Paragraph (1) of § 5:83 of the Civil Code states that the termination of joint ownership may be claimed by any of the co-owners. Therefore, if there is no consensual agreement between the co-owners on the termination of the common property or on the possible way to terminate it, the claim can be enforced in court through civil proceedings, but like all litigation, this procedure has its costs.
The Act XCIII of 1990 on Fees provides for the establishment of the fees for court services, including the basis and amount of the fees payable in the case of proceedings for the termination of common property:
The Itv. 39. § (1) states that “The basis of the duty shall be the value of the subject-matter of the proceedings at the time of the institution of the proceedings (hereinafter together referred to as the value of the subject-matter of the proceedings) (…).”
The value of the subject-matter of the action is defined and determined in actions in rem by Section 21 (1) to (2) of the Civil Procedure Act, according to which “The value of the subject-matter of the action shall, with the exception of paragraph (3), be equal to the value of the claim or other right asserted by the action. The value of a claim or other right in an action in rem shall be the value of the thing or part of a thing or right in rem in dispute.”
Litigation on the law of property is understood to be litigation relating to the right of ownership, right of use and right of possession, and therefore also includes litigation for the termination of common property, and therefore the value of the property or a specific part of it is taken into account when calculating the value of the litigation.
The duty on the market value of the real estate is due at the time of the commencement of the first instance proceedings, i.e. at the time of filing the action, which under the previously applicable duty law was 6% of the value of the subject of the action, but not less than HUF 15,000 and not more than HUF 1,500,000. However, the fee system for litigation has been restructured under an amendment to the law which entered into force at the end of January 2025. In this context, the current Itv. applies a kind of banded, combined calculation:
“Unless otherwise provided by this Act, the rate of the levy on the levy base specified in sections 39 to 41:
- a) in legal proceedings
- aa) up to HUF 300.000 HUF 18.000;
- ab) HUF 18.000 up to HUF 300.001-3.000.000 and 4,5% of the part above HUF 300.000;
- ac) HUF 3.000.001 to HUF 10.000.000.000 139.500 and 5% of the part above HUF 3.000.000;
- ad) HUF 10.000.001-30.000.000 up to HUF 489.500 and 7% of the part above HUF 10.000.000;
- ae) HUF 1,889,500 for the amount up to HUF 30,000,001-50,000,000 and 4.5% of the amount above HUF 30,000,000;
- af) HUF 2.789.500 for the amount up to HUF 50.000.001-100.000.000.000 and 2,5% of the amount above HUF 50.000.000;
- ag) HUF 4,039,500 for the amount up to HUF 100,000,001-250,000,000 and 2% of the amount above HUF 100,000,000;
- ah) HUF 7.039.500 up to HUF 250.000.001-500.000.000 and 0,5% of the part above HUF 250.000.000;
- ai) HUF 8.289.500 above HUF 500.000.001 and 0,5% of the part above HUF 500.000.000;”
The primary aim of the amendment was to reduce the fee burden in low value cases – below HUF 10 million – while at the same time the fee rate was increased for higher value cases and the previously applied upper fee ceiling was abolished.
At the same time, the following benefit – relevant for the termination of joint ownership – has been introduced:
“(1a) If the claim in the litigation relates to residential property or a right of pecuniary value connected with it, and the value of the subject-matter of the litigation is between HUF 10,000,001 and HUF 250,000,000, 50% of the fee determined pursuant to subsection (1)(a)(ad)-(a), but at least HUF 489,500, shall be paid.”
Thus, if the value of the claim is between HUF 10,000,000 and 250,000,000 and the claim or part of it is related to residential property or related rights of pecuniary value, the amount of the fee payable is 50% of the amount calculated according to the general rules, but at least HUF 489,500.
This provision thus facilitates access to justice for properties with a higher market value.
If you are thinking about initiating proceedings for the termination of joint ownership or if you have a problem with joint ownership, please do not hesitate to contact our law firm.
