A Montenegrin company for buying land: why a foreign buyer needs one and what it costs to run
A foreigner holds land, or a house with a plot, through a locally registered company. How the company is set up, what it costs each year, what taxes it pays and when you can do without one.
The Montenegrin rule is simple and often comes as a surprise: a foreigner can buy an apartment in their own name, but not land. A plot, a house with a plot and agricultural land are registered to a company incorporated in Montenegro. This is not a workaround — it is the procedure the law expressly provides for.
What exactly is restricted
- An apartment in a multi-unit building — registered to the foreign individual without restriction.
- A plot of land — only through a company.
- A house with land — the same regime, because the plot passes along with the house.
- Agricultural land and forests — a separate category with additional restrictions.
How the company is set up
A limited liability company is registered in the commercial register; the share capital is nominal and registration is quick. You need founding documents, a registered address in the country and an appointed director. The company receives a tax number and is required to keep accounts.
What it costs
- Registration — a one-off cost, inexpensive by European standards.
- Accounting services — a monthly or annual fee, and the main ongoing cost.
- Annual accounts have to be filed even when the company has no activity.
- A registered address, if you have no premises of your own.
- A resident director — required in some configurations, and a separate line of expense.
The total is small next to the value of the property, but it recurs every year for as long as you own it, and it belongs in the yield calculation alongside the utility bills.
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The tax side
The company pays corporate profit tax at a rate that remains among the lowest in Europe, and it is the taxpayer on property transactions. A sale of the property by the company and a sale of shares in the company itself are two different scenarios with different tax consequences. The choice between them is made in advance, with a tax adviser — not at the moment a buyer has already been found.
When you can do without a company
- You are buying an apartment — no company needed.
- You are buying a unit in a complex where the land stays in the building's shared ownership — usually no company needed either.
- You hold a residence permit or another status that changes the buyer's position — this is decided case by case and checked before the transaction.
Worth remembering
- A company is a set of obligations, not just a wrapper. Forgotten filings turn into fines, and into a problem when you sell.
- Selling through the shares suits a foreign buyer, but it also means buying a company with its entire history — so the company needs checking, not just the property.
- Plan the structure before the purchase. Moving a property from an individual to a company after the fact costs more than getting the choice right at the start.
Based on Montenegrin legislation on foreigners' property rights and the practice of registering and maintaining local companies.
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