Property handover in Bosnia: meter readings and utilities

On handover day, the seller and buyer walk through the property together, write down every meter reading and sign a handover record (zapisnik o primopredaji). The new owner then moves the utilities into their own name. For electricity, the published rules ask for proof of ownership and confirmation that the previous owner's bills are paid. For water, heating and building maintenance, the procedure varies from city to city, so confirm it directly with each utility company or building manager.

This guide is most detailed on electricity, because those rules are published. For the other utilities, it gives you the questions to ask before you pay the final part of the price. It is general information, not legal advice. A notary or lawyer, and the relevant utility company, will confirm the details for your case.

What the handover record is and what to put in it

The handover record is a short document in which the seller and buyer confirm that the property was handed over, on which day and in what condition. There is no single official form, so the parties usually draw it up themselves, sometimes with help from the agency. If you want the sales contract to set the handover date or refer to the record, agree this with the notary who drafts the contract.

The record should include:

• names of seller and buyer, the address and how the flat is identified (floor, flat number, details from the ZK izvadak, the land registry extract)
• date and time of handover
• readings of the electricity meter (both the higher and lower tariff if the meter has two), water, heating and gas if there is any, with the number of each meter
• number of keys handed over (building entrance, flat, cellar, letterbox, garage)
• what stays in the flat: furniture, appliances, fittings, if the contract says so
• visible defects you noticed together
• the seller's statement of which bills they have paid up to which date, and which receipts or confirmations they are handing over
• signatures of both parties

Make two copies, one for each side. Photograph every meter so that the meter number and the reading are both visible, and keep the photos with their date.

Why meter readings matter

The reading on handover day is the line between the seller's consumption and yours. If nobody writes it down, any later dispute about who used what is your word against theirs.

Electricity bills usually show the previous and new reading per tariff. On bills from ERS, the public supplier in Republika Srpska, you will see the higher tariff (AVT) and lower tariff (AMT) separately. Record both values, not just one number.

For water and heating, check whether the flat has its own meter at all. Some apartment buildings only have a shared meter and split the bill another way. If so, note it in the record and ask the company how the bill is divided on the day the owner changes.

Transferring electricity in the Federation of BiH (FBiH)

Elektroprivreda BiH area

According to Elektroprivreda BiH's own guidance, the new owner files form Z-15 at the local Elektrodistribucija (the regional distribution office). This one request ends the old supply contract and network-use contract and opens new ones in the new owner's name.

Attach:

• proof of ownership: the sales contract or a ZK izvadak
• confirmation that outstanding bills are paid (potvrda o izmirenim dugovanjima)
• the new owner's ID, shown at the counter
• a power of attorney, if someone else files on the owner's behalf

If you live abroad, a power of attorney is the practical route, but ask in advance in what form the office accepts it. The guide Buying property in Bosnia from abroad explains how powers of attorney work.

Fee. Elektroprivreda BiH lists 25.74 KM for processing a request for a change of consumption group. Whether anything is charged for a change of owner, and how much, ask at the counter before you file.

Deadline. An older version of the general conditions issued by FERK (the FBiH energy regulator) required the previous owner to ask for the contract to be ended within 30 days of the change of ownership, and the new owner to apply for new contracts within the same period. Newer versions exist, so check with the Elektrodistribucija whether that deadline still applies in the same form. The safest approach is to file straight after handover.

If the seller does nothing. Under FERK's consolidated general conditions from 2023, if the previous owner does not end the contracts, the network operator and supplier will sign contracts with the new owner on request, on presentation of a document proving the change of ownership, from the date the new owner registers. In other words, you do not have to wait for the seller.

Elektroprivreda HZ HB area

For areas supplied by Elektroprivreda HZ HB, mainly in the south-west of the Federation, we could not confirm the procedure from their published guidance. Before going to the counter, ask which form they use, which documents they want and whether there is a fee.

Transferring electricity in Republika Srpska (RS)

With ERS, changing the customer at a metering point means signing a new supply contract at the relevant service centre of the public supply directorate.

