Buying property in Armenia as a foreigner: steps, taxes and costs

Foreign buyers usually ask four things. What am I allowed to own? In what order is the purchase done? What will it cost me on top of the price? What tax do I owe afterwards? This guide answers them from the text of Armenian laws on arlis.am and from the pages of state bodies. Facts taken from laws and state portals carry a source number in square brackets; the full list is at the bottom of the page. Where we paraphrase a law, the wording and the translation from Armenian are ours, and the link leads to the original. Information as of 15–16.10.2026. This guide is not legal advice on your particular purchase.

The short answer

• Yes, a foreign citizen can buy an apartment or a house. The government services portal states that both Armenian citizens and foreign nationals, as well as legal entities, can purchase real estate in Armenia [5].
• For a purchase paid in one lump sum, the same portal says there is no requirement to be resident in Armenia [5].
• The restriction is about land. The Constitution says foreign citizens and stateless persons do not enjoy the right of ownership of land, except in cases set by law [1]. The Land Code sets out the main exceptions: plots for adjoining household use, gardening, an individual house, public and production facilities, and a multi-apartment building [2].
• Other land can be used by a foreign citizen but not owned, for example under a lease of state or community land [2].
• From 1 November 2026 the wording of the exception for persons with special residence status changes [3].
• Registering your ownership at the Cadastre Committee costs a service fee of AMD 25,000 plus a state duty of AMD 1,000 and takes 4 working days [6].
• Tax: property tax is paid every year [4]; rental income is taxed at 10% [4]; selling is governed by separate rules [4]; for the 2027 amendments, see the tax section [8]–[11].

What a foreigner can own

Apartments and houses

The National Services Gateway of Armenia (hartak.am), in its "Buying a Home" guide, says that individuals, whether Armenian citizens or foreign nationals, and legal entities can purchase real estate in Armenia. For a purchase with a lump-sum payment there is no residency requirement [5].

Article 60 of the Constitution gives everyone the right to possess, use and dispose of property acquired on a lawful basis (part 1) [1]. The only restriction aimed at foreigners in that article is the one on land (part 6) [1].

Land: the rule and the exceptions

Constitution, Article 60, part 6: foreign citizens and stateless persons do not enjoy the right of ownership of land, except in cases defined by law [1].

The Land Code repeats the rule. Under Article 4, part 3, foreign citizens and stateless persons cannot hold ownership of land and can only be land users. The exception that part 3 names today is persons with special residence status in Armenia [2].

Part 3.1 of the same article then says that the restriction in the first paragraph of part 3 does not apply to land plots:

• adjoining a house (household plots) and gardening plots;
• for building and maintaining an individual residential house;
• for building and maintaining public and production facilities;
• for building and maintaining a multi-apartment residential building [2].

The government portal puts it in plain words: foreign citizens can also buy land plots designated for houses, gardens, individual residential buildings, and public and industrial facilities [5].

What this means in practice. An apartment in a multi-apartment building, and a private house on a plot with a household, garden or residential purpose, do not run into the land ban [2][5]. A plot whose purpose is not in the part 3.1 list, for example agricultural land, cannot become a foreign citizen's property under the text of the article [2]. Find out the purpose of the plot before you sign, because it decides which rule applies.

Using land without owning it

Article 4, part 3 leaves foreign citizens the status of land users [2]. Article 76, part 4, point 3 of the Land Code lists foreign citizens among those to whom state and community land may be granted on lease or with a development right. The grant is made by competition (part 3); the government sets the cases in which no competition is needed (part 5) [2].

What changes on 1 November 2026

Law ՀՕ-13-Ն of 20.01.2026 amends Article 4 (parts 2 and 3) and Article 76 (part 4, point 3) of the Land Code and takes effect on 1 November 2026 [3].

The words "persons with special residence status" are replaced with "foreigners holding permanent residence status on the basis of rendering exceptional services to the Republic of Armenia" (our translation from Armenian) [3].

Foreigners who obtained special residence status before the law takes effect keep the rights and duties under the Land Code until their status expires [3]. The law does not change part 3.1 of Article 4 [3].

What these statuses cover and how to obtain them is outside this guide; ask a lawyer.

Legal entities

Part 2 of Article 4 of the Land Code names foreign legal entities among the parties to land relations [2]. The government portal notes that the land restriction does not apply to foreign legal entities [5]. How to structure a purchase through a company, and what follows from it, is outside this guide; ask a lawyer.

Buying step by step

The sequence below follows the government portal's materials on buying a home and on registering ownership [5][6]. For a land plot, ask a notary about the procedure.

Step 1. Set the budget and pick the market

Decide what you can spend and choose a market. The primary market is housing sold for the first time by a developer; the secondary market is housing in a resale building [5].

