Azerbaijani property terms — what they mean
The words you will meet when buying a home in Azerbaijan. Each definition is written to stand on its own.
Documents and law
ASAN İmza and SİMA
Azerbaijan's electronic signature tools. Mortgage applications are submitted with them through the 'Elektron İpoteka' section of the e-gov portal, free of charge.
Anyone charging a fee to submit the application for you is running a known scam.
Certificate of inheritance
The document for a property passing by inheritance. When buying one, confirm that every heir has consented — a single heir who did not can later challenge the sale.
Once the certificate is issued, ownership is formalised through a title extract.
Encumbrance certificate
A document showing whether a property is pledged, under arrest or otherwise restricted. It must be checked before any purchase in Azerbaijan.
Without it, the home you buy may already be pledged to a bank or frozen by a court order.
Form 1
Form 1 is the certificate showing in whose name a flat is registered and who is officially resident there. It must be requested alongside the title extract when buying an MTK flat.
Without Form 1 you cannot see which residents are registered at the address and whose consent the sale therefore requires.
MTK (housing construction cooperative)
An MTK is a cooperative that builds flats on a share basis. Documenting an MTK flat is a separate process — ask for the title extract and Form 1 before buying one.
Roughly 50,000–55,000 MTK flats in Azerbaijan can be documented immediately. Failing the extract and Form 1, ask for the cooperative's general-assembly decision and proof the share is fully paid.
Notarial procedure
In Azerbaijan a property sale is valid only when executed before a notary. In Baku, between unrelated parties, the state duty is 250 AZN plus roughly 37.5 AZN in service fees.
Sumqayit, Ganja and Absheron: 175 + ~26 AZN. Other cities and districts: 125 + ~19 AZN. Between close relatives: about 23 AZN.
Power of attorney (etibarnamə)
A notarised document by which an owner authorises someone else to act on their behalf. If a sale is being conducted under one, its scope and validity must be checked.
Sales by power of attorney are lawful but warrant care: confirm the document explicitly grants the right to sell and has not been revoked.
Shared ownership
Where a property belongs to several people in shares. Selling it requires every co-owner's consent, and if only a share is sold the other co-owners have a right of first refusal.
The size of each share appears on the document. Negotiating with one co-owner alone is a common and costly mistake.
State Register of Real Estate
The state database in which every property right in Azerbaijan is recorded. The title extract is issued from it, and documents from 2019 onwards can be verified electronically.
Checking against the register is the most reliable way to confirm that a document a seller shows you is genuine.
Technical passport
The technical passport records a property's area, layout and technical characteristics. It is required in order to register a title extract and costs 200–300 AZN.
If the actual layout differs from the passport — an unapproved conversion — it becomes a problem at the point of sale.
Undocumented property
A home with no title extract. It cannot be mortgaged or insured and is hard to resell; more than 500,000 such units exist in Azerbaijan.
Registering a title costs roughly 500–1,000 AZN: about 200 AZN state duty plus 200–300 AZN for the technical passport.
Çıxarış (title extract)
The çıxarış is the ownership document issued by Azerbaijan's state property register — colloquially 'kupça'. Without one a home cannot be mortgaged or insured.
Extracts issued from 2019 onwards are electronic and verifiable in the state registry. If a seller waves a paper document and hurries you, ask for the electronic check.
Money and payment
Beh (deposit)
A deposit paid to secure a deal. In Azerbaijan it should be formalised only before a notary — recovering a deposit handed over outside the notarial process is very difficult in practice.
'Leave a deposit now, we will go to the notary later' is the most repeated way buyers lose money here.
Commission
The fee an agent takes when a deal completes. With us, searching is free for buyers and tenants — commission is charged only on a completed deal, at an agreed percentage.
In the wider rental market an agent's fee is typically 20–30% of one month's rent, or a flat 70–300 AZN.
Down payment
The share of the price a buyer pays from their own funds when using a mortgage. At least 10% on the subsidised track, 20–30% on the standard one.
The loan cannot exceed 90% of the property's value, so the down payment effectively sets the floor.
Simplified tax on a sale
A tax that may apply on the seller's side in a property sale — up to 15 AZN per square metre depending on the case. The notary calculates the exact amount.
It is the seller's liability, not the buyer's, but it usually surfaces in the price negotiation.
Subsidised mortgage
A state-backed mortgage at 4% a year (3.7% with the Fund's guarantee), requiring at least 10% down and available only to specific categories of applicant.
Categories include young families under 35, civil servants, military personnel, children of martyrs and Patriotic War heroes, internally displaced persons and academic staff. An undocumented home does not qualify.
Tax on rental income
Income from renting out residential property is taxed at 10%, withheld at source, and requires registration with the tax authority; failing to register carries a fine.
A formal contract protects both sides — for tax purposes and in any dispute.
Buildings and flats
Commercial unit (obyekt)
Non-residential space used for retail, services or production. Its value is driven by location, access and street frontage.
If a flat has been converted to commercial use, check that the change of designation was formally registered.
Detached house (həyət evi)
A private house with its own plot. The price covers both the building and the land, and the documents for each must be checked separately.
