My previous columns looked at how foreign buyers can purchase property in Hungary, which Budapest districts define the city’s premium tier, how a discreet acquisition works and, step by step, what happens between the first offer and registered ownership. There is one question, however, that every owner who thinks in generations must sooner or later face: what happens to a Hungarian property when its owner dies? The answer is more reassuring than many expect — but only for those who plan in time. This piece looks at property inheritance in Hungary through the eyes of an international owner, and it is not limited to Budapest: everything described here applies equally to property anywhere in the country.

A guest column for Daily News Hungary by Emese Széll, Private Real Estate Advisor to Premium Clients in Hungary

Property inheritance in Hungary: this time, the notary takes the lead

Readers of the step-by-step purchase guide will remember that a Hungarian sale is driven by the attorney, with typically no notary involved at all. In inheritance, the roles reverse. Probate is a notarial non-contentious procedure: after the death is registered, the municipal clerk prepares an estate inventory — a tax-and-value certificate is issued for the property, and the inventory itself is free of charge — then the case passes to the competent civil-law notary, who holds a hearing and closes the procedure with an estate transfer order. That order carries the force of a first-instance court decision, and it is the document with which the heir proves their title at the land registry, at the bank and everywhere else. The notary cannot be freely chosen: competence follows the deceased’s last Hungarian domicile, failing that the place of death, and for deaths abroad the location of the estate assets. The clerk’s phase takes roughly two months in practice; the total duration depends on the estate’s complexity.

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Who inherits without a will?

In the absence of a disposition, property inheritance in Hungary follows the order set by the Civil Code. The deceased’s children inherit first, in equal shares. The surviving spouse’s position often surprises international readers: alongside descendants, the spouse receives a life usufruct over the home shared with the deceased and its furnishings, plus one child’s share of the rest of the estate. If there are no descendants, the spouse inherits the shared home outright plus half of the remaining estate — the other half goes to the parents. With neither descendants nor parents, practically everything passes to the spouse. And one important warning: a partner — where the relationship is not registered — is not an heir in the eyes of the law. Without a will they receive nothing, not even from the home they shared. For international couples, where marriage or its registration is not a given, this alone is reason enough for deliberate planning.

The forced share — and what is less known about it

Hungarian law, following the continental tradition, recognises a forced share: descendants, the spouse and parents are entitled to one third of their statutory share even where the will provides otherwise. Two details refine the picture. First, the forced share is a claim, not an ownership stake: a money claim against the heirs, subject to a five-year limitation period — it does not break the property’s title. Second, the existence of a forced share is by no means inevitable in an international estate — which brings us to the most important point of this article.

The key: you can choose which country’s law applies

The European Union’s Succession Regulation — Regulation 650/2012, known in the profession as Brussels IV — has governed cross-border estates uniformly since 2015. Its default rule is that the law of the deceased’s last habitual residence governs the entire estate, regardless of which country the individual assets — even real estate — are located in. The full estate of a German owner living in Hungary is therefore administered by a Hungarian notary under Hungarian law; the Budapest apartment of an owner living in London may well not be. The Regulation’s real power, however, lies in the choice of law: anyone may, in a disposition of property upon death, elect the law of their nationality for their entire estate — dual nationals may choose either. This extends to non-EU citizens too: an American owner can validly choose the law of their home state for their Hungarian property. And the chosen law covers the forced share as well — where that legal system knows no such concept, Hungary’s forced-share rules simply do not apply. A single well-drafted sentence in a will can thus decide whether an estate passes under the Hungarian order or under the logic of the owner’s home country.

Inheritance tax on Hungarian property: one of Europe’s most generous regimes

The general inheritance duty is 18% of the estate’s net value, reduced to 9% for residential property — but the substance lies in the exemptions. Lineal relatives (parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, including adopted children), the spouse, the registered partner and, since 2020, siblings all inherit entirely duty-free — even for estates in the billions of forints. By European standards this is a notably generous regime. The exemptions do not, however, extend to an unregistered partner, and the tax authority assesses the duty by payment order after the estate transfer becomes final, typically with a 30-day deadline. One development for 2026 deserves particular attention: paid inheritance duty must be refunded on request where the heir begins renovating a listed or locally protected building within one year and completes it within five — a genuine incentive for heirs of period stock.

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Making a will as an international owner

A foreign will can be valid in Hungary if it meets the formal requirements of, among others, the law of the testator’s nationality or of the place where it was made — for the Hungarian procedure a translation and, where needed, an Apostille are advisable. Hungarian law recognises three main forms: the fully handwritten will, the will signed before two witnesses and the notarial will. For an international owner, the most reliable solution is a disposition containing an express choice of law, of which the advisor managing the Hungarian assets is also aware. Where probate runs abroad, the European Certificate of Succession issued there is recognised in every member state without further procedure, and can be used for the Hungarian land-registry transfer as well.

When the property sits in a company

Earlier columns mentioned that ownership can be structured through a company. From an inheritance perspective this has its own dynamics: the heir acquires a Kft. business quota automatically on the member’s death, but only becomes a member of the company on requesting entry in the members’ register — and the articles of association may attach conditions to that. On the tax side there is a little-known but significant difference: the sale of inherited real estate becomes exempt from personal income tax from the fifth year, while the sale of an inherited business quota remains taxable indefinitely on the amount above its probate value. It is therefore critical that the quota appear in the estate inventory at genuine market value. The choice of structure matters not only at purchase but a generation later as well.

In closing

An inherited home also carries a family’s history, and that weight deserves respect. The best outcomes I see share three things: the heirs give themselves time; they truly understand what they own before deciding what to do with it; and they use the quiet instruments of Hungarian law – the heirs’ settlement agreement, a disciplined reading of the title deed, the careful preparation of an eventual sale.

Property inheritance is not a subject anyone enjoys discussing — yet it is precisely the subject where silence costs the most. The Hungarian system is predictable, the exemption of the close family is generous and the EU’s choice-of-law rules give the international owner a degree of planning freedom few instruments can match. A considered disposition made in good time is not about death: it is about ensuring that a home chosen with care passes on with the same care.

Read more article about real estate in Hungary:

Emese Széll, an expert in the Hungarian premium real estate market. premiumingatlanok.com

This article is intended for general market and economic information purposes.