Romania: Guide to Buying Costs and Procedures

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Last Updated: Apr 21, 2007

Buying costs are moderate in Romania

How high are realtors’ and lawyers’ fees in Romania? What about other property purchase costs?

Transaction Costs
		Who Pays?
Stamp duty	0.5% - 3.0%	buyer
Notary fees	0.5% - 2.0%	buyer
Registration fees	0.1% - 1.0%	buyer
Real Estate Agent's Fee	3% 3%	buyer seller
Costs paid by buyer	106% - 107%
Costs paid by seller	3%
ROUNDTRIP TRANSACTION COSTS	109% - 110%
See Footnotes Source: Global Property Guide

How difficult is the property purchase process in Romania?

Land cannot be bought by foreign nationals, but only by Romanian individuals, and by legal entities, which however includes companies with foreign participation. However with Romania’s accession to the EU in 2007, foreigners will be allowed to purchase land (in 2007). As of now, foreign ownership is only possible (outside of legal entities) through legal inheritance. On the other hand, there are no legal restrictions on foreign ownership of buildings.

Before selling, the seller must present a “certificat fiscal” (fiscal certificate) to attest that the property has been registered with the fiscal authorities (“Circa Financiara”), and that all taxes due are paid. The seller is also expected to present a certificate (“certificat de sarcini”) attesting that the property is free from mortgages and other legal encumbrances and that the property does in fact belong to the present owner.
The notary then draws up a deed of sale (“drept de proprietate”).
The notarization of sale and transfer agreement regarding ownership of land is compulsory to make the transaction valid.
The transfer should be then recorded in the Land Register/ Real Estate Register.

Registration of property in Romania requires eight procedures and takes 170 days to complete.

Footnotes to Transaction Costs Table

The round trip transaction costs include all costs of buying and then re-selling a property – lawyers’ fees, notaries’ fees, registration fees, taxes, agents’ fees, etc.

Notary fee:
Notary fees are paid by the buyer subject to the minimal fees established by the National Union of the Notaries. In practice, notary fees range from 0.5% to 2.0% of the transaction value.

Registration fees:
Registration fees include registration tax (30% of stamp duty), stamp tax (RON10), judicial stamp (RON15) and several certificates. Total registration fee is not expected to exceed 1% of property value.

Real estate agent's fee:
Real estate agent's fee is around 6% of purchase price, split between buyer and seller.

VAT:
19% VAT is charged on full price if the seller is a VAT payer (i.e. a company). However, transfer from a VAT payer to another VAT payer, and transfer of a business by way of a share sale are also not subject to VAT.

Stamp Duty:
Property transfer is subject to stamp duty based on the following schedule:

STAMP DUTY
VALUE OF THE TRANSACTION (RON)	VALUE OF THE TRANSACTION (RON)
Below 14,517.80	3% but not less than 29,000
From 14,517.81 to 29,148.90	437 + 2% of excess over 14,518
From 29,148,91 to 58,184.50	728 + 1.5% of excess over 29,149
From 58,184.51 to 291,035.47	1,164 + 1% of excess over 58,185
From 291,035.471 to 582,184.00	3,492 + 0.75% of excess over 291,036
Above 582,184.00	5,677 + 0.5% of excess over 582,185.00

Romania - more data and information

How landlord-friendly is the law in Romania?