Real Estate Exchange Agreement

Real estate exchange agreement – professional template in Word format

A real estate exchange agreement is concluded where two parties each transfer a property to the other, instead of each selling their own and buying another separately. Typical situations are exchanging a flat for a house, a city property for one outside the city, exchanging agricultural parcels to consolidate a holding, or an exchange within a family. Where the properties are not of equal value, the difference is settled by a balancing payment.

Exchange is governed by the Obligations Act (Zakon o obveznim odnosima), with the rules on sale applying as appropriate, while registration of title is carried out under the Ownership and Other Real Rights Act (Zakon o vlasništvu i drugim stvarnim pravima). The template contains everything needed for the transfer and for registration, including two registration consents, one for each side.

Key features

• Professional template – 7 articles covering the whole transaction, from the description of the properties to tax and registration.
• Practical reliability – mutual registration consents, warranties on encumbrances and the option of making a consent conditional on the balancing payment being made.
• Easy to adapt – variants for equal values with no balancing payment and for a difference in value with a payment deadline.
• Digital delivery – the DOCX file with instructions arrives by e-mail immediately after purchase, ready for printing and certification of signatures.

What the template includes

• Details of both exchanging parties (name, OIB, address)
• Article 1 – description of both properties by address, cadastral parcel number, land registry folio, cadastral municipality and area, and the statement of mutual transfer of ownership
• Article 2 – determination of the value of both properties, with a variant for equal values and a variant for a balancing payment of the difference with a deadline and an IBAN
• Article 3 – warranties as to sole ownership, encumbrances and third party rights, and taking over the property as seen, with liability for concealed hidden defects
• Article 4 – two registration consents (clausula intabulandi), in an unconditional variant or conditional on the balancing payment being made
• Article 5 – handover of possession with keys and documentation, the split of utility costs as at the day of handover, and a handover record with meter readings
• Article 6 – real estate transfer tax at a rate of 3 per cent on the value of the property each party acquires, with the manner of filing and the payment deadline
• Article 7 – the number of counterparts and a highlighted note on certification of signatures before a notary public
• Completion instructions with notes on valuation, checking encumbrances and handing over the energy performance certificate

Legal framework

On an exchange, each party pays real estate transfer tax of 3 per cent on the value of the property it acquires. Where the signatures have been certified by a notary public, the notary forwards the agreement to the Porezna uprava (Croatian Tax Administration) ex officio and the transfer is thereby treated as reported (Article 19 of the Real Estate Transfer Tax Act – Zakon o porezu na promet nekretnina), and the tax is paid within 15 days of service of the assessment. The 30 day deadline for filing a report yourself applies only to documents not certified by a notary or issued by a court. Certification of signatures is a condition for registration of title in the land register.

If a conventional sale is the better route after all, see our real estate purchase agreement with a registration consent. If either property is matrimonial property registered in the name of one spouse only, prepare a spousal consent alongside the agreement.