Buying an Apartment in Bucharest: What to Check Legally Before You Buy

1What is legally specific about buying an apartment in Bucharest?

Bucharest is a liquid market familiar to Israelis, but it has four risk areas that do not exist with the same intensity in other cities: old buildings at seismic risk, a land registration system in which ownership arises only on registration, a large supply of new apartments from developers, and suburbs in Ilfov County where the land itself is part of the transaction. This guide brings together the legal checks worth carrying out in this city and refers you to the detailed guides on each topic.

The general process in Romania is described in the guide to the property purchase process in Romania and the full legal guide. The focus here is on what Bucharest adds to it.

2How much does an apartment in Bucharest cost?

According to the Imobiliare.ro index, the average price of a new apartment in Bucharest in August 2026 was about EUR 2,549 per square metre, compared with about EUR 2,333 in August 2025. At the beginning of 2026, the same index reported about EUR 2,500 per usable square metre for a new apartment and about EUR 2,159 per usable square metre for an old one. These are asking prices in listings, not transaction prices, and a city-wide average conceals large gaps between districts, between old and new buildings and between an apartment with parking and one without.

Legally, two things matter: knowing whether the price of a new apartment includes VAT, and checking that the price is fair before the preliminary contract. How to check a price against comparable sales and an independent valuer is set out in the guide to checking a fair price in Romania, and the total cost beyond the price can be calculated with the acquisition cost calculator.

3How do you check seismic risk and the “red dot” before buying?

Look up the address in the official list of buildings at seismic risk published by Bucharest City Hall through the Municipal Administration for the Consolidation of Buildings at Seismic Risk (AMCCRS), and note the class: RsI to RsIV. A building in class RsI, the highest, is marked with a round red sign, the “bulina” (bulina roșie) talked about in the market.

The classification has a direct legal consequence for an investor: under Law 212/2022 on reducing seismic risk, as amended, it is prohibited to let or hand over for use an apartment in a building classified RsI, from the moment of classification until acceptance of the strengthening works. The prohibition has been in force since January 2024, also applies to tourist rental, and breaching it is an administrative offence carrying a fine of RON 5,000 to 10,000, as of November 2026. Such an apartment is therefore a home to live in only, not an investment property.

Beyond the list, check the year of construction, an engineering report if one exists, structural alterations in the apartment, and a valid PAD insurance policy. The full list, and what is worth writing into the contract, are set out in the guide to checking earthquake risk in Bucharest.

4What do you check in the land register extract in Bucharest?

In Romania, ownership arises only upon registration in the land register (Cartea Funciară), so the extract (Extras de Carte Funciară) is the starting point of every check. Part I describes the property, Part II the owners, and Part III the encumbrances, notes of legal proceedings and third-party rights. Where there are several registered owners, all of them must sign.

In Bucharest it is also worth paying attention to whether the registered area matches the actual area, to alterations carried out without a permit, and to debts owed to the building's owners' association. Under Law 196/2018, the notary signs a sale only against a certificate from the association on the status of debts. On reading the extract, see the guide to the Extras de Carte Funciară, and on the full review, the guide to due diligence in Romania.

5Buying a new apartment from a developer in Bucharest? These are the risks

With an off-plan apartment the risk is not the apartment but the developer: your money moves before there is a registered apartment. Since December 2025, under Law 207/2025, a reservation agreement is limited to 60 days and a deposit of up to 5%, a preliminary contract is signed only before a notary and only after the building permit has been registered in the land register, and advance payments are made into a dedicated project account. The law does not require a bank guarantee as the Israeli Sale (Apartments) Law does, so a milestone-based payment schedule and delay and termination clauses are built into the contract.

• The developer: the company, its financial statements, tax debts and court cases. See how to check a developer in Romania.
• The land and the mortgage: who is registered as owner and, if there is a mortgage in favour of a financing bank, when and how the unit is released from it.
• VAT: as of November 2026, a new apartment sold by a developer to an individual is subject to 21% VAT. See VAT on a new home in Romania.
• Warning signs: payment to an account that does not appear in the contract, a private agreement instead of a notarial document, and time pressure. See red flags when buying property abroad.

The payment stages, the preliminary contract and what happens when the developer is delayed are set out in the guide to buying an off-plan apartment in Romania.

6Bucharest or Ilfov: what changes legally?

