It is easy to focus on the roof, heating and rooms when viewing a house. Yet the most expensive surprise may be outside: the access road belongs to a neighbour, water comes from a borehole on someone else's land, the fence does not follow the cadastral boundary, or a spacious extension is absent from the documents. Use in practice does not by itself prove ownership or a legal right to use something.
Checking a house therefore starts by comparing three things: what is physically there, what the plans show and what rights are registered. This goes beyond the usual checklist of what you acquire with a home. The steps below help you bring those three sources together before paying a purchase deposit, meaning an advance to the seller towards the price.
Start your property checks before you reach the front door
You drove onto the plot, turned on a tap, walked around the fence and looked at the veranda. That confirms only the physical situation on the day of the viewing. The legal position is established through a current Real Property Register extract, registered property details, cadastral files for the land and buildings, and the documents creating the relevant rights. The Real Property Register is maintained by Registrų centras, Lithuania's Centre of Registers. The regulation of the real property register information system distinguishes properties, rights over them and legal facts. A buyer needs to check all of these, rather than the address alone.
| What you see | What to check in the documents | Question to ask before buying |
|---|---|---|
| An access road in use | Ownership of the road plot; the easement's location, scope and legal basis | Does the plot being purchased have a clear right of vehicle access along this exact route? |
| A fence, hedge or paved yard | Plot plan, cadastral file, boundary markers and reliability of the measurements | Is the whole area being used within the plot for sale? |
| A well, borehole, pipe or cable | Ownership, registration, use and maintenance agreements, and rights along the route | Who will allow access, repairs and use after ownership changes? |
| An extension, terrace or garage | Areas in the register and cadastral file; design, permit and completion documents | Does the building's actual layout match its documented configuration? |
The access road: an established right or an informal arrangement?
Access is more straightforward when the plot adjoins a public road and has a lawfully constructed entrance. If the route to the gate crosses another private plot, “everyone has driven this way for twenty years” is not enough. Lithuania's National Land Service explains that an easement gives a defined right to use someone else's property. Known in Lithuanian as a servitutas, it may be established by agreement, an administrative act or, in certain cases, a court decision.
Request the document establishing the easement and its plan, as well as the register extract. Check that it benefits the plot you are buying, where the easement area runs and whether it permits driving rather than only walking or utility maintenance. The Centre of Registers also explains that registration requires documents establishing the easement. Find out how snow clearance, repairs, gates and costs are handled too. Private arrangements need individual review; there is no universal formula.
Plot boundaries: a fence is not a survey document
In older neighbourhoods, fences may follow an informal agreement, convenience or earlier measurements. A well-kept lawn could therefore extend onto a neighbour's land, and the entrance might cross the boundary differently from the plan. Compare the register extract, plot plan and cadastral file with boundary markers on site. An orthophoto map—a geometrically corrected aerial image—can help you orient yourself, but exact boundaries require documents and a qualified land surveyor, rather than a line on a phone screen.
If something does not match, ask a surveyor to show you the discrepancy on site and explain the possible remedies. Establish who will arrange measurements, move a fence or resolve a dispute before committing to buy. Our guide to property sale documents helps organise the seller's paperwork, but the buyer still needs to check that the information describes the property they actually viewed.
Wells and utilities: the water flows, but what gives you the right to it?
Water may come from your own dug well, an individual borehole, a borehole shared with neighbours or the public network. First establish who owns the installation and the land it stands on. The Lithuanian Geological Survey's Register of the Underground holds borehole information. Registration alone, however, does not establish water quality, supply capacity or your right to use a system on someone else's plot.
Request an agreement or other legal basis covering use, the pipe route, access for repairs and electricity and maintenance costs. Apply the same checks to a wastewater pipe, electricity cable, gas connection or rainwater drainage: a working connection across someone else's land without clear rights can become a future dispute. Have a laboratory test a water sample as a separate technical check; it is not evidence of ownership.
The extension is attached to the house—but is it in the documents?
