The Five Documents in Buying a New Home in Romania: How to Read the Land Book Extract, the Preliminary Contract, the Permit, the Acceptance Report and the Final Contract

Israeli buyers receive a pile of documents in Romanian from the Romanian developer, and often sign on the basis of a partial translation or an oral explanation. This guide explains, document by document, which fields determine almost everything, what to check in each, and what should make you stop and ask.

The principle linking all the documents is simple: the same numbers must recur in all of them. The land book number, the cadastral number, the company name and the permit number. When one number does not match, that is the time to ask your lawyer.

1What do you check in the land book extract (Extras de carte funciară)?

The extract for information (extras pentru informare) is the first and cheapest document to request. Anyone can order it by the property number. It shows who owns the property and what is registered against it.

Under the Civil Code (Article 881) there are three types of entry: intabulare (final registration), înscriere provizorie (provisional registration) and notare (notation). In Part B you want to see a final registration of the seller.

2What must appear in the preliminary contract (Promisiune bilaterală de vânzare-cumpărare)?

A preliminary contract has no official form, but the law provides that it must include all the clauses without which the final contract cannot be performed (Civil Code, Article 1279). When buying from a developer a home that has not yet been built, it is signed only before a notary, and only after the building permit has been registered in the land book and an extract has been opened for the future unit (Law 169/2026, Article 422(6) to (7)).

• Name of the document: a "Promisiune bilaterală" is a mutual undertaking to sell and to buy. Make sure it is not a convenție de rezervare (reservation agreement), which is a different stage with different rules. A document called a "letter of intent" that collects a significant sum is a stop sign.
• The parties: the company name, its registration number (CUI) and who signs on its behalf. The company must be the one registered as owner in Part B of the extract. If you sign through an attorney, the power of attorney must be complete and certified.
• The property: "Locuința individuală viitoare" means the future home. The land book number and cadastral number of the unit are required, identical to the extract. A general description such as "a villa in the project" is not enough.
• The building permit: number and date, which also appear in the extract. "The permit is on its way" means that you cannot sign.
• Price and payments: currency, whether VAT is included, and payments by construction stage. Most of the price up front before the structural frame stands is a warning sign.
• The account: under Article 422(10), a separate account of the developer, dedicated to the project. An account of a private individual or of another company is a stop sign.
• Arvună or avans: with a "confirmatory" earnest payment (arvună confirmatorie), if the buyer defaults the seller keeps the sum, and if the seller defaults the buyer may claim double (Article 1544). If the contract says nothing, a sum paid under a preliminary contract is deemed an advance on account of the price (Article 1670).
• Date of the final contract: a clear date or a clear event. If a party refuses to sign without justification, the other party may seek a judgment replacing the contract within 6 months (Article 1669). "On the date the developer determines" is not a date.
• Handover and compensation: a handover date, compensation for each day of delay, and what happens in the event of a long delay.
• Seller's representations: on encumbrances, claims and debts, consistent with Part C of the extract.
• Registration: the notary applies to register the contract on the day of signing or on the next working day (Article 422(8)). A request "not to register for now" is a stop sign.
• Annexes: technical specification, finishing level and plans, signed and attached.

3How do you tell whether the building permit (Autorizație de construire) is in order and valid?

From 25 August 2026 the Planning and Construction Code, Law 169/2026, applies, and from 26 August 2026 new permits are issued on a new official form, "F_A_04", under Order 975/2026 of the Ministry of Development. A permit issued before then was written on the old form and will look different.

Under Article 309 of Law 169/2026, a permit has 3 years from the date of issue for construction to begin, and after a notice of commencement of works its validity continues for the whole execution period. The form allows one suspension of up to 12 months, as well as a request for extension at least 15 days before expiry, for up to 12 months. Building not in accordance with the stamped plans is an offence or a contravention under Articles 356 and 357 of the law.

4What is the difference between an acceptance report and a handover report?

The works acceptance report (Proces-verbal de recepție la terminarea lucrărilor) establishes that construction has been completed and was built in accordance with the permit. It is drawn up between the developer, the "investor" in the language of the regulations, and the contractor, in a committee that includes a representative of the authority that issued the permit. The handover report (proces-verbal de predare-primire) is signed between you and the developer on the day you receive the keys, and has no official form. Under Article 422(5)(k), the developer hands over the home only after the acceptance has been approved and there are permanent utility connections.

