Car sold but not re-registered by the buyer: what happens to the MTPL policy and the uninsured-period fee?

The car has gone, the purchase price has arrived, the sale contract has been signed – and then, months later, letters arrive: an uninsured-period fee, a parking surcharge, a speeding fine, all in your name. The buyer has not registered the vehicle in their name. This situation is more common than you might think, and what it costs you depends not on the buyer's negligence but on what you did on the day of the sale. The normal course of a car sale is described in a separate article; this piece is about the scenario that goes wrong – why the letters come to you, and how the process can be stopped.

Why do the letters come to you?

The authorities, the insurers and MABISZ (the Hungarian insurers' association) do not see the sale contract; they see the vehicle register. As long as you are listed in it, the system treats you as the person responsible for the vehicle. Under the Gfbt. – the Act on compulsory motor third-party liability insurance (MTPL) – the obligation to take out insurance rests with the registered keeper (üzemben tartó), and the registered keeper is the person entered in the official document or, failing that, the owner (Gfbt. Sections 3 and 4); the uninsured-period fee must also be paid by the registered keeper (Gfbt. Section 22). Strict-liability fines – for speeding, illegal parking, unpaid road tolls – are imposed under the Road Transport Act on the registered keeper shown in the register. The same logic applies to vehicle tax: under Section 2 of Act LXXXII of 1991 on vehicle tax, the taxpayer is the person listed in the vehicle register on the first day of the year as the registered keeper – or, failing that, as the owner. So the system looks at the register, not at reality; it is up to you to make the two match.

The two reports that separate you from the car

The first is the report to the authority. According to the guidance of the government office (Kormányhivatal), the former owner must report the change of ownership within 8 days of the change by submitting a private document with full probative force – the sale contract; this can be done in person, by post or electronically via the Webes ügysegéd online application, and the authority records the report in the register within 3 days. The contract must contain the mandatory elements set out in Government Decree 304/2009: the parties' details, the vehicle's identifiers, the fact that the documents were handed over, the date of handover of possession and the odometer reading, the date on which ownership takes effect, and the parties' declaration on the reporting deadline and the legal consequences. From the moment it is recorded, the register shows that you have sold the vehicle, and the buyer's 15-day deadline for registering the transfer becomes enforceable: if they fail to comply, “the authority withdraws the vehicle from traffic ex officio”. Late reporting may result in a fine for non-compliance – the authority notifies the tax authority (NAV) of the failure – but even a late report is worth more than the burden of further months.

The second is notifying the insurer. Under Section 7(3)–(4) of the Gfbt., the MTPL policy terminates due to loss of insurable interest if the person of the registered keeper changes as a result of the transfer of ownership. The insurer learns of this from a copy of the sale contract: send it in and ask for the loss of interest to be recorded – insurers typically refund the premium for the unexpired period. If you do not do this, the policy remains in force on paper, the premium is expected from you, and damage caused by the buyer may also appear on your policy and claims history: under Section 3 of Decree 21/2011 of the Ministry for National Economy (NGM), the bonus-malus system is attached to the person of the registered keeper, regardless of who was driving the vehicle.

Uninsured-period fee: who actually has to pay it?

The uninsured-period fee is the after-the-fact price of days without insurance; how it works is described in the article on the uninsured-period fee. Under Section 22 of the Gfbt., it must be paid by the registered keeper, and it is calculated and collected by the insurer with which a policy is taken out after the uninsured period; its tariff is published by MABISZ as the manager of the Compensation Account (Kártalanítási Számla). If the buyer does not take out MTPL for the vehicle they have taken over, uninsured days accrue – the question is in whose name. If your report to the authority appears in the register, the buyer is responsible for the vehicle from the recorded date of handover; a demand for the uninsured-period fee can be answered with the sale contract and proof of the report. If the report was not made, the situation is harder but not hopeless: the contract can prove, even after the event, when the vehicle came into the buyer's possession, and in a dispute the Financial Arbitration Board (PBT) or the courts decide.

For strict-liability fines, Section 21/A of the Road Transport Act (Kkt.) provides a way out: the registered keeper may be released from liability if they prove with a document that, at the time of the offence, the vehicle was being used by another person – here too, the sale contract is the key. What awaits someone in whose name an uninsured vehicle is registered is shown in the article on what is at stake with uninsured days – in this case it is the buyer, not you, who faces this, but as long as the register shows you, the letters come to you.

If it has already happened: what to do, step by step

• Find the sale contract. This is the only document that can prove the date of handover; if you do not have it, the buyer's details, the bank transfer and witnesses can help in replacing it – but the report to the authority requires a document.
• Report the sale retrospectively at a government service centre (kormányablak) or via Webes ügysegéd – the delay may result in a fine, but the report stops further charges from building up.
• Report the loss of interest to the insurer with a copy of the contract, and ask for the final premium statement.
• Reply to every demand in writing, within the deadline, enclosing a copy of the contract and proof of the report. A demand left unanswered can turn into an order for payment.
• Send the buyer a formal demand. The costs arising from the breach of contract – fines, fees – can be claimed from them under the general rules of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.); this is a civil-law route, involving the courts in a dispute.

The insurance tasks for a normal car sale are summarised in the car sale checklist – what really protects you is making both reports on the day of the sale. If such a letter has already arrived, I help where I can – but the reports to the authority and to the insurer require your signature, and I cannot take them over.

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Sources

• Government Office (Kormányhivatal) – Reporting the sale of a vehicle (8 days / 15 days, withdrawal ex officio)
• Government Office (Kormányhivatal) – Reporting a change in vehicle ownership
• Government Decree 304/2009 – mandatory elements of the sale contract
• Government Decree 326/2011 – road transport administration tasks
• MTPL Act (Gfbt., Act LXII of 2009) Sections 3–4, 7, 22 – registered keeper, loss of insurable interest, uninsured-period fee
• Road Transport Act (Kkt., Act I of 1988) Sections 21–21/A – strict liability, release from liability
• NGM Decree 21/2011 Section 3 – bonus-malus is attached to the person of the registered keeper
• Vehicle Tax Act (Gjt., Act LXXXII of 1991) Section 2(1) – person liable for vehicle tax: the registered keeper on 1 January, failing that the owner

Related articles

• Buying or Selling a Car? The MTPL To-Do Map
• Sale/purchase checklist: insurance ticks for a car deal
• Uncovered-Period Fee: What Do You Pay for Days Without Cover?