The land's designated use — residential, garden or agricultural — directly affects both value and what may be built on it.
Garden house (bağ evi)
A house built on a garden plot. It is usually intended for seasonal rather than permanent living, and the land's designation differs from residential land.
Documentation and utilities often differ too — clarify both before buying.
Khrushchyovka, Leningradka, Stalinka
Soviet-era apartment designs whose typical sizes differ: a two-room khrushchyovka is usually 41–50 m², a leningradka 44–53 m², a stalinka 50–72 m².
This is where listing sizes get inflated — a 48 m² khrushchyovka is sometimes advertised as '60 m²'. Knowing the design lets you sanity-check the price.
Kotlovan (off-plan purchase)
Buying a flat while the building is still at foundation stage. The price is below a finished flat's and the risk sits with the buyer.
Before buying off-plan, check the construction permit, the developer's completed projects and the contract terms.
New build (yeni tikili)
Buildings of modern design, usually with a lift, parking and central utilities. Ceilings and rooms are larger than in Soviet-era stock.
The key check on a new build is documentary: the block may be finished while the individual flat's title extract has not yet been issued.
Old build (köhnə tikili)
Soviet-era blocks — khrushchyovka, leningradka, stalinka and similar designs. Cheaper per square metre and often closer to the centre.
When choosing one, check the design, the state of the utilities, and whether the block appears on the demolition programme.
Sot
The unit used for land in Azerbaijan: one sot equals 100 square metres, so six sot is 600 m².
Land is usually priced per sot, so check the unit before comparing two listings.
Top floor and ground floor
In the Azerbaijani market the top and ground floors are usually priced below middle floors — street noise and security on the ground, roof leaks on the top.
In new builds the gap narrows: with proper roof insulation and a lift, a top floor can command a premium.
Condition and renovation
Cosmetic, mid and premium renovation
Market labels for finish levels: cosmetic means a surface refresh, mid means move-in ready, premium (yevro) means high-grade materials and workmanship throughout.
These labels are informal and shift from seller to seller — do not price one without photos and, ideally, a viewing.
Unrenovated (təmirsiz)
The flat is in developer-handover condition: walls, floors and plumbing are unfinished. The price is lower, but the renovation budget has to be added to it.
In new builds this is normal — work out an approximate cost per square metre before you commit.
Utilities (gas, water, electricity)
A property's gas, water, electricity and sewerage supply. In houses and outlying settlements especially, whether a gas line has been run materially affects the price.
Separately from the title check, ask whether the meters are transferred and whether any arrears are outstanding.
Market and dealing
Agent (makler, rieltor)
The intermediary who brings the parties together in a sale or a letting. In Azerbaijan a dedicated law regulating the profession is still only a draft.
With no regulation, judge on process: ask which checks the agent performs and exactly when the fee becomes payable.
Barter
Exchanging one property for another instead of paying cash, usually with a balancing payment. 'Barter olar' in a listing means the owner is open to a swap.
Both properties must be checked separately — one undocumented side blocks the whole transaction.
Demolition programme
Baku's official programme for demolishing older blocks. Being on the list can be either a risk or an opportunity, so it must be checked before buying.
The programme covers blocks across several districts including Binəqədi, Nərimanov, Yasamal, Nəsimi, Səbail, Xətai, Nizami and Sabunçu.
From the owner (sahibindən)
A listing placed directly by the owner rather than an agent. Buyers seek these to avoid commission, but the words 'sahibindən' in a listing do not prove that it is one.
The real difference is not the fee but the checking: buying direct still requires the title extract, the encumbrance certificate and every consent.
Valuation
Establishing a property's market value. For a mortgage, a formal report from a valuer the bank accepts is required.
A valuation can come in below the asking price — and the loan is calculated on the valuation, not on what the seller wants.
Renting
Daily rental
Letting a flat by the night, for visitors and short trips. It carries different pricing, a different contract and usually different expectations from the owner than a long let.
A deposit and a cleaning fee may be charged separately — confirm the terms in writing beforehand.
Flatshare (otaq yoldaşı)
Renting a home jointly by sharing it. The price is per person, and in matching, gender, age and daily routine matter as much as the budget.
Common among students. Settle in advance whose name is on the contract and how the payments are split.
Long-term rental
A monthly tenancy, usually agreed for a year or more. A formal contract protects tenant and owner alike, and is required for tax purposes too.
The contract should state how rent may be increased, the deposit, and the terms for leaving early.
Security deposit
A sum a tenant pays up front against possible damage, typically one month's rent. It is returned at the end of the tenancy if the terms were not broken.
The amount and the conditions for its return belong in the contract — a verbal understanding proves nothing in a dispute.
Utility bills (kommunal)
Gas, water, electricity, heating and refuse charges. Whether a rent includes them must be established up front — it changes the monthly cost substantially.
Before moving in, record the meter readings and confirm there are no arrears from the previous tenant.
Figures are as of mid-2026 and taken from official sources. The law changes — confirm the current figure with a notary, a bank or the relevant authority before you commit to a transaction.