On the primary market you usually deal with the developer or a reseller, pay a first instalment and then pay as construction proceeds. A secondary-market purchase, according to the portal, can take up to several weeks [5].

Step 2. Check the property and the seller

For a new build, the portal suggests asking the developer when construction will be completed, whether the company has the necessary permits, whether the urban-planning documents and the building's state registration documents are available for review, in what condition the apartment will be handed over, which banks the company works with and whether it is involved in legal proceedings [5].

For the secondary market the portal suggests choosing reliable real estate agents, making sure that every owner agrees to the sale and asking about any known problems with the home [5].

The Cadastre Committee also issues a unified certificate. It shows the personal data of all owners, the area and any restrictions on the property, for example a mortgage; the portal says a home can be sold only without such restrictions [5]. The certificate can be requested online or at the Cadastre Committee, and the applicant does not have to be the owner [5].

How Akcern checks properties and developers is described on the verification method page.

Step 3. Sign the sale contract: Cadastre Committee or notary

In Armenia a home sale is carried out at the Cadastre Committee or at a notary's office [5].

The portal points to the Cadastre Committee for simple transactions: all owners can attend, no power of attorney is used, the property is not divided into shares and the price is paid in full. Signing the sale contract at the Cadastre Committee is free of charge, and a sample contract is published on the Committee's website [5].

The portal points to a notary where something is not simple: not all owners are present, the price will be paid in parts, one of the parties is a minor, and so on. A sale can also go through a notary simply at the parties' request [5].

Step 4. Pay the price

According to the portal, real estate payments must be made by non-cash transfer, such as a bank transfer [5].

Step 5. Register your ownership

After the purchase contract is signed, the right of ownership must be registered with the Cadastre Committee [6]. You can apply online (log in with your details or through the national identification system "YesEm"; the service page also mentions applying in person by booking an appointment) [6]. Registration is completed within 4 working days of the application. The certificate is then issued and sent to the email address you give; its authenticity can be checked on the Cadastre Committee's website with the certificate number and password [6].

If the apartment is bought with a mortgage, the portal says ownership is registered only after the building completion certificate has been issued [6].

Step 6. After registration

Sign up for utilities: gas, electricity and water. In a new building a new account is opened; on the secondary market the account is transferred into your name on the basis of the ownership certificate and the seller's final settlement certificate [5]. After that come the tax duties of an owner, covered below.

Documents a foreign buyer needs

To register ownership at the Cadastre Committee, the service page lists: a passport or ID card (plus a power of attorney if a representative applies); the home purchase contract; a receipt confirming payment of the apartment price; the certificate of the right to purchase real estate; and a receipt for the state registration payment [6]. The service is open to citizens of Armenia and foreign citizens [6].

For a notary, the portal lists: identity documents of the parties (for citizens of other countries, notarized Armenian translations of passports); a marriage certificate if the person was married when acquiring the property being sold; the certificate of state registration of rights to the real estate; the unified certificate; a document confirming a representative's powers; and other documents at the notary's request [5].

Social card number. A social card number, or a certificate of its absence, is not named in the document lists on these two portal pages [5][6]; ask the notary or the Cadastre Committee whether you need one. For mortgages, the portal says Armenian banks in most cases lend to residents who have a social security number, are registered at an address in Armenia and are employed, and that it depends on the bank's policy [5]. Mortgage terms for non-residents are outside this guide.

Translation. Ask the notary for the price of a notarized passport translation.

What the purchase costs

The amounts below come from the government portal's pages as read on 15.10.2026. Check them again on the service page before you apply.

The service page gives the cost of the service as AMD 26,000 to 151,000 [6]. In the list of payments that the portal gives for a purchase with a mortgage, notary certification appears as AMD 20,000 [5]. For a purchase without a mortgage, ask the notary for the tariff.

Taxes after you buy

This section is as of 16.10.2026; check the articles on arlis.am before you buy.

Property tax

Tax Code, Article 225, part 1: property tax is paid by organizations and individuals, except those the article lists: state bodies, community institutions, the Central Bank, state and community non-profits, and the owners of apartments and non-residential premises in a multi-apartment building in respect of the commonly owned land and common areas. Foreign citizens are not on the list of exceptions [4].

From 01.01.2027 foreign citizens still pay property tax: part 1 of Article 225 is restated and the list of exceptions changes, but foreign citizens are not named in it [10].

According to the portal, the tax applies to land plots and to the underground and above-ground buildings and structures on them [5]. It is calculated from the cadastral value, which is approximated to market value, and the rate depends on that value [5].

