Buyer's due diligence checklist for Estonia
Pre-purchase due diligence checklistKinnisvara ostueelne kontrollnimekiri
The registers to read and the documents to request before you make a firm decision to buy a house, a plot or an apartment in Estonia: land register, building register, energy certificate, apartment association, leases, seller's capacity and the rules for foreign buyers.
Use it after a first visit and before you book the notary. Most registers are online. The notary checks the legal side again before the signing, but does no technical survey of the building and does not check the condition of the property.
Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.
Key facts
- Applies to
- Whole country
- Land register
- Public. Everyone can read it, and no one can claim not to know its content (Asjaõigusseadus § 55).
- Reliance on the register
- Entries are presumed correct (Asjaõigusseadus §§ 56 and 56¹).
- Good-faith buyer
- Protected when relying on the entries, unless an objection is registered or the buyer knew they were wrong (Asjaõigusseadus §§ 56 and 56¹).
- Energy performance certificate
- A sale listing must show the energy class. A certificate based on real consumption is valid for 10 years (Ehitusseadustik §§ 66 and 67).
- Apartment association debts
- The buyer is liable as a surety for the seller's due debts, up to the value of the apartment (KrtS §§ 43 and 44).
- Association's pledge
- Equals the apartment's management costs for the previous year (KrtS §§ 43 and 44).
- Existing leases
- A lease passes to the buyer. The buyer can end a residential lease within 3 months only on urgent own need (Võlaõigusseadus §§ 291 and 323).
- Use permit for small houses
- Since 1 August 2026 a single-family or two-apartment house needs a use notice instead of a use permit (Maa- ja Ruumiamet).
- Farm and forest land
- Free for EEA and OECD citizens. Other natural persons need a local council permit (Kinnisasja omandamise kitsendamise seadus §§ 4 and 5).
- Border and island areas
- Non-EEA and non-UK citizens need a Government permit to acquire an immovable in the listed islands and border municipalities.
- Apartments
- These restrictions do not apply to an apartment (korteriomand) (Kinnisasja omandamise kitsendamise seadus §§ 2(4) and 10).
The checklist
Seller and ownership
Confirm that the seller is the owner shown in the land register, and list every co-owner.kinnistusraamatu registriosa
Only the registered owner can transfer the immovable. Every co-owner must take part.
Ask whether the seller is married or in a registered partnership, and whether the property is joint property.ühisvara, lahusvara
If a company sells, check the business register for its board members, its tax debts and any insolvency notice.e-Äriregister
Land register: charges and rights
Read the servitudes, rights of use, building rights and pre-emption rights registered on the immovable.servituut, isiklik kasutusõigus, hoonestusõigus, ostueesõigus
These rights bind every later owner and can limit how you use or rebuild the property.
Read the mortgages, and ask the seller how and when each will be removed.hüpoteek
A mortgage stays on the property after the sale unless the seller's bank consents to its deletion.
Look for priority notices for another person.eelmärge
A priority notice for another person makes a later sale void against that person's claim.
Look for prohibition notes and objections.keelumärge, vastuväide
A prohibition note blocks entries. An objection removes the protection of good faith reliance.
For a share in a co-owned building, check whether a use arrangement is noted in the land register.mõtteline osa, kasutuskord
Building, permits and energy
Find the building in the building register and compare the area, the floors and the use with the listing.ehitisregister
Check that the building and each extension has a use permit, or a use notice if finished under the 1 August 2026 rules.kasutusluba, kasutusteatis
A missing use permit and unlawful building works are risks the notaries tell buyers to check.
Read the energy performance certificate: its class, its date and the recommendations.energiamärgis
Have a building expert inspect the roof, the structure, damp, mould, heating, water and electrical systems.ehitustehniline ülevaatus
The notary does no building survey and does not check pipes, roof, electrics or structures.
Ask the seller in writing for all known defects, damp or mould problems, access problems and disputes with neighbours.teadaolevad puudused
The seller must disclose known defects. A written list helps you prove them later.
Apartment association (flats)
Ask the association for a statement of the seller's debts on the day of the sale.korteriühistu võlgnevuse tõend
The buyer answers as a surety for the seller's due debts, up to the value of the apartment.
Get the budget, the last annual report, the reserve fund and the minutes of recent general meetings.majanduskava, majandusaasta aruanne, üldkoosoleku protokoll
They show the monthly charges, any renovation loan and planned large works that you will share.
Check in the land register which storage rooms and parking spaces belong to the apartment.eriomand, korteriomand
The land register shows whether a cellar room or a parking space is part of the apartment.
Occupants, foreign buyers and money
Ask for every lease of the property and the deposit paid by each tenant.üürileping, tagatisraha
If you are not a citizen of an EEA or OECD state, check whether the land contains agricultural or forest land.kinnisasja omandamise kitsendused
If you are not an EEA or United Kingdom citizen, check whether the land lies in a restricted island or border area.kinnisasja omandamise kitsendused
Prepare bank statements that show where your own funds come from.raha päritolu
The notary may not certify the deal until the origin of the money is known and plausible.
Have foreign documents translated by a sworn translator or a notary, and legalised or apostilled.vandetõlge, apostill
Formalities
- No form applies to the checks.
- The notary checks the land register, the owner, mortgages, prohibition notes, servitudes and rights of use.
- The notary also checks the identity of the parties, their capacity and their powers.
- The buyer must check the condition of the building, the permits and the apartment association.
- Documents in a foreign language go to the land register with a translation certified by a sworn translator or a notary.
- Official documents issued abroad need legalisation or an apostille.
Common mistakes
- Relying on the listing or the agent for the area and the rooms. Compare them with the land register and the building register.
- Skipping a technical inspection. The notary checks only the legal side, so damp, mould, roof or wiring problems are yours to find.
- Buying an apartment without the association's debt statement, minutes and budget. Unpaid charges, a renovation loan or a planned large repair raise your costs.
- Buying a share of a co-owned building as if it were a registered apartment. A share gives no separate ownership of a flat.
- Relying on a use arrangement for a share. It binds later owners only if it is noted in the land register.
- Ignoring an extension or a converted attic missing from the building register. Notaries tell buyers to check that works are lawful and a use permit exists.
- Forgetting a sitting tenant. The lease passes to you, and you cannot end it at will.
Legal basis
- Asjaõigusseadus (Law of Property Act), §§ 55, 56, 56¹ (public land register and reliance on it), § 63 (notes in the land register)
- Ehitusseadustik (Building Code), §§ 66 and 67 (energy performance certificate)
- Korteriomandi- ja korteriühistuseadus (KrtS), §§ 43 and 44 (buyer's liability and association's pledge)
- Võlaõigusseadus (Law of Obligations Act), § 14 (disclosure during negotiations), §§ 291, 304(3) and 323 (lease and tenant's security on change of owner)
- Kinnisasja omandamise kitsendamise seadus (Restrictions on Acquisition of Immovables Act), § 2(4) (apartments excluded), §§ 4 and 5 (agricultural and forest land), § 10 (national defence areas)