Interest in Slovenia on the international real estate market increases

Location, location, location – these are the three main criteria for buying real estate as an investment. However, emotions often prevail and we decide to buy something that is more than an investment, something that satisfies our desires and fulfils our life. In recent years, Slovenia has positioned itself on the world tourist market as a very interesting and popular country. The proximity of the sea, the mountains, the Karst, and the Pannonian plains, as well as the short distances to Italy, Austria, Croatia, and Hungary, all give our country added value as a location.

Buying real estate

There are many real estate agencies on the Slovenian market that arrange real estate sales and leases. In Slovenia, foreigners may acquire a property right to real estate under certain conditions. The citizens of the European Union are an exception, as no restrictions apply to them. Foreigners may acquire ownership of real estate pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, under the conditions provided by law or a treaty ratified by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.

The following Acts allow foreigners to acquire property rights to real estate:

• the Inheritance Act, under which foreign citizens have the same rights in Slovenia as Slovenian citizens, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity;
• the Act Governing Conditions for the Acquisition of Title to Property by Natural Persons and Legal Entities of European Union Candidate Countries; and
• the Act Regulating Relations between the Republic of Slovenia and Slovenians Abroad.

Foreigners may also acquire property rights pursuant to treaties. This applies to citizens and legal persons from the countries that were constituent republics of former Yugoslavia.  Citizens of the European Union may obtain real estate in Slovenia under the same conditions as Slovenian citizens. In their case, it is not necessary to establish the principle of reciprocity.