Documents for a House and Plot: What to Check

Two objects, one check

With an apartment it is simple: one property, one entry in the register. A house is different. The plot and the buildings on it, such as the house itself, a garage or a summer kitchen, are recorded in the Cadastre with their own characteristics. The seller may sincerely believe everything behind the fence is theirs, while the register shows only part of it.

So start with a unified Cadastre extract for the plot and the house. Anyone can order it on e-cadastre.am without the seller's consent; according to hartak.am, as of September 2026 it costs from 10,000 ֏ for three working days. The extract shows the owners, the area, details of the buildings and any restrictions: an arrest, a mortgage, third-party rights.

Land designation

Every plot in Armenia has a designated purpose, and it decides whether you can live and build there. A residential house needs land intended for housing, usually land within settlements. If the extract shows an agricultural designation, a residential house on such land generally cannot be built or legalised without changing the designation, and that is a separate procedure that is not always possible.

• Check the plot's designated and functional purpose in the extract.
• If the house already stands, check that it is registered as a residential house, not as an outbuilding.
• If you plan to build or finish construction, ask the community in advance what the planning documents allow on that plot.

Boundaries and the cadastral map

A fence is not yet a boundary. The plot's boundary is the one recorded in the Cadastre. e-cadastre.am has an online map where you can compare the outline of the plot with what you see on the ground. If the fence stands on the neighbour's land or part of “your” garden belongs to the community, it will come up at the next sale or in a dispute with the neighbour.

The Cadastre itself acknowledges that cadastral maps contain inaccuracies: in June 2026 the Committee called for proposals on setting up working groups to correct community maps. If the outline clearly does not match reality, ask the seller to correct the data before the deal with the help of a qualified surveyor.

Unauthorised buildings

A veranda, a second floor or a bathhouse that exists on site but is missing from the extract is an unauthorised building. On paper it does not exist: the buyer gets rights only to what is registered, and legalising the rest becomes the buyer's problem. Legalisation is possible, but it is a separate procedure through the community, and it can be started by the owner of the land the building stands on.

• Compare the house's area and number of floors in the extract with reality.
• If some parts are unregistered, agree who will legalise them and by what date, and put it in the preliminary contract.
• Factor the risk into the price: legalisation takes time and money, and sometimes a building cannot be recognised as lawful.

Old documents and inheritance

Many village houses passed down within families for decades without any paperwork. If the last registered owner has died and the inheritance was never formalised, there is nobody who can sell yet: first the heirs get a certificate of inheritance from a notary and register their right with the Cadastre. If the property was never in the register at all, its first registration is free, but gathering the documents takes time.

• A fresh unified extract for the plot and the house, no older than 15 working days.
• The land designation allows a residential house.
• The outline on the cadastral map matches the fence.
• Every building on the plot appears in the extract.
• The owner in the extract is the person selling, or the representative has a power of attorney.
• No arrest, mortgage or other restrictions.

Key points

• Check both the plot and every building: each has its own characteristics in the register.
• The land designation must allow residential construction.
• The boundary is the cadastral map, not the fence; compare them on site.
• Unregistered extensions are the buyer's risk: agree on legalisation before the deal or reflect it in the price.
• If the owner has died, the inheritance is formalised first and only then the sale.