Secure payment at the land registry postponed

The requirement to pay the price of home and land sales through the secure payment system has been postponed to 1 December 2026. An integrator will build and run it.

The start date of the requirement to pay the price of real estate sales through the secure payment system has been postponed once again. With a regulation amendment published in the Official Gazette of 1 October 2026 by the Ministry of Trade, the new date is 1 December 2026.

What is the system?

The rule was introduced with the "Payment system" article added to the Regulation on Real Estate Trade on 29 April 2026. Under it, in real estate sales by real estate businesses and other natural and legal persons, if part or all of the payment is made by cash, bank transfer, EFT or other methods to be set by the Ministry, the sale price will be paid through this system, which ensures the simultaneous exchange of title ownership and payment.

If part of the sale price is covered by a bank or financing company loan, the system will be used for payments other than the loan.
A usage fee will be charged for each transaction made through the system, and this fee will be deducted from the sale price transferred to the seller.
A commission made up of representatives of the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change will be set up to monitor operation.

How did the date change?

The April regulation did not make use of the system compulsory for sales up to 1 July 2026 and gave the Ministry the authority to extend this date by up to three months. At the end of June, the Ministry postponed the transition to 1 October 2026, citing technical preparations. With the latest amendment published on 1 October, the date in the regulation was directly changed to "1/12/2026".

What did the October amendment change?

Under the new text, the Ministry will authorise an integrator to build, operate and develop the system and to produce statistics. The system will operate according to a protocol to be signed between the two ministries and the integrator. Which sales will be excluded from the system, whether a pilot scheme is needed, and the amount of the usage fee and how it is shared will also be determined by this protocol. In other words, the fee and the exceptions have not yet been shared with the public.

What should buyers and sellers do?

Use of the system is not compulsory for sales made before 1 December 2026. Buyers and sellers who carry out a land registry transaction after that date, especially if they plan to pay in cash or by bank transfer, will need to check the current rules with announcements from the Ministry of Trade and the land registry office before the transaction. Because the usage fee will be deducted from the amount transferred to the seller, it is useful for sellers to include this item in their sale calculations. Once the protocol is published, the exceptions and the fee will become clear.

What does the system aim to do?

According to the regulation, the payment system is being set up so that title ownership and the sale price change hands at the same time. This structure aims to reduce risks such as the title being transferred but the money not being paid, or the money being paid but the title not being transferred. The details of the application will appear on the Ministry of Trade's official website and in the protocol to be signed. For transactions that will fall after 1 December, those planning a sale would do well to build their payment schedule with this new process in mind.