{"id":2159,"date":"2026-09-25T01:11:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T22:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linden.lt\/tinklarastis\/buying-property-lithuania-check-mortgage-seizure-encumbrances\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T03:54:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T00:54:43","slug":"buying-property-lithuania-check-mortgage-seizure-encumbrances","status":"publish","type":"irasas","link":"https:\/\/linden.lt\/en\/blog\/buying-property-lithuania-check-mortgage-seizure-encumbrances\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying property in Lithuania: checking for mortgages, seizures and encumbrances"},"template":"","kategorija":[],"class_list":["post-2159","irasas","type-irasas","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"visi_puslapiai_cta_statusas":false,"visi_puslapiai_cta_antraste":"","visi_puslapiai_cta_formos_id":"","visi_puslapiai_cta_papildomas_tekstas":"","visi_puslapiai_cta_nuotrauka":null,"tinklarastis_1_autorius":null,"tinklarastis_1_iraso_tipas":false,"dinamiski_blokai":[{"acf_fc_layout":"tekstas","tekstas":"

The first place to look is the Real Property Register (Nekilnojamojo turto registras<\/em>). It records ownership, mortgages, servitudes and other rights in rem, and also legal facts, including a seizure (are\u0161tas<\/em>) of the property and the opening of a civil case about its legal status. Seizures can also be seen in the Register of Property Seizure Acts (Turto are\u0161to akt\u0173 registras<\/em>). Register data are treated as correct and complete until they are challenged. Before certifying a sale and purchase agreement, the notary must establish that the property belongs to the seller and check the state-register data that are essential for the transaction. An agreement concluded in bankruptcy proceedings does not have to be in notarial form, so there may be no notary check at all. But the registers show only what has been registered. An unregistered lease, people living in the flat being sold, the actual condition of the property and the terms of the agreement are for you to check. From 1 January 2027 the register is being restructured \u2013 more on this below.<\/p>\r\n

How to deregister a mortgage that has ended, and whether you acquire the right to use the land when you buy a building standing on someone else's land, we have already answered in the real estate FAQ<\/a> (in Lithuanian). Which agreements must be notarised is covered in Which agreements must be in notarial form<\/a> (in Lithuanian), and how to order an extract through self-service in our article on Centre of Registers self-service<\/a> (in Lithuanian). This article is about what to check, and where, before you sign.<\/p>\r\n

What the Real Property Register shows<\/h2>\r\n

The register's objects are land plots, buildings and premises, territories where special land use conditions apply, and rights in rem: ownership, servitude, usufruct, the right of superficies, emphyteusis (long-term lease), mortgage and others. The legal facts listed in Article 4.254 of the Civil Code are also registered (Article 5(1) of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Real Property Register (NTR\u012e)). Immovable things, restrictions on rights to them and rights in rem must be registered in a public register (Article 4.253(2) of the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania (CK)).<\/p>\r\n

Legal facts are easy to miss. They include a seizure of the registered thing (Article 4.254, point 4 CK), the fact that a civil case about the thing's legal status has been opened (Article 4.254, point 6 CK), co-owners' agreements on the common thing (Article 4.254, point 2 CK) and the fact that the property is under administration (Article 4.254, point 8 CK).<\/p>\r\n

Every person has the right to use the data of a public register, subject to the restrictions set by law (Article 4.261 CK). Register data are given to persons who have a legal basis for receiving them and have stated a defined and lawful purpose for using them (Article 10(3) NTR\u012e). Copies of the documents on which rights were registered are given only to a limited circle: owners, holders of other rights in rem, advocates, notaries, bailiffs and the other persons listed in the law (Article 10(6) NTR\u012e). So a buyer usually sees the entry but not the agreement itself that created, for example, a servitude. Ask the seller for that document. Your advocate can obtain copies of these documents from the register (Article 10(6)(5) NTR\u012e). From 1 January 2027, an advocate will obtain them on the conditions set by the Law on the Bar, where they are needed to provide legal services (Article 10(6)(5) NTRV\u012e).<\/p>\r\n

Data entered in the register are treated as correct and complete until they are challenged under the procedure set by law (Article 4.262 CK). This also matters for the seller's liability: where third parties' rights, or a restriction on them, were registered in a public register, the buyer cannot rely on the seller having breached the seller's duties (Article 6.321(5) CK). In other words, for rights visible in the register you will not later be able to say the seller did not tell you about them.<\/p>\r\n

From 1 January 2027.<\/strong> The Law on the Real Property Register ceases to have effect (Article 13 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Registration of Real Property (NTRV\u012e)). The new law enters into force on 1 January 2027 (Article 14(1) NTRV\u012e). The data will be kept in the Real Property Registers Information System, divided into several registers: the Register of Immovable Things, the Register of Territories, the Register of Rights in Rem, the Register of Legal Facts, and the Register of Agreements for the Sale, Gift and Lease of Enterprises (Article 2(1) NTRV\u012e). A mortgage remains an object of the Register of Rights in Rem (Article 4(3)(8) NTRV\u012e), and the legal facts in Article 4.254 CK become objects of the Register of Legal Facts (Article 4(4) NTRV\u012e). The data, except personal data, will be public (Article 10(1) NTRV\u012e). The rule on a legal basis and a purpose stays (Article 10(2) NTRV\u012e), as does the limited circle of persons who receive copies of documents (Article 10(6) NTRV\u012e).<\/p>\r\n

