Land Due Diligence in Romania for an Israeli Developer: Who May Buy, What to Check in the Extract and the Urban Planning Certificate, and How to Calculate the Full Cost

A villa buyer checks the developer. A developer buying land must check what each of its future buyers will check, and in addition understand whether the plot can be divided, connected to utilities and permitted. Land problems tend to surface late: when the permit application is filed, when the bank examines the collateral, or when the first buyer orders an extract.

This guide organises the check around four questions: what may be built, who really owns the plot and what is registered against it, in whose name it can be registered, and how much it will cost in the end. Almost all the answers can be obtained from official documents before you even board a plane.

1What needs to be on the table before an advance payment?

Three documents or answers: an up-to-date extract from the land book, an urban planning certificate for information, and a decision on the entity in whose name the land will be registered. As long as one of them is missing, it is too early to transfer money. Land that fails one of the four questions below should not proceed to the next stage.

2What may be built on the plot, and how do you reach it?

The document that answers this is the urban planning certificate for information (certificat de urbanism pentru informare). Any person or company can request it, even for a plot they do not own, and all applicants receive the same content (Law 169/2026, Art. 254). Article 253(4) lists what it includes, among other things: the location of the plot in relation to the built-up area (intravilan or extravilan), protected areas and prohibitions, the permitted uses, the land occupation percentage (POT), the land use coefficient (CUT), limits on plot size, and the information the authority holds on utilities in the area. It is important to remember: the certificate describes the rules, it does not permit building.

• Splitting into several plots. In the built-up area, the authority allows a division (parcelare) only within a PUZ (Art. 218(1)). The exception: once, up to 12 plots for private houses may be created on the basis of a PUD, provided that the plot rules have already been set in the PUG or the PUZ (Art. 218(2)). Every plot created needs a utility connection and access, direct or indirect, to a public road (Art. 219(2)).
• The road to the plot. A public road, or a private road that requires a right of way registered in the extract?
• Connections. Water, sewerage, electricity and gas are each supplied by a different operator. Ask each operator for a written answer: does the network reach the street, and what will be required to connect an entire project and not a single house.
• Surface water. A plot close to a lake or a stream requires a review of the flood risk maps of the water authority, Apele Române.
• Antiquities. If there is an archaeological site on agricultural land outside the built-up area, the sale itself requires the approval of the Ministry of Culture (Law 17/2014, Art. 3(4)).
• The ground itself. A geotechnical study (studiu geotehnic) before agreeing a price directly affects the foundations and the structural budget.

3Who is the owner, and what is registered against the plot?

The land book extract (extras de carte funciară) is divided into three. Part I describes the plot with its cadastral number. Part II shows the owners and the document on which the ownership rests. Part III is the list of restrictions: mortgages, attachments, notations of court cases (notare litigiu), prohibitions on transfer and the rights of other parties. Anyone can order an extract for information purposes, including on the ANCPI online portal (Law 7/1996, Art. 11(2)(q)).

A sentence such as "there is a title certificate, the registration will be completed soon" means that this is not the plot to buy today. And a discrepancy between the registered area and the actual area affects the building rights and sometimes the price as well.

4In whose name can an Israeli developer register land?

Law 312/2005 distinguishes between two groups. Citizens of European Union and European Economic Area states acquire land on the same terms as a Romanian citizen (Art. 3). Citizens of other states may acquire land only under an international treaty and subject to reciprocity (Art. 6(1)), and no such treaty between Romania and Israel has been located.

It follows that an Israeli without a European passport usually acquires land through a Romanian company (SRL, a limited liability company), which is a Romanian legal entity for all purposes. This choice has implications for tax and reporting in Israel, so it is decided with advisers in both countries before signing.

5What is special about agricultural land outside the built-up area?

Many plots on the outskirts of cities are registered as agricultural. When they are within the intravilan, Law 17/2014 does not apply (Art. 2(1)). When they are in the extravilan, the law applies and the sale is subject to a fixed order:

1. The town hall publishes the owner's offer for sale for 45 working days (Art. 6(2)).
2. A closed list of holders of the pre-emption right is given priority over any other buyer, in the order set by law: co-owners and relatives, lessees, owners of adjoining plots, young farmers and others, with the State last (Art. 4(1)).
3. If none of them exercised their right, a company may buy only if it has been registered and active in agriculture in Romania for at least five years, at least three quarters of its income in the last five years came from agriculture, and its controlling shareholder has lived in Romania for five years (Art. 4^1(2)). A newly established development company will usually not meet this.
4. Only when there is no buyer meeting the conditions is the land open to any buyer (Art. 4^1(5)).

Even after the purchase, building a neighbourhood on such land requires bringing it into the built-up area through a PUG or a PUZ, after a prior opinion of the Ministry of Agriculture (Law 169/2026, Art. 153(1)). This is a full planning procedure and not a technical approval.

6How much will the plot actually cost?

The price in the listing reflects the seller's expectation. To know the market value, ask a certified valuer or professionals in the area for data on completed transactions, and compare only with plots that are genuinely similar in terms of designated use, access and utilities. The notarial grid serves as a minimum basis for calculating tax and is not a market price.

7How we accompany a land check

We help Israeli developers put together a checklist for the specific plot, understand in Hebrew what the extract and the urban planning certificate say, and prepare focused questions for the lawyer, the surveyor and the valuer. The legal check in Romania, the signing and the registration are carried out by a lawyer and a notary licensed in Romania, who represent only you.

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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.