Procedure for buying an apartment in Ukraine by a non-resident in 2023

The procedure of buying an apartment in Ukraine requires from a foreigner not only an understanding of the profitability of such a transaction, but also knowledge of the local rules and regulations.

When choosing an apartment one should be guided not only by its price and compliance with his/her own personal requirements, but also make sure that:

• the real estate developer is reliable - if we are talking about buying an apartment in a new building;

• the apartment and its owner has clear history - if we are talking about buying housing on the secondary market;

• the purchase and sale agreement is properly drafted and complies with all legal requirements;

• you and the seller have all documents required for the procedure.

You should also clearly understand how to make payment for the apartment, so as not to cause disapproval of the controlling state authorities of Ukraine, and what taxes and fees must be paid in the process.

Since our company is working closely with foreign Clients in various areas of their activities in Ukraine, including legal support for the purchase of any type of real estate allowed to purchase, today we will share our experience in this matter.

We will talk about how foreigners make certain of the safety of the purchase and sale transaction in Ukraine, and will elaborate on the purchase and sale procedure.

If you want to understand not only the theory, but to get real legal assistance - please contact our specialists.

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Step 1: Reliability of the real estate purchase transaction in Ukraine

A pre-purchase inspection guarantees that your transaction will be safe and your investment will be secure. 

The procedure for inspecting an apartment will differ depending on whether you are the first owner of the property or whether someone has lived in the apartment before you:

• The procedure for checking the apartment on the primary market;

• The procedure for checking the apartment on the secondary market.

As a brief summary, before buying a property, you need to check:

• The real estate object - it may be the history of the apartment, the presence of alterations, if it is a secondary housing. Or the legality of construction and land permits when buying housing in a new building. Also we need to check whether the object is not in the pledge, and whether it is not in any lawsuits;

• The seller of the real estate first of all, you must check the availability of ownership rights to the apartment, reputation of the real estate developer and its business partners, debts and lawsuits against the owner, etc;

• Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement - we can both review the agreement, and amend it for your benefit. The agreement must protect your interests, and clearly indicate the possibilities of solving controversial issues, if they arise.

Pre-purchase inspection can be carried out using a large number of sources, obtaining the amount of information you need. We negotiate the depth and nature of inspection with the Client before the start of work.

You may also like: How to Transfer Money to Ukraine When Buying Real Estate?

Step 2: Preparing and conducting the apartment buying transaction in Ukraine

In order to buy an apartment in Ukraine, a foreigner must present a certain set of documents:

• Identification tax number in Ukraine;

• Translation of the foreigner's passport certified by a notary.

These documents will need to be brought to the meeting at the notary, which also has its own peculiarities:

• Choose the proper notary. The legality of your transaction depends on the notary’s actions. Usually we offer to conduct the transaction with our trusted partner notary;

• If you do not understand Ukrainian or do not speak it at all, you will need to come to the notary with a certified interpreter, otherwise the notary will not be entitled to conduct the transaction;

• If any of the parties is married, it will need to provide the consent for the transaction of the other spouse to the notary - this can be done right during the meeting, provided that the wife / husband comes to a notary;

• If the apartment has several owners, you will need to get the signatures of each of them;

• If you do not have the opportunity to come to Ukraine, the transaction can be completed by a lawyer under a power of attorney.

Please note! Payment for the purchase of real estate in Ukraine must be made only through bank transfer. And only in hryvnia. 

Owners of the apartments at the secondary market may often ask you to pay for the property in cash and foreign currency, usually dollars. We strongly advise against this to avoid unnecessary risks when buying real estate. In such a situation you should seek the support of a lawyer who will be able to talk to the seller and handle money transfer issues.

Transferring the payment through a bank account means that you will need to have such an account in Ukraine, which must be opened before visiting a notary. You can open an account in Ukraine within 1 day, if you already have the above mentioned TIN. In order to speed up the procedure, we make prior arrangements with trusted banks, which know the procedure well and can qualitatively serve foreign Clients.

The step-by-step algorithm of buying an apartment by a non-resident in Ukraine will look as follows:

• Obtaining TIN in Ukraine (1-2 days);

• Opening an account in Ukraine (1 day);

• Visiting a notary and signing the purchase and sale agreement (1 day);

• Payment of the purchase fee (directly at the notary’s office).

 You will come out of the notary’s office being the full owner of the apartment in Ukraine. 

Our lawyers offer you a complex of services on purchase of the apartment in Kyiv or other Ukrainian cities. They include:

• Legal consultation on the purchase of the apartment in Ukraine in the Client’s situation;

• Pre-purchase inspection of the real estate object;

• Obtaining TIN for Client in Ukraine;

• Preparing documents for buying an apartment in Ukraine;

• Checking up the Agreement and notary before the transaction;

• Legal support of the real estate buying transaction;

• Legal advice on how to proceed with the property in Ukraine: taxes, resale, renting, etc;

• Assistance with connection to public utilities, etc.

You can check the cost of a pre-purchase inspection here. When you order legal support services for the purchase of real estate, the inspection is included in the service price.

Do you want to buy an apartment in Ukraine safely and easily? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We offer a simple solution and 100% result.

Didn’t find an answer to your question?

Everything about the pre-purchase inspection of the apartment here.

More on buying property in Ukraine here.