Hungary proposes law allowing local councils to restrict property purchases

Hungary’s parliament is reviewing a new bill that could allow municipalities to limit who can purchase property and thus move into certain towns and villages. Titled the “Law on the protection of local identity,” the proposal was submitted by Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén and developed under the supervision of Tibor Navracsics, Minister of Public Administration and Regional Development.

While the original version would have given local governments the power to outright ban property purchases by non-residents, the submitted bill is more moderate. Still, it grants municipalities significant authority to regulate immigration, Telex writes.

New powers for local governments

Under the proposal, local councils could:

• Introduce conditions for property purchases and official address registration for newcomers,
• Impose a settlement tax on buyers moving into the area,
• Expand pre-emption rights not only to the municipality but also to local residents.

Discrimination will not be considered discrimination

Municipalities would be allowed to set a target population size—based on at least 2025 census figures—and base local restrictions on that threshold. Rules would need to remain “reasonable” and cannot violate human dignity or result in unjustified discrimination.

However, the bill clarifies that giving preference to certain groups—like families using state subsidies—would not be considered discriminatory.