A Homeowner's Safety Duties in Romania: Gas Inspections, Chimneys, Detectors and Radon, and What to Ask for at Handover

Israeli buyers check the rooms, the finishes and the land book extract of a house in Romania. Few of them ask who inspected the gas installation and when, whether the chimney was cleaned before winter, or whether anyone measured radon on the plot before the floor slab was poured. These are not merely technical questions. Some of them are duties that Romanian law places on the homeowner, and on the day the house passes into your name they pass to you.

This guide brings these duties together in two areas, fire and gas on the one hand and radon on the other, and ends with a list of documents worth requiring at handover. We wrote about construction defects and the handover record itself in separate guides.

1Who is responsible for fire safety in a private house in Romania?

The owner. Law 307/2006 on fire protection provides that every person is responsible for determining and implementing fire prevention measures and bears the consequences if a fire breaks out (Article 5), and must comply with the technical regulations (Article 6). There is no single professional to whom the law transfers this responsibility.

2How often must the gas installation be inspected?

The energy regulator's (ANRE) procedure distinguishes between two operations. A technical inspection (verificare tehnică) is carried out at least every two years, or at your request. A technical overhaul (revizie tehnică) is carried out at least every 10 years, and also after the installation has been out of use for more than 6 months or after an event that may have damaged it.

• The inspection is carried out only by a company authorised by ANRE, which you choose and engage under a service contract.
• The gas supplier sends a free notice at least 60 days before the due date, together with the bill. Anyone living in Israel should make sure the bill reaches an address they actually read.
• If a leak is found or the safety conditions are not met, the company may shut off the gas flow, and the network operator may suspend supply until it is repaired.
• Where the installation does not meet the safety conditions, one of the measures the procedure imposes on the homeowner is to fit a gas detector that automatically shuts off supply to the appliances.
• The flexible hose and the gas detector are replaced before the end of the service life set by the manufacturer, and the technical documentation and inspection sheets are kept for the life of the installation.

3What does the law provide on chimneys, fireplaces, wood stoves and the yard?

The Ministry of Internal Affairs' general regulations (Order 163/2007) require periodic checking, repair, insulation and cleaning of chimneys (Article 85(3)), and checking of heating systems, stoves and smoke flues before the cold season, with any fault repaired (Article 96). It is forbidden to use a damaged, makeshift or unattended stove, it is forbidden to light a fire with a flammable liquid (Article 85(2)), and flammable materials are kept away from heat sources or protected from them (Article 85(1)).

The Order does not set a cleaning frequency, but the ANRE procedure links the issues: before an inspection or overhaul of the gas installation, the homeowner presents documents showing that the chimneys and flues were cleaned and checked by an authorised company no more than 6 months earlier, and proof that the periodic check of gas appliances, such as the boiler, was carried out on time.

• Cooking over an open fire in the yard only in a place prepared for it and at a distance that does not allow the fire to spread to buildings, vegetation or neighbours (Article 97(2)).
• Burning garden waste and rubbish only in a prepared place, under constant supervision and with the embers put out (Article 97(3)).
• Fuel and flammable liquids for household use only in closed metal containers, in a protected place and up to 25 litres (Article 117).
• Gas cylinders and fuel containers must not be stored in the attic (Article 116).

4Smoke detectors, a fire safety permit and insurance: what is mandatory and what is not?

The March 2026 amendment to Law 307/2006 (Article 6(4)) requires developers of multi-unit housing to equip the apartments with autonomous fire detectors, in projects whose urban planning certificate (certificat de urbanism) was issued after 13 March 2026. No such general duty was found for a detached house. A fire extinguisher or fire blanket in the kitchen appears in Order 163/2007 (Article 119) as a recommendation.

As for a fire safety permit from the emergency authority (ISU): the list of buildings in Government Decision 571/2016, in the consolidated version from 2022, includes multi-unit residential buildings under certain conditions, and not a private house. The March 2026 amendment instructed the government to update the list, so anyone building or changing use checks this with ISU or with the architect. One more point: mandatory natural disaster insurance (PAD) does not cover fire, and fire cover is bought as voluntary insurance.

