Slovenian Property Glossary (2026)

Buying property in Slovenia brings you into three official worlds: the real estate cadastre (what the property physically is), the land register (who holds which rights over it) and the market and valuation records (what it is worth). This glossary explains their terms in one place. Terms are given in Slovenian, as they appear in registers, contracts and reports, and each definition rests on the law or official page listed below its section.

Official registers and institutions

GURS (Surveying and Mapping Authority of the Republic of Slovenia): The state authority that keeps the real estate cadastre, the real estate market register (ETN) and the valuation register with generalized values. Its data are publicly available through the Prostor portal (e-prostor.gov.si).
Kataster nepremičnin (real estate cadastre): The official record of parcels, buildings and building parts — their position, shape, area and other physical characteristics. It records the actual state of property and enables rights to be entered in the land register. Under the Real Estate Cadastre Act (ZKN) it replaced three earlier records: the land cadastre, the building cadastre and the real estate register; its information system has been in use since 4 April 2022.
Zemljiška knjiga (land register): A public register for entering and publishing rights over property (ownership, mortgage, easement, building right …) and legal facts relating to it. It is kept by the local courts, and every entry is public. Anyone who acts in good faith and relies on the registered data must not suffer harm as a result.
ETN (evidenca trga nepremičnin, real estate market register): The public register of property sales and rentals kept by GURS. It records the prices and rents achieved in concluded deals and data on the property concerned; rentals are recorded if concluded for at least six months. The parties’ personal data are not public.

Property, parcels and floor area

Katastrska občina (cadastral municipality (KO)): The basic unit in which cadastre data are kept. Every parcel and building in Slovenia is uniquely identified by the cadastral municipality code and a number within it. A cadastral municipality is not the same as a municipality.
Parcela (parcel, parcel number): A surveyed piece of land lying in one cadastral municipality, entered in the cadastre with its boundary and marked with a parcel number. A parcel number is written e.g. “parcela 123 24/2”: the cadastral municipality code, the parcel number and, where set, a sub-number after the slash.
Stavba (building): A covered structure that can be entered and is intended for living or carrying out an activity. Every building has at least one building part.
Del stavbe (building part): A functional set of rooms in a building suitable for independent use — for example an apartment or an office; in a building under condominium ownership it is the individual unit. Its number combines the building number and a number assigned within the building.
Neto tlorisna površina dela stavbe (net floor area): The sum of the areas of all rooms belonging to a building part. For an apartment it includes its ancillary rooms outside the living space, such as a cellar on another floor. This is the area the cadastre records for a building part; nReport uses it as the basis for price per m².
Uporabna površina dela stavbe (usable area): The sum of the areas of rooms used for the same purpose as the building part. For an apartment it counts the living rooms but not a cellar, balcony, terrace, loggia or garage — so it is smaller than the net floor area. A price per m² of usable area is not directly comparable with one per m² of net floor area.
Etažna lastnina (condominium ownership): Ownership of an individual unit of a building (e.g. an apartment) together with co-ownership of the building’s common parts. It is disposed of as a whole: selling the apartment also sells its share of the common parts.
Rezervni sklad (reserve fund): The owners’ fund for the cost of maintenance and necessary improvements to the building. It is the joint property of the unit owners, kept by the building manager on a separate account, and an owner cannot ask for contributions back — not even when selling the apartment.