Ilfov is a separate county surrounding Bucharest, with its own land registry office and its own local authorities, and there most purchases are houses, villas and plots rather than apartments in a building. The main legal difference is the land. An Israeli buys an apartment in a block of flats in their own name. However, a citizen of a country outside the European Union, including an Israeli without EU citizenship, may acquire land only on the basis of a reciprocity treaty, so for a house with a plot a Romanian company (SRL) or a right of superficies (superficie) is usually used. The options are set out in the guide to land acquisition by foreigners in Romania.

In Ilfov two further checks are added. The first is planning: what the plan (PUG or PUZ) permits on the plot, and the status of the road and infrastructure in the development. See the guide to zoning in Romania and the guide to a private road in a villa development. The second is historical: some of the land in the suburbs relies on title certificates from the restitution period after 1989.

7Are restitution claims relevant to a property in Bucharest?

In most transactions no, but you check. After 1989 Romania returned nationalised property, under Law 18/1991 for agricultural land and Law 10/2001 for buildings and plots. The deadlines for filing claims have passed, and the risk today stems mainly from old cases still being heard or from title certificates that a court may annul. It is prominent for plots in Ilfov, and less so for an apartment in a building that has gone through several registered transactions. Check the chain of title, notes of proceedings in the extract and a search on the courts portal. See the guide to restitution claims in Ilfov.

8What does the purchase process in Bucharest look like, in brief?

1. A Romanian tax number (NIF) from ANAF, which may take up to about 30 days. Start early.
2. An extract and initial check of the property, the seismic classification and the price.
3. A preliminary contract (Antecontract), a binding document. For a resale apartment, a deposit of about 10% is customary.
4. Full due diligence: legal, planning and technical.
5. Signing before a notary, who is a neutral party and does not represent the buyer.
6. Registration of ownership in the land register, followed by a declaration to the local authority for property tax purposes.

You can buy remotely through a power of attorney. Anyone in Israel signs the power of attorney for a real estate transaction in Romania only before the Romanian consul, at the consular section of the Embassy of Romania in Israel, because the power of attorney must be in authentic form like the transaction itself. See remote purchase and a power of attorney at the Romanian consulate. On financing, see financing a property in Bucharest.

9Which taxes and costs apply to an apartment in Bucharest?

The buyer pays no purchase tax in Romania. The buyer pays a notary fee according to an official scale, plus VAT on it, and a registration fee of 0.15% of the price for a private individual. The transfer tax, 1% or 3% depending on the holding period, is imposed on the seller. For a new apartment from a developer, VAT is added; see purchase costs beyond the price and the guide to taxation in Romania.

For long-term rental, an individual pays, as of November 2026, 10% tax on the income after a flat deduction of 20%, and the income is also reported in Israel. Tourist rental requires a classification certificate and a registration number, and a tourist tax is levied in Bucharest. Details are in tax on rental income in Romania and short-term rental in Bucharest.

10Checklist before buying an apartment in Bucharest

1. Look up the address in the seismic risk list, note the class, and obtain the year of construction in writing.
2. Obtain an up-to-date extract and check all three parts, especially encumbrances and notes of proceedings.
3. Check that the registered area matches the actual area, and the permits for every alteration in the apartment.
4. Obtain a certificate from the owners' association on the status of debts.
5. For a new apartment: check the developer, the registration of the building permit and the dedicated account, and confirm whether the price includes VAT.
6. For a house with a plot in Ilfov: decide on the structure for holding the land and check the zoning, the road and the chain of title.
7. Obtain a NIF early and, if signing remotely, agree the wording of the power of attorney with the notary before signing at the consulate.
8. Check the price against comparable sales before the preliminary contract.

Further reading: Romania Real Estate Market 2026: What the Official Data Says and How to Read It Before You Buy.

11Before signing: how we support a purchase in Bucharest

We support Israeli buyers from the first check of the property through to registration: the seismic classification, the extract, the developer, the preliminary contract and coordination of the power of attorney. The checks against the registers, the notary and the contract are carried out together with lawyers and notaries licensed in Romania, and the technical part with local engineers. It is advisable to get in touch before the preliminary contract, not after it.

Read next · 8 min readRomania Real Estate Market 2026: What the Official Data Says and How to Read It Before You BuyRomania real estate market 2026 in official data: the INS/Eurostat house price index, ANCPI, BNR, Bucharest property prices and the 2025-2026 legal changes.Read the guide