5What does Romanian law provide on radon in homes?

Radon is a natural radioactive gas that rises from the ground, colourless and odourless, and accumulates mainly in the basement and on the ground floor. The World Health Organization estimates that it is responsible for 3% to 14% of lung cancer cases in a country. Romania operates under the European Directive 2013/59/Euratom, and the framework is built in layers:

The World Health Organization recommends a reference level of 100 becquerels per cubic metre and, only if that is not possible, up to 300. Romania chose 300, the maximum the Directive allows. This is not a safe level but the level above which the building owner is expected to act, and the CNCAN method recommends keeping the concentration as low as possible even below it.

6How is radon measured, and must it be checked before buying?

No rule was found requiring a radon check on the sale of a private house. Under the CNCAN method, measurement is mandatory in certain workplaces and in public buildings such as schools and kindergartens. Anyone who wants to know measures as follows: a laboratory designated by CNCAN, at least two detectors in the house, away from windows, doors and ventilation openings, for at least 3 months and preferably in the cold season. The result is an annual average (the CARIA index), with seasonal correction factors when the measurement is shorter than 12 months.

• Below 300 in all rooms: keep the level low and measure again at least every 10 years, and also after a structural change, including thermal insulation or any change in ventilation.
• At least one result above 300: identify the sources and ingress routes, prepare a remediation plan and carry it out through design and construction companies, and measure again.
• In an existing house the method lists increased natural ventilation, which may be enough when the level is below 400, sealing cracks and pipe penetrations, mechanical ventilation or soil gas extraction, and changing the use of a basement room.

Insulation to save energy reduces air exchange, and radon may rise. So ventilation and radon are assessed together.

7What should a new house have to prevent radon?

Under Article 21 of the CNCAN method, the radon index of the plot is determined for every new building, so that prevention measures can be planned in advance. The index is based on two soil measurements, the radon concentration in soil gas and the soil's gas permeability, and is classified as low, medium or high. It determines the level of protection to be built, according to a technical guide of the Ministry of Development (MDLPA) that describes three levels. CNCAN also publishes a national radon map with priority areas.

• A radon-proof membrane between the soil and the foundation slab, with sealed joints and pipe penetrations.
• Pipework for extracting gas beneath the floor, passive or with a small fan.
• Ventilation beneath the floor or in a crawl space, and controlled mechanical ventilation of the house or basement.
• Detectors that warn of a rise and can activate the ventilation, and avoiding building materials that emit radon.

Most of these measures are easy to add before the slab is poured and very difficult afterwards. So the question is asked before the foundation stage, not only on the day of handover.

8Which documents do you ask the developer or seller for at handover?

1. The gas installation file, with the date and result of the last inspection or overhaul.
2. Confirmation of cleaning and checking of the chimneys and flues, and confirmation of the boiler check.
3. For an apartment in a multi-unit building whose urban planning certificate was issued after 13 March 2026: the autonomous detectors the law requires.
4. For a new house: the plot's radon index report and the level of protection chosen.
5. The details of the prevention measures: membrane, sealing of pipe penetrations, an extraction pipe that can be activated later and the ventilation method.
6. Your own independent check on the CNCAN radon map, whether the plot is in a priority area.

After moving in, it is worth noting in the diary the date of the next gas inspection and the ten-yearly overhaul, arranging chimney cleaning before every winter, and planning a 3-month radon measurement in the first winter.

9What to do before signing?

The list of documents above is worth including in the contract itself, as an undertaking by the developer or seller to hand them over, rather than leaving it to a verbal request on the day you receive the keys. We accompany Israeli buyers in reviewing the contract and the technical documents together with lawyers and notaries licensed in Romania, and the checks themselves are carried out by ANRE-authorised companies and laboratories designated by CNCAN.

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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.