Rights and encumbrances in the land register

Vknjižba, predznamba in zaznamba (registration, pre-registration and notation): The main land-register entries. Registration (vknjižba) achieves or records the acquisition or termination of a right; pre-registration (predznamba) does the same on condition that it is later justified; notation (zaznamba) records legal facts such as a dispute or an enforcement.
Plomba (pending-entry marker): An auxiliary entry announcing that land-register proceedings concerning the property have started and the court has not yet decided on the entry. It means the legal status may still change — check what the proceedings concern before buying.
Hipoteka (mortgage): A pledge over real property securing a claim — most often a bank loan. It secures the claim until it is fully repaid; a buyer needs an agreement on how it will be deleted when ownership transfers.
Služnost (easement, servitude): A right to use someone else’s property or to require its owner to refrain from certain acts. A real easement belongs to the owner of another (dominant) property — for example a right of way across a parcel; a personal easement belongs to a specific person and lasts at most until their death.
Prepoved odtujitve in obremenitve (prohibition of disposal and encumbrance): A restriction under which the owner cannot sell or encumber the property without the consent of the holder of the prohibition. It can be entered in the land register only between spouses or unmarried partners, parents and children, or adoptive parents and adopted children.
Predkupna pravica (right of pre-emption): The right to be preferred over other buyers when a property is sold. By law it belongs, for example, to co-owners when a co-ownership share is sold; in some areas the municipality holds it, which the location information (lokacijska informacija) shows.
Zemljiškoknjižno dovolilo (intabulacijska klavzula, registration consent): An express, unconditional statement by the person whose right is transferred, changed, encumbered or terminated, allowing the entry in the land register. The signature on it must be certified. To register ownership, the tax office’s confirmation that the real estate transfer tax was paid must also be attached where that tax is due.

Value and the market

Množično vrednotenje nepremičnin (mass real estate valuation): The procedure in which GURS values all registered properties at once using valuation models. The models are built from market data on prices and rents collected in the real estate market register (ETN).
Posplošena vrednost (generalized (market) value): A model estimate of a property’s market value that GURS calculates from its basic characteristics (use, location, size, age and quality). Current generalized values reflect the market as of 1 January 2025 and are recalculated whenever the property’s data change. It ignores the condition of the specific unit, so it is not an appraisal.
Realizirana cena (realized price): The price achieved in an actually concluded deal, as recorded in ETN. Unlike an asking price, which says what the seller wants, a realized price says what a buyer paid.

Building, land use and energy

Namenska in dejanska raba (designated and actual use): Designated use of land is set by the municipality (e.g. building or agricultural land) and says what the land may be used for; actual use describes how the land or building part is really used. The cadastre takes designated-use data from the municipalities.
Uporabno dovoljenje (occupancy permit): The administrative decision under which a structure that requires a building permit (other than a minor structure) may start to be used. Where it is required, it is also a condition for being assigned a house number.
Energetska izkaznica (energy performance certificate): A public document with data on the energy performance of a building or building part. It is valid for ten years; when selling or letting, the owner must present it to the buyer or tenant no later than before the contract is concluded.
Energijski razred (energy class): The banding of a building’s heating energy need (kWh per m² per year) into classes A1 to G. Class A1 means at most 10 kWh/(m²a); class G means more than 210 kWh/(m²a).

Taxes and charges

Davek na promet nepremičnin (real estate transfer tax): A 2 % tax on the sale price, due when property is sold without VAT being charged. The taxpayer is the seller, even if the buyer takes over payment in the contract.
Dobiček iz kapitala pri odsvojitvi nepremičnine (capital gains tax on property): Personal income tax on the difference between a property’s value at sale and at acquisition, paid by individuals. The rate is 25 % and falls with every full five years of ownership; after 15 years no tax is due.
NUSZ (nadomestilo za uporabo stavbnega zemljišča, building land use charge): An annual charge whose areas, criteria and exemptions each municipality sets by ordinance, assessed by the Financial Administration. The payer is the direct user of the building or land — the owner or a tenant.
Davek od premoženja (property tax on buildings): An annual tax under the Citizens’ Taxes Act paid by individuals who own or hold buildings, building parts, apartments, garages and holiday premises. Its base is reduced by the value of 160 m² of living space if the owner or a close family member lived there permanently in the previous year.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the cadastre and the land register?

The real estate cadastre (kept by GURS) describes what the property is: parcels, buildings, building parts, their location and area. The land register (kept by the local courts) says who holds which rights over it — ownership, mortgages, easements. Check both before buying.

Why does an apartment have two different floor areas?

The net floor area covers every room belonging to the apartment, including a cellar and balcony. The usable area covers only the rooms used for living. When comparing prices per m², check which area they refer to.

What does a “plomba” on a land-register extract mean?

That an application for an entry concerning the property has been filed and the court has not yet decided on it. The land-register status may still change, so check what the proceedings concern before signing a contract.

This content is informational and does not replace an official appraisal by a licensed real-estate valuer.