A Developer's Mortgage on the Land in Romania: How to Spot It in the Land Book Extract and Make Sure It Is Removed from Your Property

In Romania, as in Israel, residential projects are often built with a bank's money. The lender secures itself with a charge over the land and the future buildings, and this is a routine and legitimate situation. The buyer's risk begins at a different moment: when they have already transferred the entire consideration, and the developer's charge is still registered on their apartment or villa.

This article deals with that registration only, and with the wording that must appear in the contract so that it does not become your problem. A full reading of the extract is explained in a separate due diligence guide.

1Does a developer's mortgage pass to the buyer in Romania?

The short answer: yes, as long as no one has deregistered it. Article 2345 of the Civil Code (Law 287/2009) provides that the charge continues to follow the property "into whatever hands it passes", and therefore the transfer of ownership to you does not release it.

Two further provisions close the circle. Article 2428(1) provides that a mortgage on immovable property is extinguished only upon its deregistration from the land book. Article 885(2) requires, for deregistration, the bank's consent in a notarial deed. The practical result: a developer can repay the debt to the last leu, and the registration will remain in place until someone files an application to deregister it.

2What happened in Cyprus, and why is it relevant to a buyer in Romania?

The Cypriot case illustrates the worst-case scenario. The newspaper Cyprus Mail reported in July 2024 on thousands of buyers who paid the full price and were left without a title deed, because the developers' charges in favour of banks had not been removed from the buildings. A 2015 law attempted to rescue the "trapped buyers" and led to many transfers of ownership, until in June 2024 the Court of Appeal struck it down, in proceedings brought by a bank. In June 2025 the rules were changed again, and today a judge may substitute for the bank's consent where the refusal is unjustified.

In Romania the mechanism is different: the buyer becomes the owner upon registration of the sale in the land book (Articles 1676 and 885 of the Civil Code). But the lesson crosses borders: the question of the charge is resolved while the money is still with you, not after it has left.

3In which part of the extract do the mortgage and the prohibition on sale appear?

Article 23 of Law 7/1996 (cadastre and land registration) divides every carte funciară, the land book of a property, into three parts. For checking charges, the last two are the most important.

In Part C each entry receives its own number, C1, C2 and so on. If the part is empty, it will show the wording "NU SUNT", meaning "none". A bank charge usually includes the following data:

• The number and date of the registrar's decision (încheiere), by which priority between creditors is determined.
• The notarial mortgage deed on which the registration is based, with its number and date.
• The type of right registered: drept de ipotecă, that is, a mortgage right.
• The amount of the secured debt and its currency.
• The identity of the lending bank.

A common mistake is to stop at Part C. Prohibitions on transfer, encumbrance or construction are in fact registered in Part B, under Article 23(B)(h) of the same law, and banks usually register such a prohibition alongside the mortgage. If it exists, any sale requires the bank's approval even before the question of deregistration arises.

4What happens to the mortgage when the developer divides the land into plots?

It remains on each of them. A project is usually born as a single parcel with a single extract and mortgage. Later the developer carries out a dezlipire, a division of the parcel, by notarial deed and cadastral survey (Article 25(2) of Law 7/1996), and a separate land book is opened for each new parcel (Article 880 of the Civil Code).

This is where the principle of the indivisibility of the mortgage comes in, which many people do not know. Article 2344 applies it to all the mortgaged assets, to each of them and to every part of them, even after division. An individual parcel leaves the charge only when the bank expressly agrees to release it. So do not ask whether the project is mortgaged. Ask whether the extract of your unit is mortgaged, and what exactly will clear it.

A house that has not yet been built has additional protection under the Planning and Construction Code (Law 169/2026). Article 422(7) permits a preliminary contract for a future private house to be signed only before a notary, and only after the building permit has been registered in the land book and an extract has been issued for that future unit. Article 422(8) requires the notary to register the undertaking in the land book on the day of signing, and at the latest on the following business day.

5Which contract clauses protect you against the mortgage?

The right time to settle these points with your lawyer is before the preliminary contract:

1. A list of the existing charges, each by its registration number in Parts B and C of your extract.
2. An obligation of clean delivery at the date of the final signing, except for what you have approved in writing.
3. A written undertaking by the bank, delivered before the large payments, to release your parcel and on what conditions.
4. Directing part of the consideration to the bank where the release is conditional on repayment, so that the money passes directly to the bank's account in exchange for the release document.
5. A target date and a remedy: if the charge has not been deregistered by the final signing, you will be able to cancel, recover what you paid and collect the agreed compensation.
6. An updated extract before every material payment, because something new may be registered between one check and the next.

6What ways are there to remove the mortgage from your unit?

The signing day itself is well protected. The notary orders an extract for authentication purposes, which is valid for 10 working days, during which the registrar will not register anything in the land book other than the transaction for which it was ordered (Article 35 of Law 7/1996). However, this protection begins only close to the signing, and the months in which you transferred advances and interim payments remain outside it.

7Checklist before signing

1. Obtain from the developer the land book number of the parcel or of the future unit.
2. Obtain an extract for information through the ANCPI ePay system. For a property you do not own the fee is 20 lei.
3. Go through Part B for prohibitions on transfer, and Part C for charges, attachments and notations of proceedings.
4. Found a mortgage? Ask for the bank's name, the credit agreement number and the release letter for your parcel.
5. Make sure the release mechanism is set out in the contract.
6. Obtain a new extract before each payment and before the final signing.

8How we accompany this check

A developer's charge is a financing tool and not a reason to give up a transaction. What is decisive is the state of the extract of your unit, and the existence of a written mechanism that clears Part C before the money leaves your hands. We read the extract line by line with Israeli buyers, and coordinate the contract clauses and the bank's letter with local lawyers and notaries before the preliminary contract.

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The information in this guide is general in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice on any specific transaction. Every transaction is assessed on its own facts.