For households, any one of these documents is accepted as proof of ownership:

• sales contract, exchange contract or gift contract
• inheritance decision (rješenje o nasljeđivanju or rješenje o ostavini)
• land registry extract (ZK izvadak)
• posjedovni list (cadastral possession certificate)
• extract from the book of deposited contracts (knjiga uloženih ugovora), for owners of flats in apartment buildings

ERS also lists a confirmation that the previous owner's last bill has been paid. Confirm at the service centre whether this is required in every case or only in some. We could not confirm an RS deadline for the change either, so ask about that at the same time.

Transferring electricity in Brčko District

The general conditions for electricity supply in Brčko District have a clear rule for meter readings when the owner changes:

• the meter is read on the date you name in your request, provided you file at least three days before that date
• if you name no date or file late, the reading is taken within three days of the request being received
• the distributor sends the reading to the customer and their supplier

In practice: file at least three days before handover and name the handover date as the reading date. The official reading then matches your handover record. Customers may also take their own readings, which the distributor can check, and on request the distributor must provide reading results within 10 days.

Water, heating and building maintenance: what to ask

For these three, each company or building sets its own procedure, and the rules on building maintenance differ between the cantons of FBiH, Republika Srpska and Brčko District. We have not been able to verify documents, fees or deadlines here, so instead of guessing, this is what you need answered.

Water (vodovod)

• Which proof of ownership do they need to change the account holder?
• Is there any debt on the connection, and how do you get confirmation that there is none?
• Does the flat have its own meter, or is the bill split within the building?
• Is there a fee for the change?

District heating (toplana)

• Is the flat connected, and is the whole building heated?
• Is there any debt, and would unpaid debt pass to the new owner?
• Is heating charged per square metre or by consumption?
• What is the procedure for changing the account holder, and which documents are needed?

Building maintenance

• Who is the building manager (upravitelj) and how do you contact them?
• Is there an owners' association (zajednica etažnih vlasnika), and who represents it?
• What is the monthly fee, and has the seller paid it in full?
• How do you register the change of owner?

Get the answers in writing or as a formal confirmation, not verbally from the seller. Ideally, have the debt confirmations before you pay the last part of the price.

Step by step

1. Before signing, ask the seller for the latest bills for every utility and the building manager's details.
2. In the contract, with the notary's help, agree the handover date and a deadline for the seller to deliver debt confirmations.
3. Pay the price safely. See How to pay for property in Bosnia safely.
4. On handover day, inspect the flat together, photograph the meters and sign the record.
5. The same or next day, file the electricity request, then register the change for water, heating and with the building manager.
6. Once the land registry entry is complete, keep the new ZK izvadak. The guide Land registry extract in Bosnia explains how to read it.
7. Check your first bill: the opening reading should match the handover record.

Common mistakes

• Handing over without a record. If meter readings were not written down, any later dispute about consumption is one person's word against another's.
• The seller never cancels their contracts. Bills may keep arriving in their name. Who is liable for consumption until the contract changes is something to confirm with the Elektrodistribucija and the other companies. The simplest protection is for the buyer to file straight away rather than wait.
• Paying in full before seeing debt confirmations. Once the money is paid, it is harder to get the seller to settle old bills.
• Recording only one electricity tariff. Two-tariff meters show two readings, and both belong in the record.
• Forgetting building maintenance. This fee often does not arrive as a normal bill, so it is easily overlooked.

Example

A buyer living in Germany buys a 54 m² two-room flat on the second floor in Čengić Vila, Sarajevo, like one currently in DMI's listings. On handover day the seller and the buyer's representative under a power of attorney are at the flat. They photograph the electricity meter (both tariffs) and the water meter, note that heating is billed through the district heating company, count the keys and sign the record in two copies.

Before the final payment, the seller brought confirmations that electricity, water and heating were paid, plus the building manager's confirmation that maintenance was up to date. The next day the representative files form Z-15 at the Elektrodistribucija with the power of attorney, proof of ownership and the debt confirmation, then registers the change with the other companies. When the first bill arrives, the buyer compares it with the meter photo.

How DMI helps

All eight properties DMI currently lists are flats in Sarajevo apartment buildings, so electricity, water, heating and building maintenance come up at every handover. We visit every property in person and check its land registry, legalisation and photos before publishing it. At handover we help prepare the record, attend the inspection and tell you which confirmations to ask the seller for. Buyers abroad can request a video tour. You can browse current listings on All properties.