Legal blog

Several amendments to the Civil Code entered into force on 1 March 2026. The need for these amendments arose from the demand to address practical problems identified on the basis of the practical experience gained in the application of the law over more than ten years since its adoption. The amendments rely on the results of the working group analysing the experiences of civil adjudication. In this article we present the most important amendments to the Civil Code.

As of 1 March 2026, a significant amendment has entered into force in Hungarian real estate law affecting condominium developments: the legislator has introduced a new legal institution, the Condominium Right of Improvement (társasházi építményi jog).

The new regime was enacted, inter alia, through amendments to Act CXXXIII of 2003 on Condominiums and Act C of 2021 on the Real Estate Registry. Its purpose is to provide a more structured and secure legal framework for purchasers in condominium projects under construction.

In this article we summarise the practical implications of the Condominium Right of Improvement for developers, purchasers and financing institutions.

Decree 2/2026 (II. 19.) KTM amends two existing legislative instruments: on the one hand, it clarifies the rules governing the allocation of topographical lot numbers (place numbers) to independent real properties; on the other hand, it introduces detailed amendments to the provisions concerning the fees payable for specified land registry proceedings, as well as for the provision of data from the land registry and from state basic data registers.

On 19 February 2026, Government Decree 28/2026 (II. 19.) was promulgated, introducing an important amendment to the implementing regulation of the electricity (Government Decree 273/2007 (X. 19.) – hereinafter: “Implementing Decree”). The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that inverter replacements carried out in connection with the Home Energy Storage Programme („Otthoni Energiatároló Program”), launched in 2025 and announced for 2026, do not result in unfavourable settlement consequences for operators of household-sized small power plants.

The Home Energy Storage Programme is a state aid scheme designed to promote the installation of battery energy storage systems connected to residential photovoltaic systems. Within the framework of the programme, households may apply for non-repayable grants, subject to specified conditions, for the establishment of energy storage systems.

In this article, we present the essence and practical relevance of the legislative amendment, as well as the legal framework within which inverter replacements and settlement-related issues must be assessed.

Government Decree No. 415/2025 (XII. 23.) on the amendment of consumer protection–related government decrees with a view to ensuring a higher level of consumer protection introduces substantial changes in the field of consumer protection as of 2026.

In this article, we briefly summarise those amendments which will be perceptible to consumers in everyday life and may be of particular practical importance from 2026 onwards.

Government Decree No. 415/2025 (XII. 23.) amends a total of six government decrees related to consumer protection.
The objectives of the amendments are, on the one hand, to strengthen consumer protection and, on the other hand, to reduce the administrative burden on businesses, while also ensuring compliance with EU law and legal harmonisation.

Government Decree No. 448/2025 (XII. 29.) amends Government Decree No. 327/2015 (XI. 10.) on the detailed rules of professional practice related to surveying and cartographic activities for non-cadastral purposes by introducing a new concept and new rules. These amendments will enter into force on 14 January 2026.

The most significant change is the introduction of the concept of the planning base map, the preparation of which now mandatorily requires the setting out of the property boundary.

In practice, the new regulation aims to ensure more uniform, more accurate and, from the perspective of the planning process, more reliable base maps, which may help prevent future conflicts and legal disputes. At the same time, the additional requirements are likely to slow down procedures and increase costs, and stakeholders should be prepared for this impact.

What Do Carriers and Affected Businesses Need to Know?

On 23 December 2025, two new pieces of legislation affecting public roads and freight traffic were promulgated, both of which entered into force on 1 January 2026. The primary objective of the new regulatory framework is to ensure that international and domestic transit traffic is conducted along uniform, legally designated routes, primarily using high-capacity dual-carriageway (2×2 lane) road networks. The regulation serves both to enhance road safety and to reduce the burden on residential areas and secondary roads.

The two relevant legal instruments are: 

• Decree No. 44/2025 (XII. 23.) of the Ministry of Construction and Transport (ÉKM), aimed at defining the Hungarian sections of the transit route network; and

• Government Decree No. 439/2025 (XII. 23.), aimed at curbing freight traffic diverted from expressways.

Opinion leaders, commonly referred to as influencers, have become key actors in modern communication as a result of the rapid expansion of the internet and social media.
The development of digital technologies, the widespread use of smartphones, and the global proliferation of social media platforms—such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch—have fundamentally transformed users’ content consumption habits, as well as their entertainment and purchasing behaviours. As a consequence, influencer marketing has emerged as one of the most significant and fastest-growing tools of the modern advertising market.

By way of an interesting observation, it should be noted that, from a legal perspective, the category of influencers is not limited to natural persons acting as opinion leaders. An influencer may also include a CGI or deepfake character, an animal, or even an object.

The rapid growth of this phenomenon and the intermingling of personal and commercial content on social media platforms primarily justify the need for regulation in this field. For consumers—particularly audiences younger or older than the average user—it is often not clear whether an influencer’s recommendation is based on a paid collaboration, the provision of a gifted product, or another form of material interest.

The Hungarian Civil Code recognises the existence of a domestic partnership in two distinct forms. It sets forth the institution of marriage, which several legal scholars have described in elevated terms as an “emotional and economic alliance,” and it also provides for the possibility of living together without entering into marriage, in the form of a cohabitation (élettársi kapcsolat). The law strictly characterises this latter form as an obligational legal relationship, regulated under Title XXV of the Book on the Law of Contracts.

Under the Act on the Protection of Local Identity (Hötv.), more than fifty local governments have already enacted decrees. The law regulates settlement in municipalities in order to allow local governments to protect their traditions, social order, and values. The content of these decrees varies significantly, as the Hötv. grants municipalities a very broad scope of discretion. Due to the diversity of the regulations, let us take a closer look at exactly what authorizations municipalities have.