Under Law 169/2026 (Article 280), construction is considered complete only after acceptance of the works, and construction not in accordance with the permit cannot pass acceptance. The regulations on acceptance of buildings, Government Decision 273/1994, remain in force (Article 577(6)). What to check in the report:

• The developer's approval: at the top of the report "ADMITEREA" (acceptance) is marked and not "RESPINGEREA" (rejection), with a signature, within 3 days of the committee's decision (Regulation 19).
• Date: the day of acceptance is the day the developer signs, and the contractor's warranty period starts from it (Regulation 20). A "PROCES-VERBAL DE RECEPȚIE PARȚIALĂ" is a partial acceptance of a stage, not completion of construction.
• The property and the permit: address, cadastral number and land book number identical, and the same permit you saw, valid.
• The committee: the developer's representative as chair, a representative of the authority that issued the permit, and 1 to 3 experts who were not involved in the design or construction (Regulation 11). In a dispute, the opinion of the authority's representative prevails (Regulation 16). The absence of a town hall representative is a stop sign.
• The secretariat: an authorised site supervisor (diriginte de șantier) prepares the documents. They are not a member of the committee.
• Findings: sections 6.2 to 6.4 refer to three lists: defects not remedied, fire safety measures not carried out, and defects that cannot be remedied. The lists should be empty.
• Warranty: the warranty period is stated. Separately, the contractors are liable for 10 years for hidden defects and for the entire life of the building for structural defects resulting from non-compliance with the design or the standards (Law 169/2026, Article 451).
• The decision: where there are remediable defects, the committee suspends the process in a separate report and allows up to 90 days for remedy (Regulation 17). A building whose acceptance was rejected may not be used until the remedy (Regulation 22(3)).

On acceptance of the works the supervisor hands over to the owner the building's technical book (cartea tehnică) and the maintenance manual (Law 169/2026, Article 528), and the developer sends the acceptance report to the owner within 5 days of completion of the acceptance (Regulation 23). Ask for both.

5What do you check in the final contract of sale (Contract de vânzare-cumpărare)?

This is the document by which ownership passes to you. A contract transferring ownership of immovable property must be made in a notarial document, otherwise it is void (Civil Code, Article 1244). When buying from a developer it is signed after acceptance of the works and before taking possession. It has no official form, and the notary drafts it.

1. Title and notary: "Contract de vânzare-cumpărare" and no longer "Promisiune", signed before a notary.
2. Parties: the seller is the owner in Part B and the same company that signed the preliminary contract, and your name is written exactly as in your passport. An attorney needs a special notarial power of attorney, and the notary checks in the national register that it has not been revoked (Law 36/1995, Article 91(2)).
3. The property: a notarial document transferring ownership is signed only for a property registered in the land book, save for exceptions (Law 7/1996, Article 36(1)). The building is registered on the basis of the authority's confirmation that construction was carried out in accordance with the permit and that there is an acceptance report (Article 37(1)). Make sure the building appears in the extract.
4. Extract for authentication: its number and date appear in the contract. A new encumbrance that was not in the extract you checked is a stop sign.
5. Price: identical to the preliminary contract, the advance payments stated and set off, and the balance and its due date clear.
6. Handover: handover means placing the property at your disposal with everything needed to possess it (Civil Code, Article 1685). Make sure there is a date and a signed handover report.
7. Seller's liability: to transfer ownership, to hand over the property, and to protect against the rights of others (evicțiune) and against defects (Article 1672).
8. Expenses: unless the contract provides otherwise, the expenses of drawing up the contract of sale are borne by the buyer (Article 1666(1)). Make sure it is written who pays the notary and the fees.
9. Registration: the notary must apply for registration on their own initiative, on the day of signing or on the next working day (Law 7/1996, Article 35(1)). After a few days, obtain an extract in which you are registered in Part B with final registration.
10. Interpreter: if you do not understand Romanian, an interpreter authorised by the Romanian Ministry of Justice takes part and signs together with the notary (Law 36/1995, Article 82(2)).
11. The notary's certification: an încheiere de autentificare with a number and date and the words "Se declară autentic prezentul înscris" (Article 99). The original is kept in the notary's archive, and you receive a counterpart (duplicat) with the same evidential force (Article 98).

6How do you cross-check the documents against each other?

Four documents answer four questions: who owns the property and what is registered against it (the extract), what you committed to (the preliminary contract), what may be built (the permit), and whether that is what was built (the acceptance report). The final contract closes the circle, and the same numbers must appear in it again. The comparison between the permit and what was actually built is not a technical detail: construction not in accordance with the permit cannot pass acceptance, and that is the difference between a home that can be registered and sold and a home that cannot.

7What to do before every signature, and how we accompany the check

Ask every developer for all the documents, and pass them to an independent Romanian lawyer who represents only you. The developer's lawyer represents the developer. We help Israeli buyers go through the documents field by field, understand the terms and prepare a list of questions for the lawyer and the notary. Signatures and registration take place before a notary licensed in Romania.

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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.