Mortgage: what the entry means<\/h2>\r\n

A mortgage (hipoteka<\/em>) is a right in rem in someone else's immovable thing that secures performance of an obligation, where the mortgaged property is not handed over to the creditor (Article 4.170(1) CK). The key point for a buyer: unless the mortgage deed provides otherwise, the mortgaged thing can be transferred, but the mortgage follows the thing, unless the Civil Code provides otherwise (Article 4.170(6) CK). The mortgage creditor has the right to satisfy its claim from the value of the mortgaged property ahead of the debtor's other creditors (Article 4.170(3) CK). So if you bought a mortgaged flat, you would receive it together with that creditor's right.<\/p>\r\n

A mortgage deed can be relied on against third parties acting in good faith only when the mortgage is registered in a public register (Article 4.187(2) CK). Public register data on a mortgage are public and are treated as correct and complete until challenged (Article 4.185(7) CK).<\/p>\r\n

The seller must remove the mortgage, whether or not it is registered, unless the buyer, having received proper information, agrees to buy the property with the mortgage (Article 6.321(2) CK). The seller's loan may be repaid out of part of the money the buyer pays. The agreement then states when and how the mortgage will be deregistered. This is worth agreeing in advance with the seller and the mortgage creditor.<\/p>\r\n

If you buy from a company.<\/strong> An enterprise mortgage (\u012fmon\u0117s hipoteka<\/em>) is a charge over the enterprise as immovable property (Article 4.177(1) CK). It is registered in a public register (Article 4.177(4) CK), but not as an object of the Real Property Register: the law excludes it from the register's objects (Article 5(1)(3) NTR\u012e). The same exception stays in the new law (Article 4(3)(8) NTRV\u012e). When property charged under an enterprise mortgage is transferred to a third party acting in good faith, the enterprise mortgage over that property ends, but the mortgage deed may provide that this rule does not apply to specific property (Article 4.177(5) CK). So when buying from a company, ask the seller to confirm in writing whether its assets are charged under an enterprise mortgage and whether the enterprise mortgage deed provides that this rule does not apply to the property you are buying. Check the seller's legal status in the Register of Legal Entities (Juridini\u0173 asmen\u0173 registras<\/em>). What a company extract shows is covered in Centre of Registers extract with no signature: valid, and what it says<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Seizure: where to see it and from when it binds you<\/h2>\r\n

The Register of Property Seizure Acts records seizure acts of courts, bailiffs (antstoliai<\/em>), prosecutors, the State Tax Inspectorate (Valstybin\u0117 mokes\u010di\u0173 inspekcija<\/em>) and other state institutions and officials (Article 6(1) of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Register of Property Seizure Acts (TAAR\u012e)). A restriction of the right to dispose of property is a compulsory temporary restriction on selling it, transferring it in another way, leasing it, mortgaging it or otherwise changing its legal status (Article 2(7) TAAR\u012e).<\/p>\r\n

For third parties, including a buyer, the legal consequences of a seizure arise from the registration of the seizure act in the register (Article 4(1) TAAR\u012e). The register's data are public, and any person may see them (Article 5(1) TAAR\u012e), and the data of a registered seizure are treated as known (Article 5(2) TAAR\u012e). The seller must confirm to the buyer that the property is not seized, is not the subject of a court dispute, and that the seller's right to dispose of it has not been taken away or restricted (Article 6.321(3) CK).<\/p>\r\n

From 1 January 2027<\/strong> the law will be called the Law on the Registration of Property Seizure Acts, and its articles are renumbered. The register's objects will be seizure acts adopted by a court, a bailiff, a prosecutor, an official of another state institution or body, or a person authorised by the state (Article 3(2) TAAR\u012e, version from 1 January 2027). For third parties, consequences will arise from the registration of the seizure act in the information system, unless other laws provide otherwise (Article 6(2) TAAR\u012e, version from 1 January 2027). The data, except personal data, remain public (Article 7(1) TAAR\u012e, version from 1 January 2027), and the data of a registered seizure are treated as known (Article 7(2) TAAR\u012e, version from 1 January 2027). A prohibition or restriction of the right to dispose of property covers selling it, transferring it in another way, leasing it, mortgaging it or otherwise changing its legal status (Article 2(3) TAAR\u012e, version from 1 January 2027).<\/p>\r\n

