If you want to own property in Romania, a few questions might come to mind: can I really buy a house or an apartment in Romania? How can I make it work? Are there any legal restrictions, what do I have to know to begin?
Read our article below and find out all you need to know about buying a home in Romania!
Who can own property in Romania?
It all depends whether you are an EU or non-EU citizen.
EU citizens can own land, apartments or houses in Romania, just like any Romanian citizen. In this respect, you need to obtain a special fiscal identification code (in Romanian “NIF”), which allows you to pay taxes. You can get this from the fiscal authorities (in Ro “ANAF”). However, if you already have a Romanian CNP, you are already registered with ANAF.
On the other hand, non-EU citizens cannot own land in Romania. Even if you want to own a flat or house without land, in practice they are usually sold together and cannot be separated. These will be mentioned in the Land Book.
I am non-EU, what are my options?
As non-EU, you can own property, including land, through a Romanian company. The fastest solution is to incorporate a limited liability company (in Romanian “SRL”) as sole owner and buy property through it.
Also, if you married to a Romanian or otherwise EU citizens, your spouse can buy property in their own name. Then the real estate will belong to the couple together, as common property obtained during marriage – unless you have a prenup agreement that states otherwise.
Can I get a bank loan for my real estate purchase?
When it comes to financing a real estate purchase, you might have a hard time getting a loan if you’re not a Romanian citizen. And it gets usually even more complicated if all your money is obtained from abroad, not from a Romanian employer, in a local bank account.
There is no official legal restriction for lending money to expats, and it all eventually depends on the bank and their internal policy. But, in practice, banks are much more reserved to offer loans in this case, as they are concerned about potentially not getting their money back.
How can a lawyer help me with my real estate purchase?
A lawyer can help you with a real estate due-diligence, such as checking land specifications, current and past ownership, preparing a solid sale-purchase agreement and even assisting you with the purchase itself, in front of a public notary – including the negotiation process.
This way, you can make sure that your property purchase is safe and legal.
If you would like to address more questions or if you need a legal consultation, you can contact us at office@rrpb.ro or by accessing our site www.rrpb.ro for more information.
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2 Comments
Mike
I am British and I bought and sold 2 appartments in Brasov . The whole procedure was very simple and I remember each property was paid for in cash over the table in the Notariats office … just find a good estate agent whereever you want to buy . Romania is safe as I lived there during the 90’s …I went back to buy properties.
R&R Partners Bucharest
Hello Mike, payment in cash is no longer possible for real estate because there are some regulations from BNR in that sense. The property price would need to be very low, to be under the legal cap. And yes, having a good agent is very useful!