A Plot on the Route of a Road or Public Project in Romania: How Expropriation Works, What the Compensation Is and How to Check in Advance

Anyone buying a plot or a house near a developing area often hears about a new road, an interchange or a water line that is due to pass nearby. Sometimes that is a reason to buy. But if the route crosses the plot itself, the question is no longer future value, but whether you will be able to build, to sell, and with what compensation.

The good news: in Romania, expropriation almost never surprises someone who has checked. It begins with an official decision approving a route and a list of properties, and the information appears in documents that can be obtained before signing.

1When may private property be expropriated in Romania, and under which law?

Only for a public utility established by law, and only against fair compensation paid in advance, as Article 44(3) of the Constitution provides. The procedure is governed by two laws, each with a different logic:

In practice, a plot on the route of a road or infrastructure line will almost always be dealt with under Law 255/2010, so the rest of this guide focuses on it.

2How does a plot come to be on an expropriation route?

Law 255/2010 sets four stages (Article 4):

1. Approval of the project and the route. A decision of the government, or of a county or local council, approves the project, its location and the commencement of expropriation (Article 5(1)), and with it the expropriation corridor (culoar de expropriere) and the list of plots within it (Article 5(3)).
2. Deposit of the compensation and notice. An amount for each owner is deposited in advance (Article 7). Owners receive a letter, and the list is posted at the local authority and published on the expropriating body's website. Within 20 days, documents proving ownership are submitted, and the vacating period set in the notice is at least 30 working days (Article 8).
3. Transfer of ownership. The expropriation decision is issued within 5 working days of the end of the time limits (Article 9(1)), even if the owners did not respond or did not agree to the amount (Article 9(3)). From that day the plot belongs to the expropriator, provided the money has already been deposited (Article 9(4)).
4. Completion. Anyone claiming a right in the property proves it before a commission (Article 18). Once the amount has been set in a decision, the money must reach the owners within 90 days of it (Article 21).

The procedure is not halted by a dispute over possession or ownership of the property (Article 13(2)). Such a dispute is resolved before the commission and in court, but the expropriation continues.

3From what stage can you no longer build or buy?

This is the critical part for the buyer, because the law freezes plots on the route even before ownership passes:

• No permits. As soon as ANCPI, the cadastre agency, sends the local authority the list of plots on the route, the authority is barred from granting them a building permit or any other approval (Article 13(1)), and permits granted too late are void (Article 30(1)).
• No inclusion in the built-up area. After the project approval decision has been published, a plot on the route that lies outside the built-up area (extravilan) cannot be included in it (intravilan); such a decision is void (Article 29(2)).
• Void transactions. From the moment the decision on the amount of compensation is published, a contract of sale of the property is not valid (Article 29(1)).
• The freeze is limited in time. If the start of expropriation is not approved within two years of the list being sent, the prohibitions lapse and are deleted from the land book (Article 13(3)).

4How is the compensation set, and how do you appeal it?

The first offer is prepared by a licensed appraiser who is a member of ANEVAR, the Romanian association of valuers, who among other things relies on the chambers of notaries' grid (Law 255/2010, Article 11(7) and (8)).

• What the compensation consists of. Under Article 26 of Law 33/1994, it includes the real value of the property and the damage caused to the owner, taking into account the price at which similar properties are usually sold in the same local authority. According to a binding ruling of Romania's High Court (HP 78/2021), even in proceedings under Law 255/2010 the court considers both the notarial values and the criteria of Article 26.
• Appeal. An owner who thinks the amount is too low files a claim; the time limit is the ordinary limitation period, counted from receipt of the decision on the amount. The appeal does not stop the transfer of ownership and cannot challenge it (Article 22(1)).
• The appeal procedure. The judge is assisted by a commission of three professionals (experți), in which each side has a representative: the court, the expropriating body and the owner (Article 22(5)). No court fee is paid on such a claim (Article 23(1)).
• Other people's rights in the property. Anyone holding a right of use, a right of habitation or a superficies right (superficie) in the property loses it on expropriation and receives compensation of their own (Law 33/1994, Article 28(3)). A charge on the property passes to the compensation (Article 28(2)).

5How do you check a plot before buying?

1. An urban planning certificate for information (certificat de urbanism). The new Planning Code, Law 169/2026, requires it to include information on planned expropriations where the project requires them (Article 253(4)(a)), and you do not need to be the owner to request it (Article 254).
2. The general urban plan (PUG) and the zonal plan (PUZ). Article 46(1)(k) of the Code requires the properties proposed for expropriation to be marked in the PUG. We wrote about reading the plans in the guide to checking a building permit and a PUZ.
3. An up-to-date land book extract. Part III will show whether a prohibition, an expropriation note or a route marking has been registered on the plot.
4. Decisions of the government and the councils. Search the Romanian legislation portal, and for national road projects also the website of the national road company CNAIR, which publishes an expropriation section for each project, and check the annexes by cadastral number and not only by a general map.
5. A written enquiry to the local authority. That is where the lists are posted (Article 8(1)), and also where you can get an official answer: whether the plot is within a route, approved or still being planned.
6. An independent lawyer. Reviews the documents and drafts the protections in the contract.

6Which protections should go into the contract?

A contract cannot stop an expropriation, but it can determine who bears a risk that came to light late. Consider:

• A seller's declaration that they have no knowledge of an expropriation procedure, an approved route or an intention to approve a route affecting the plot.
• A condition for signing: an up-to-date urban planning certificate and land book extract that show no expropriation data.
• A mechanism in case the information comes to light between the preliminary contract and the final contract: a right to withdraw and a refund of the down payment.
• Coordinating dates, so that the final contract is not signed after publication of a decision on the amount of compensation, in which case the transaction is void.

7What to do before signing?

When a plot is near an infrastructure project, approved or planned, gather before the down payment an up-to-date urban planning certificate, the applicable plans, a land book extract and the relevant decisions, and set out the declarations and the right of withdrawal in the contract. We accompany Israeli buyers in this check and in framing the questions, together with lawyers and notaries licensed in Romania, who approach the authorities, draw up the contracts and represent owners in compensation proceedings.

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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.