The Costs of Buying an Apartment: Duties, Notary, Cadastre, Valuation
The price in the listing is not the last number in the deal. We have gathered the buyer’s mandatory and possible costs and marked which amounts are officially confirmed and which you need to check.
Contents
What the costs are made of
The apartment sale contract is certified by a notary, and ownership is registered by the Cadastre Committee. Each step has its own payment: state duty, service fees and certificates. If you buy with a mortgage, add the valuation, insurance and bank fees. Below are the amounts we could confirm from the law and government portals as of 13 September 2026.
Notary
Under the Law of Armenia on State Duty (Article 11), certifying a contract to transfer an apartment carries a state duty of five times the base duty. Article 8 of the same law sets the base duty at AMD 1,000, so the duty for a sale contract is AMD 5,000.
For certifying a residential mortgage contract, the duty is half the base duty, AMD 500. On top of the state duty, the notary charges for their services and for preparing documents. The State Duty Law does not set that fee, so ask the notary for a full estimate in advance, before the day of the deal.
Cadastre Committee
The main Cadastre payment is for state registration of ownership. The hartak.am portal lists a range of AMD 26,000–151,000 for this service; check the exact amount for your case with the Cadastre or on e-cadastre.am.
The same source lists the unified property certificate at AMD 10,000 and the certificate of the right to buy an apartment in a building under construction at AMD 50,000. Certificates are valid for a limited time — 15–30 days according to hartak.am — so order them close to the deal to avoid paying twice.
Valuation and bank fees for a mortgage purchase
| Cost | Paid to | Amount per hartak.am |
|---|---|---|
| Application review | bank | AMD 5,000 |
| Loan disbursement | bank | from AMD 50,000 |
| Apartment valuation | valuation company | AMD 18,000–25,000 |
| Collateral insurance | via the bank | from AMD 1,000 |
Collateral insurance is mandatory for the whole loan term, so it is a recurring cost rather than a one-off. Bank tariffs vary: compare not only the rate but all the fees. One more payment is registering the mortgage with the Cadastre; check that amount in advance too.
Who pays for what
It is best to agree in advance how the parties split the notary and registration costs and to write it into the preliminary agreement. That way there will be no surprise arguments over a few tens of thousands of drams on the day of the deal.
The seller has obligations too: before the transfer is registered, they must pay the property tax in full. Without a certificate showing no tax debt, the Cadastre will not register the transfer (Article 236 of the Tax Code). It is also worth checking utility debts before the deal.
Pre-deal checklist
- Unified Cadastre certificate within its validity period.
- Certificate showing no property tax debt.
- Notary estimate: state duty plus service fee.
- Cadastre registration amount for your case.
- For a mortgage: the full list of bank fees, valuation and insurance costs.
- A written agreement on who pays which costs.
Key points
- The notary state duty is AMD 5,000 for an apartment sale contract and AMD 500 for a residential mortgage contract; the notary’s services are paid separately.
- Registering ownership with the Cadastre costs AMD 26,000 to 151,000 depending on the service.
- For a mortgage, add the valuation (AMD 18,000–25,000), bank fees and insurance.
- Certificates are valid for a limited time — order them close to the deal.
- Put in writing who pays for what.
