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Preliminary sale agreement template for Iceland

Purchase contractKaupsamningur

The formal purchase contract signed after the offer is accepted and before the deed of conveyance (afsal). It sets the price, the payment schedule, the mortgages, the handover and the costs. It is registered with the district commissioner, and the buyer pays stamp duty on it. The afsal follows full payment.

Use it once an offer has been accepted and any conditions are met or still running. The accepted offer already binds both parties. The kaupsamningur records every term in full and is the document that protects the buyer against third parties once registered. If a licensed agent handles the sale, the agent must draft it, and you use this template to check the draft. In a private sale, have a lawyer review it before signature.

Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.

Key facts

Applies to
Whole country
Stamp duty
0.8% of the official property value (fasteignamat) for an individual buyer, 1.6% for a company (lög 138/2013, 4. and 5. gr.).
First home
Half stamp duty, 0.4%, for an individual's first purchase of a home (lög 138/2013, 5. gr.).
Registration deadline
Within 2 months of signature. Late filing adds a surcharge of up to 10% of the stamp duty (Ísland.is).
Registration fee
ISK 3,800 per document (Ísland.is).
Signature certification
Two witnesses confirm the date, signatures and legal capacity (Ísland.is).
Risk
Passes to the buyer at handover (lög 40/2002, 12. gr.).
Charges and income
The seller's until handover, the buyer's after (lög 40/2002, 13. gr.).
Buyer's security
The buyer gets a lien on the property for the sums paid (lög 40/2002, 17. gr.).
Defects in used property
Only a defect that reduces the value appreciably counts, unless the seller acted culpably (lög 40/2002, 18. gr.).
Defect notice deadline
The right to notify a defect lapses 5 years after handover, unless the seller guaranteed longer (lög 40/2002, 48. gr.).
Deed of conveyance
The buyer has a right to the afsal once all contract obligations are met (lög 40/2002, 11. gr.).

The document

Text shown

You sign the Icelandic version. The English version helps you understand it. Your answers fill both.

Purchase contract

  1. 1.Parties

    1. 1.1

      Seller: Seller's full name, ID no. Seller's kennitala, Seller's address.

      Name every registered owner.

    2. 1.2

      Buyer: Buyer's full name, ID no. Buyer's kennitala, Buyer's address.

      Name every buyer. With more than one, state the share each buys.

    3. 1.3

      This contract is made in accordance with the purchase offer accepted on Date the purchase offer was accepted. If they differ, this purchase contract prevails.

      Both parties must agree to any change from the accepted offer.

  2. 2.The property sold

    1. 2.1

      The seller sells and the buyer buys the property Address of the property, property number Property number (fasteignanúmer), more precisely Description of the property, together with everything that belongs and should belong to it, including the share of the common parts and the land rights under the registered title documents.

      Give type, floor, unit number, size in m² by the property register, share in the building and the plot, storage and parking.

    2. 2.2

      The fixtures of the property are included in the sale, see articles 22 to 24 of Act no. 40/2002, except the following: Fittings that the seller removes.

      By law, fixed kitchen and bathroom fittings, built-in appliances, fitted floor coverings, heating and electrical installations stay. List what the seller takes.

  3. 3.Title and encumbrances

    1. 3.1

      The seller owns the property under Seller's title and declares that he or she has full authority to sell it.

      Name the registered deed or other document by which the seller got the property, with its date.

    2. 3.2

      The buyer takes over the following mortgage loans: Mortgages the buyer takes over. The seller shall pay off and have cancelled the following mortgage debts from the purchase price: Mortgages the seller must cancel. Otherwise the property shall be handed over free of mortgages and encumbrances, other than those shown in the land register certificate dated Date of signature, which the buyer has read.

      Get a fresh land register certificate on signing day. Ask the lender if the buyer can take over a loan, and on what terms.

  4. 4.Purchase price

    1. 4.1

      The agreed purchase price is ISK Purchase price in ISK, in figures (Purchase price in words krónur).

  5. 5.Payments

    1. 5.1

      The purchase price is paid as follows: a) on signature of the purchase contract, ISK Payment at signature, in ISK; b) from the proceeds of the buyer's new mortgage loans, when they are paid out, ISK Payment from new loans, in ISK; c) on signature of the deed of conveyance, no later than Date for signature of the afsal, ISK Payment at signing of the afsal, ISK.

      The payments and any loans taken over must add up to the price. Delete item b) if there is no new loan.

    2. 5.2

      Payments shall be made to the seller's account no. Seller's bank account for payments. If a payment is late, the buyer pays penalty interest under Act no. 38/2001 on interest and indexation from the due date to the date of payment.