What the notary checks<\/h2>\r\n

A sale and purchase agreement for an immovable thing must be in notarial form, except agreements concluded in bankruptcy proceedings (Article 6.393(1) CK). When you buy property in bankruptcy proceedings, notarial form is not required, so there may be no notary check. Then everything below is for you to check. Where a notary certifies the agreement, the notary does so only after establishing that the thing belongs to the transferor by right of ownership (Article 46(1) of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Notarial Profession (N\u012e)). When certifying transactions, the notary must check the data in the central databases of the state registers that are essential for the notarial act and for protecting persons' lawful interests (Article 51(1) N\u012e). The notary makes sure of the natural persons' legal capacity, checks the legal capacity of the legal persons involved and, where a representative concludes the transaction, the representative's authority (Article 31(2) N\u012e).<\/p>\r\n

The notary also checks spouses' rights. A transaction involving the spouses' joint ownership is certified where, in the cases set by the Civil Code, both spouses conclude it, one spouse holds the other's power of attorney or written consent, or there is a court permission (Article 46(2) N\u012e). If the property is one spouse's personal property but has been designated as family property, the other spouse's written consent is needed. Where the family has minor children and the property is family property, the notary certifies the transaction when the spouses provide information and documents showing that the child will not be left without a home and that the child's right to the living conditions needed for the child's physical, mental, spiritual and moral development will not be infringed. In that case the notary also checks data in the Social Support for Families Information System (Socialin\u0117s paramos \u0161eimai informacin\u0117 sistema<\/em>) (Article 46(3) N\u012e). The notary must explain the meaning and consequences of the notarial acts (Article 30 N\u012e).<\/p>\r\n

Except in cases set in the law, the notary states in the agreement the time it was concluded, in hours and minutes. The notary passes the data on the certified agreement to the register administrator within 24 hours of certification (Article 46(7) N\u012e). Ownership passes to the buyer when the thing is handed over (Article 6.393(4) CK), and the handover is documented in a handover and acceptance deed or another document named in the agreement (Article 6.398(1) CK). Against third parties, the agreement has effect only once it is registered in a public register (Article 6.393(3) CK).<\/p>\r\n

Payment can be made through the notary's deposit account: the notary accepts sums of money into it (Article 26(11) N\u012e). More on this in The notary: not only certifying transactions<\/a> (in Lithuanian). The agreement should state clearly on what conditions the money is paid out to the seller.<\/p>\r\n

What is left for you to do<\/h2>\r\n

The notary checks rights and persons, but not everything that matters to a buyer. Here is what to check yourself.<\/p>\r\n

Tenants.<\/strong> A lease that must be registered stays in force for the new owner if the rights arising from it were registered in a public register (Article 6.494(1) CK). A residential lease stays in force for the new owner if it was registered in a public register (Article 6.585 CK). When selling a leased thing, the landlord must tell the buyer about the lease (Article 6.495 CK). Ask the seller to confirm in writing whether any leases exist.<\/p>\r\n

Occupants.<\/strong> Where people live in the house or flat being sold who keep the right to use it after a change of owner, the list of those people and the content of their right is an essential term of the agreement (Article 6.400 CK).<\/p>\r\n

Public-law restrictions.<\/strong> The seller must confirm that there are no public-law breaches or restrictions that could affect your ownership (Article 6.321(4) CK). Territories with special land use conditions can be seen in the register (Article 5(1) NTR\u012e; from 1 January 2027, in the Register of Territories, Article 4(2) NTRV\u012e). The lawfulness of construction, the actual condition and the boundaries are worth checking separately \u2013 the register entry does not answer those questions.<\/p>\r\n

The seller's confirmations.<\/strong> The seller must confirm that third parties have no rights or claims to the thing, except those the buyer was properly told about and agreed to (Article 6.321(1) CK). If the seller breaches these duties, the buyer may demand a reduction of what the buyer pays for the property, or terminate the agreement, unless the seller proves that the buyer knew or should have known of the third parties' rights (Article 6.321(6) CK). So it is worth writing specific seller confirmations into the agreement.<\/p>\r\n

Timing.<\/strong> A seizure binds a buyer from its registration, and the register shows the position only at the moment you check it. The registers are worth checking several times: before signing a preliminary agreement, before paying an advance, and on the day the agreement is signed. We wrote about preliminary agreements in Features of a preliminary agreement<\/a> (in Lithuanian). If you are buying not the property but the company that owns it, or its shares, a separate and wider review is needed.<\/p>\r\n

How to start<\/h2>\r\n

Send us the property's unique number or address, the seller's details and the draft agreement if there is one. We will check the registers, review the agreement and propose the seller's confirmations.<\/p>\r\n

Phone +370 5 212 1506, email info@linden.lt<\/p>\r\n

More about this service: real estate<\/a>.<\/p>"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linden.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irasas\/2159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linden.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irasas"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linden.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/irasas"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/linden.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irasas\/2159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2249,"href":"https:\/\/linden.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irasas\/2159\/revisions\/2249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linden.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kategorija","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linden.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kategorija?post=2159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}