Buying land abroad: zoning, buildability and permits

A plot of land abroad is the cheapest way into a market and also the easiest place to lose money. The price depends less on the size of the plot than on what the law lets you do with it. Two neighbouring parcels can differ many times in value because one is building land and the other is agricultural or protected. This guide is for EU residents and expats who buy a plot in another country. It describes the checks, not prices or timelines, which differ by municipality.

Start with the land-use class, not the view

Almost every country sorts land into classes: built-up or developable land, land that may be developed after a plan or new infrastructure, and land reserved for farming, forest, nature or defence. Only the first class gives a reasonably safe right to build. Spain commonly splits land into urban, urbanisable and rustic. Portugal uses urban and rustic land under the municipal master plan. In Turkey and Bulgaria a plot is either inside a zoning plan or outside it. In Georgia the key is whether the registry lists the plot as agricultural or non-agricultural.

Ask the municipality for an official planning certificate instead of relying on an agent's description. It should state the class, the permitted use, the maximum built area and height, distances from boundaries and roads, and protection zones. Certificates are dated, so get a recent one and keep it.

Buildability is a set of tests

A correctly classed plot can still be unbuildable. Check each point separately.

• Building coefficients. Plans cap the share of the plot that may be covered, the total floor area and the number of floors. A large plot with a low coefficient may allow only a small house.
• Minimum size and frontage. Some countries require a minimum area or road frontage for building outside a town plan. Greece is reported to apply such rules, so ask a local lawyer for the figures.
• Legal access. A track across the field is not a registered right of way or a public road frontage.
• Utilities. Find out whether water, electricity, sewage and a road reach the boundary, who pays to extend them and who owns the connection. Connection can cost more than the plot.
• Protected areas. Forest, coastal strips, river banks, heritage zones, nature reserves, military and border zones carry bans or special permits. In Greece forest land cannot be built on even if no trees stand there.
• Natural risks. Look at flood maps, slope stability, erosion, wildfire exposure and the coastal setback line. A sea-view slope may need costly retaining works or be excluded.

Title and cadastre

Order an extract from the land register or cadastre and compare it with the seller's papers: owner, area, boundaries, mortgages, seizures, easements, co-owners, disputes. Have a surveyor measure the plot, because rural boundaries are often old or approximate. Where the register and the cadastre are separate, as in Spain, make sure both match. In Thailand the type of title deed matters: the Chanote is the full survey-based title, other forms are weaker, and some agricultural-reform titles cannot be sold freely. If the seller is a company or several heirs, check who can sign. Missing heirs are a common reason for a blocked sale. For ruins and village plots see our guides on Portugal, Greece and Spain.

Permits and hidden costs

Buying a plot does not give you a permit. A typical sequence is planning certificate, survey, architect's project, municipal review, sometimes environmental, heritage or water approvals, then the building permit. Each step has its own authority and queue. Do not sign a contract that assumes a permit you do not hold. If you must sign early, ask your lawyer for a condition that the contract falls away and the deposit is returned if confirmed buildability or the permit is not obtained within a stated period. A permit can lapse if work does not start in time, and an old permit may belong to a project that no longer fits the plan.

Beyond the price, budget for purchase taxes and registration fees, notary and lawyer, survey, architect and technical studies, network connections, access road, retaining walls and drainage, fencing and annual land taxes. Unused land can attract fines for overgrowth or fire-prevention duties. Our total cost of ownership article lists the categories and the calculators help to build one budget.

Country notes

Short orientation notes checked against general sources in October 2026, not a substitute for a local lawyer.

Spain. Land is urban, urbanisable or rustic, and building on rustic land is heavily restricted, with exceptions that depend on the region. Ask for the municipal planning report, the land-register extract and the cadastral reference, which you can look up on the Spanish cadastre.

Portugal. The municipal master plan decides, together with protection regimes for ecological and agricultural land. Decree-Law 117/2024, in force since January 2025, created a special route for municipalities to reclassify some rustic land for housing, mainly affordable housing, but no general right to build on rustic land. Do not price a plot as urban land because a reclassification is rumoured.

Greece. Plots outside the town plan are reported to need a minimum size and road frontage for a house, and forest status can block construction. Check the title through the Hellenic Cadastre. Non-EU buyers need a defence-ministry permit in designated border and island areas, reported to be routine for ordinary residential use.

Bulgaria. EU citizens may buy regulated building plots. Non-EU foreigners cannot own land directly, see the official point of single contact, so ask a local lawyer how a company purchase works. Check that the plot lies in a regulated zone and not on agricultural land with a promise of future change.

Montenegro. Start with the urban-technical conditions issued for the plot under the plan. Foreign individuals are reported to be barred from agricultural land, forests, a strip along the land border and islands, with a limited exception, and some sources mention an area cap and a reciprocity condition. The planning law was reportedly replaced in 2025, so ask for the current text.

Georgia. Foreigners can own non-agricultural land, while agricultural land is reserved for citizens and Georgian-majority companies. The extract on the Public Registry site shows the designated use. Changing it from agricultural is a discretionary procedure, not a formality.

Turkey. The municipal zoning-status document (imar durumu) states what may be built. Foreigners buy through the land registry with a valuation report and a military-zone check, and reported area limits apply to land held by a foreign individual. See the land registry authority.

Thailand. Foreigners cannot own land. The usual routes are a registered leasehold, superficies or usufruct, a condominium unit, or owning a building on leased land. Our articles on Thai due diligence and nominee ownership enforcement explain why shortcuts are risky.

Typical traps are buying agricultural land on a promise of re-designation, a seller's "permit available" with none in your name, access over a neighbour's land without a registered right, and a large deposit paid before checks. If you are not on site, read buying property abroad remotely and the pre-purchase checklist.

FAQ

Can I build on any plot I buy? No. Land-use class, the plan's coefficients, access, utilities and protection zones decide. Ask for the municipal planning certificate before paying a deposit.

Is a plot cheaper than a finished house? The purchase price often is, but permits, design, connections and works come on top and the timeline is longer and less predictable. Compare the full cost.

Can a foreigner buy land in any country? Not always. Some countries bar foreigners from land entirely or from agricultural and border land, and rules differ between EU and non-EU buyers. Check before you search.

What if the permit is refused after I bought? You may be left with land you cannot use as planned. That is why a purchase condition tied to confirmed buildability matters and a lawyer should review the contract.

Do I need a local architect or engineer before buying? It is wise. A local professional can read the plan and confirm what the plot allows, which an agent usually cannot guarantee.

How we help

D.H. Realting is a trilingual platform in Russian, Polish and English. We find properties and plots and coordinate independent local lawyers, surveyors and tax advisers who check the title, the planning status and the contract in the country concerned. This text is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice, and rules change, so verify the current rules with the authorities and a local lawyer before you pay anything.