For apartments, Article 229 (part 1, point 3) sets these rates [4]:

For individual residential houses and garden houses, the same article (part 1, point 4) sets these rates [4]:

A worked example using the apartment table (example figures): on a base of AMD 12 million the tax is AMD 5,000 plus 0.1% of 2 million, which is AMD 7,000; on a base of AMD 30 million it is AMD 20,000 plus 0.2% of 5 million, which is AMD 30,000 [4].

For land without improvements within settlements, designated for residential development, the rate under Article 229 (part 1, point 2, sub-point "a") is 0.6% [4].

Under Article 233 (part 7), for the 2026 reporting year and later years the tax is calculated in full (100%); 75% applied for 2025 [4]. Individuals pay into the budget of the community where the property is located, by 1 December inclusive (Article 236, part 1, point 1) [4].

Article 236 in the version in force already contains parts 2 to 5 as restated by law ՀՕ-407-Ն (Articles 4 and 5; in force from 30.08.2026) [10]. Under part 2, on state registration of a right to real estate, individuals who pay the tax must settle the tax on that property for the period up to and including the month of registration before the registration itself; the first state registration of ownership is excepted. Under part 4, in these cases the Cadastre Committee registers on the basis of a certificate from the community's registering body that there are no tax obligations on the property, and part 5 lists the cases to which parts 2 to 4 do not apply. How parts 2 to 5 apply to your purchase is a question for a lawyer. Part 1, point 1 (the 1 December deadline) is not changed by this law [10].

Tax on rental income

Income tax is paid by individuals who are residents and by those who are non-residents (Article 140, part 1). For a non-resident the object of taxation is gross income from sources in Armenia (Article 141, part 1, point 2) [4]. How residency is determined is outside this guide.

Under Article 150 (part 7), income tax on rental payments is calculated at 10%. If rental payments received in a tax year exceed AMD 60 million, the individual calculates an additional income tax at 10% on the excess [4].

From 01.06.2027 Article 150 is supplemented by part 7.1 (law ՀՕ-391-Ն): for an owner's income from transactions involving property handed over for management within the meaning of the Law "On Realtor Activity", income tax is also calculated at 10%, and if the total of such income in a tax year exceeds AMD 60 million, the individual calculates an additional income tax of 10% on the excess [8]. This law does not change the text of part 7 [8].

The government portal adds that when you rent out a home you must file a declaration with the State Revenue Committee and pay income tax on the income [5]. This guide does not give a filing deadline.

Tax on selling

For a sale, the Tax Code contains three provisions [4]:

• Article 147 (part 1, point 16) lists among non-taxable income of individuals the income from selling property they own, received from individuals who are not individual entrepreneurs or notaries; sales of buildings, apartments and premises by an individual who counts as the developer of a multi-apartment building are carved out of this rule (Article 145, part 1, point 1);
• Article 150 (part 9) sets the rate of tax on income from alienation of property at 10% (except the cases governed by parts 9.1 and 11 of the same article); how that rate interacts with point 16 of Article 147 in your case is a question for a tax adviser;
• Article 150 (part 11) sets the rate at 20% for a developer selling a building, apartments or other premises.

Income from selling a land plot, whatever its purpose, is also on the list of non-taxable income (Article 147, part 1, point 38) [4]. How these rules apply to you, as a resident or a non-resident, is for a tax adviser to decide; this guide does not work through it.

The 2027 amendments do not change the sale rules described above (Article 147, part 1, points 16 and 38; Article 150, parts 9 and 11) [8][9][11].

How Akcern helps

Akcern supports buyers, including buyers abroad. How Akcern handles a purchase:

• A remote scenario for the diaspora: video viewings, remote legal due diligence and the deal signed by your representative under a power of attorney certified by a notary in your country with an apostille, or at an Armenian consulate [7].
• For private buyers the buyer-side support is free; the commission is paid by the seller or the developer [7].
• Legal support for the transaction is billed separately, from AMD 60,000, and is the buyer's choice [7].
• If you found a property yourself, there is a separate package, due diligence on a property without buying through Akcern, from AMD 80,000 [7].
• From signing the engagement letter through to handover of the keys it typically takes 4 to 8 weeks; legal due diligence, negotiation and the transaction are specialist work, not artificial intelligence [7].

The checks Akcern applies to properties and developers are described on the verification method page.

Contact: «Ակցեռն» ՍՊԸ, 17 Davit Anhaght St, Yerevan 0069, phone +374-10-277662.

What this guide does not cover

Not covered here: mortgage terms for non-residents, obtaining a residence permit through property, the notary's statutory tariff, the price of a notarized translation and the filing deadline for a non-resident's declaration. Put these questions to a lawyer, a bank, a notary or the Cadastre Committee before you sign the contract.