      Confirm the account number with the seller by phone before you pay. Do not rely on an account number sent only by email.

  6. 6.Handover

    1. 6.1

      The property shall be handed over to the buyer on Handover date. At handover the seller shall have vacated and cleaned the property. The risk of the property passes to the buyer at handover.

    2. 6.2

      The buyer shall inspect the property as soon as possible after handover and notify the seller in writing of any defect within a reasonable time after he or she discovered it or should have discovered it.

  7. 7.Charges and costs

    1. 7.1

      The seller pays the property charges, the owners' association fees, the insurance and other charges on the property up to the handover date and receives its income until then. The buyer pays and receives from that date. The charges are settled at the afsal.

    2. 7.2

      The buyer pays the stamp duty on the purchase contract and the cost of registering it and the afsal. The seller pays the cost of cancelling the mortgage debts that he or she must cancel.

    3. 7.3

      Optional

      The seller has produced a statement from the owners' association dated Date of owners' association statement on the fees and the works already decided. The seller pays the cost of works decided before the offer was signed, unless otherwise agreed.

      Keep it for a flat in a building with several units. The association can claim common costs from the registered owner, so agree who pays for decided works.

  8. 8.Condition and information

    1. 8.1

      The buyer has inspected the property and read the sales overview and the other documents about it. The seller has disclosed the following defects and faults: Defects the seller has disclosed.

      Copy defects from the sales overview and inspection report. You cannot later claim defects you saw or should have seen. The seller must disclose known defects.

  9. 9.Deed of conveyance

    1. 9.1

      When the buyer has performed all obligations under this contract, the seller issues a deed of conveyance for the property to the buyer.

  10. 10.Registration

    1. 10.1

      The buyer has this contract registered with the district commissioner within two months of signature. A buyer who buys a home for the first time files the first-purchase statement.

      The first-purchase statement halves the stamp duty. Without registration your right is not protected against third parties.

  11. 11.Marital status and spouse's consent

    1. 11.1

      Seller's statement on marital status: Seller's marital status statement.

      The district commissioner requires this statement on every purchase contract.

    2. 11.2

      Optional

      The undersigned, Seller's spouse, name and kennitala, spouse of the seller, consents to this sale, see article 60 of the Marriage Act no. 31/1993.

      Keep it when the seller is married and the property is the family home or used for the couple's business.

  12. 12.Drafting

    1. 12.1

      This contract was drafted by: Agent or lawyer who drafted the contract.

      A licensed agent must state his or her name on every document he or she drafts.

  13. 13.Signatures

    1. 13.1

      Place of signature, Date of signature. Seller: Seller's full name. Buyer: Buyer's full name.

    2. 13.2

      Witnesses to the correct date, signatures and legal capacity of the parties: Witness 1, name and kennitala; Witness 2, name and kennitala.

      Witnesses write their name and kennitala. A notary, a lawyer or a licensed agent can certify instead.

Formalities

  1. Both parties sign. For registration, two witnesses confirm the date, the signatures and each signatory's legal capacity, and write their names and ID numbers.
  2. The district commissioner returns the original. Collect it, because the filer is responsible for it.
  3. File the contract with the district commissioner where the property lies: one original and one copy on officially approved paper.
  4. Electronic filing is also possible where available.
  5. The contract states whether each seller is married and whether the property is the family home. If it is, the spouse signs a written consent.
  6. Register the contract within 2 months of signature, or a stamp duty surcharge of up to 10% applies.
  7. A first-time buyer files the first-purchase statement to pay half the stamp duty.
  8. In a building with several units, the transfer cannot be registered without a registered declaration of division (eignaskiptayfirlýsing).

Common mistakes

  • Leaving the contract unregistered. Until registration, a creditor of the seller or a second buyer can defeat your right. After 2 months a surcharge applies.
  • Paying the seller before checking the land register certificate (veðbókarvottorð). Mortgages you do not take over must be paid off from the price and cancelled.
  • Paying everything before handover. Keep a final payment for the afsal so you have leverage if a defect or an unpaid charge appears.
  • Ignoring the owners' association. Unpaid common costs are a statutory lien (lögveð) on the unit. Get its statement on fees and decided works.
  • Relying on an "as is" clause as a seller. It does not protect a seller who gave wrong information or withheld what the buyer was entitled to know.
  • No spouse's consent to sell a family home. A court can set the sale aside.
  • Signing without two witnesses or a certifying professional. The district commissioner then refuses registration.
  • Waiting long to report a defect. Notify the seller in writing within a reasonable time after you find it.

Legal basis

Sources

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