A veranda, garage, boiler room or additional room may change the building's floor area and external dimensions. Compare the actual layout with the Real Property Register extract, cadastral file and design. Then check whether the work required a construction permit when it was carried out and how completion was documented. Requirements depend on the work, building category, location and date. The seller’s assurance that “it did not need a permit” is not enough.
Lithuania's State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate (VTPSI) explains that a cadastral file is prepared when construction of a one- or two-family house is completed, and the building and ownership rights are registered after completion procedures. Its guidance on completing house construction sets out the process and links to documents. Public construction records can be checked in Infostatyba, Lithuania's construction information system. Before buying, have a building designer, land surveyor or construction lawyer assess discrepancies. The available remedy differs by case, and the outcome you want may not be legally possible.
Seven checks before paying the purchase deposit
- Obtain current register extracts for everything being sold: the plot, house and associated property.
- Compare registered areas and completion status with cadastral files, plans and what you inspected.
- Trace access, easement areas, boundary markers and utility routes both on the map and on site.
- Check the well or borehole's owner, registration, legal basis for use and water quality.
- Collect designs, permits and completion documents for all later buildings and extensions.
- Take unresolved questions to the right specialist: a notary or lawyer for rights, a land surveyor for boundaries, and a building designer or the inspectorate for construction matters.
- Put material findings into both the preliminary and main agreements, rather than leaving them only in emails or verbal promises.
We explain advance payments further in our guide to protecting your money before the bank approves your mortgage. If documents or the property's actual condition do not match the seller's claims, also read about hidden defects discovered after purchase. If you are selling your current home to buy another, it helps to coordinate the sequence using our plan for selling one home and buying another.
This checklist is not an individual legal opinion; it is designed to help you ask precise questions. A good house needs more than a dry roof and effective heating. You should understand exactly what you are acquiring, how you will reach it, where its water comes from and whether the building you see matches the registered property.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check whether a house has lawful access?
Request a current Real Property Register extract, plot plan and the document establishing an easement if access crosses someone else's land. Compare the easement's location and scope with the route actually used. Long-standing use by the seller or neighbours does not by itself establish your future right to use the road.
Does a road easement automatically pass to the house buyer?
Check how the easement was established, which property it benefits and what is registered. Rely on the register and the easement document rather than a verbal promise. A notary or property lawyer should review the arrangements for your specific purchase before you sign.
What if the fence does not match the plot plan?
Do not treat the fence as the legal boundary. Request the plot's cadastral file, check boundary markers and ask a land surveyor to compare the documents with the site. Resolve the discrepancy, or clearly allocate responsibility for resolving it, before paying an advance or signing a preliminary agreement.
How do I check a private borehole or shared well?
Establish who owns the installation and the land beneath it, whether a borehole is recorded in the Register of the Underground, and what document gives rights to access it, use the pipes and carry out repairs. Check who pays electricity and maintenance costs. Arrange a separate water-quality test: registration and water quality are different questions.
Is an unregistered extension included in the house I am buying?
The fact that a room exists does not mean it was built lawfully or is included in the registered property being sold. Compare the register area, cadastral file, design, construction permit where required, and completion documents. Have a competent specialist assess any discrepancy before the sale.
Where can I check the house's construction permit and completion?
Ask the seller for the design, construction permit and completion documents, and check public Infostatyba records through Lithuania's planning and construction portal. The documents required depend on the type of work, building category and when the work was done, so no single list covers every house.
Will the notary or the bank's valuer find every problem with the house?
No. Their roles are important but different, and do not replace the buyer's technical and legal checks. A notarial sale or mortgage valuation does not by itself guarantee that the fence follows the boundary, the actual access follows the easement, or every pipe and extension is properly documented.
When is it safe to pay a purchase deposit for a house?
It is safest once the key documents have been checked, discrepancies identified and the agreement specifies who must resolve them, by when, and what happens if they cannot. If checks remain incomplete, have a lawyer review the preliminary agreement and the circumstances in which the advance is refunded.