Selling a flat with a mortgage – step by step

You can sell a flat with a mortgage. The bank’s lien is registered on the flat, so the sale has to fit in with the bank’s conditions. Most often the mortgage is repaid from part of the purchase price, the bank confirms the repayment and the lien is removed from the land register.

The exact process depends on your loan agreement, your bank and how the buyer will pay. This guide describes the usual options and the questions you need to resolve. It doesn’t replace the bank’s instructions or a review of your specific contract.

Three ways to deal with the mortgage when selling

In its article of 12 October 2021, VÚB describes three options:

Option	What it means	What you need
Repaying the loan	The mortgage is repaid, for example from an agreed part of the purchase price. The bank then issues a document for removing the lien.	A current payoff amount and payment instructions from the bank
The buyer takes over the debt	The buyer steps into your loan in your place.	The bank’s consent and a written agreement
Changing the collateral	You keep the loan, but the bank secures it with another property.	The bank’s consent to the new collateral

The article shows how the process can work. It doesn’t prove that every bank offers all three options today. You can’t transfer the debt or the collateral to someone else without the bank’s consent.

Note: the older VÚB article mentions free repayment of up to 20% and roughly ten days for the repayment documents. The 20% limit no longer applies. Check the time for issuing documents with your bank.

What early repayment costs when you sell

If you repay the mortgage from the purchase price, it counts as early repayment. The rules are set by Section 18 of the Housing Loan Act as in force from 1 December 2025:

• At the end of the fixation period you can repay any amount without a fee. The bank must tell you about the end of fixation at least 2 months in advance. If it requires a request, submit it no later than one month before fixation ends.
• During fixation you can repay up to 30% of the principal per calendar year without a fee, once each calendar month.
• Beyond that the bank can only claim its actual costs, up to 1% of the amount repaid early. Penalties are prohibited.
• With a variable rate that didn’t change in the previous year, free repayment is possible once a year.

The end-of-fixation and variable-rate exemptions don’t apply to a loan with a rate fixed for the whole term. You’ll find more about the rules in the guide to early mortgage repayment.

If the sale is close to the end of your fixation period, it’s worth considering the timing. The bank will calculate the exact payoff amount for a given date.

Selling step by step

This sequence is our summary of the bank process, not a universal checklist issued by a bank:

1. Check the title record. The owner, registered charges and pending changes. Have the purchase contract and the order of payments reviewed.
2. Ask the bank for documents. A dated statement of the outstanding balance, payment instructions, the conditions for removing the lien and any consents needed for the sale. If the buyer is taking out a mortgage, align these with the buyer’s bank’s requirements for drawdown and security.
3. Set out the money and conditions in the contract. Who pays whom and when, what part of the price goes towards repaying the mortgage, the deadlines and what happens if the land registry refuses the registration or the buyer’s loan isn’t drawn. Don’t assume the buyer should send the full price to the seller before the old loan is settled.
4. Coordinate signatures, payments and filings. The order of signing, drawdown, the registration application and the repayment documents is set by the written instructions of the banks involved and the person handling the transfer.
5. Check the result. Verify the registration of ownership and the removal or retention of the agreed charges. Then hand over the flat and update the insurance, utilities and administrator records.

The contract must set out how the buyer’s money is held until the conditions are met, for example in some form of custody arrangement, and when it is released. No single type of custody or timeline can be fixed in advance for every sale.

When the buyer pays with a mortgage

If the buyer takes out their own mortgage, their bank will want a lien on the flat. The sale therefore usually involves two banks: yours, which needs repayment, and the buyer’s, which needs security before drawdown. Whether the new bank accepts its lien ranking behind your bank’s lien for a while is up to that bank. So agree the order of steps with both banks in advance.

If you want to buy another home after the sale, discuss changing the collateral or a new mortgage with the bank before you sign the purchase contract.

Registration in the land register

The buyer becomes the owner only when the land registry approves the registration, not when the purchase contract is signed. According to the slovensko.sk guide updated on 7 October 2026:

• a paper filing includes two copies of the purchase contract with the seller’s signatures officially certified, the administrative fee and, depending on the situation, the administrator’s confirmation or a power of attorney,
• the registration fee is €100 for a paper filing and €50 for an electronic one, or €300 or €150 for a decision within 15 days,
• the land registry normally decides within 30 days, or within 20 days for qualifying documents drawn up by a notary or lawyer.

These periods apply to the land registry’s decision, not to the whole sale with a mortgage. At handover, record the meter readings and keys, and notify the utility suppliers and the administrator of the change. The buyer files the property tax return by 31 January of the following year.

Insurance after the sale

The property insurance is usually assigned in favour of your bank. After the loan is repaid and the flat sold, it needs to be ended or amended under the insurer’s terms. Payment protection insurance linked to the loan ordinarily ends on early repayment, as stated, for example, in UNIQA’s terms for Tatra banka’s mortgage payment protection insurance. Check this in your own contract. You’ll find more in the guide to home insurance for a mortgage.