing at a notary, renouncing an inheritance, the notary fee under the 2026 tariff, transfer tax and the deceased's debts.

September 24, 2026