LATVIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jānis Kārkliņš, Annija Kārkliņa, Ēriks Krēsliņš and Rihards Strads, BERG
BERG Blaumana iela 16/18-2 Riga LV-1011 Latvia Tel: +371 67205241 Email: info@berg.com.lv Web: www.berg.com.lv
1. General 1.1 Main Sources of Law
limited, and local capital has become increasingly important, while foreign investors are often more active on the sell side. In Riga, office market activity has stabilised with renewed take-up, but interest is concentrated on prime and efficient assets as well as repositioning opportunities. The most significant publicly reported deals over the last 12 months include the acquisition of SC Olim - pia in Riga by Indexo Real Estate Fund for more than EUR40 million in Q1 2025, which Colliers identified as the quarter’s most notable Latvian transaction. Other publicly reported transactions include: • the first Lidl sale-and-leaseback in Latvia (a newly commissioned Riga store sold to a local investor for EUR6.9 million); • the purchase of Maxima Biķernieki by Madara 89 from Prosperus in Q2 2025; • the sale of Rosme’s former factory site for residen - tial conversion; and • in early 2026, the pending SKY&More shopping centre transaction, EfTEN Capital’s disposal of the DSV logistics centre (about EUR9 million) and the acquisition of the Helio biroji office building near Riga Airport. More broadly, Colliers reported that Indexo Real Estate Fund was among the most active buyers in 2025, acquiring three properties for a total exceed - ing EUR80 million. As Latvia is a relatively small mar - ket and some transactions are not fully public, these should be understood as the most significant pub - licly reported deals and not necessarily an exhaustive ranking of every closed transaction.
The principal source governing real estate matters in Latvia is the Civil Law of Latvia. It establishes the fun - damental legal framework for property relations, regu - lating issues such as ownership rights, possession and the transfer of property, as well as the contractual relationships underlying real estate transactions. Equally significant is the Land Register Law, which complements the Civil Law by setting out the core principles governing the registration and public recording of immovable property. This law ensures the legal certainty and transparency of property rights by defining how real estate is documented and recog - nised for third parties. The Residential Tenancy Law regulates legal rela - tionships between landlords and tenants in Latvia. It establishes the framework for concluding, modifying and terminating residential lease agreements, while defining the rights and obligations of both parties. The law aims to ensure a fair balance by protecting ten - ants’ rights to stable housing and, at the same time, safeguarding landlords’ interests, including the proper use and maintenance of the property as well as timely payment of rent. 1.2 Main Market Trends and Deals Over the past 12 months, Latvia’s real estate market has shown a cautious recovery. Investment activity has improved compared to 2024, but remains selec - tive, with demand focused on smaller transactions, grocery retail, logistics and industrial assets, and redevelopment opportunities. Large-ticket deals are
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