An Old Plot of Land in Romania: How to Find Out What You Really Own Today, and How to Regularise or Sell It

The situation is familiar: a parcel bought in Romania years ago and not dealt with since, a plot the parents bought through a Romanian company whose status nobody knows, or a share in a large piece of land with partners where nobody has seen an extract. The common denominator is old documents, partial memory and uncertainty about what exactly you own today.

Before looking for a buyer or asking for a valuation, one question has to be answered: what is registered today, in whose name, and what encumbers it. This guide explains how to do this from Israel, which failure points recur in plots from that period, and in what order to regularise or sell.

1Which documents should you gather before approaching any authority?

Every document from that period can shorten the review. Even a blurry scan is better than nothing:

• The notarial purchase contract. It usually shows the cadastral number (număr cadastral) and the land book number (carte funciară).
• The company documents, if the purchase was made through a Romanian company (SRL): the articles of incorporation, the names of the directors, and any management agreement that was signed.
• Agreements between partners, if you bought a share of a plot together with others.
• Receipts for local tax, if you ever paid.
• In an inheritance: a death certificate, an inheritance order or a probate order, and any document linking the deceased to the plot.

Why are so many plots from those years held through a company? Because under Article 6 of Law 312/2005, a citizen of a state outside the European Union acquires land in Romania only under a treaty and on the basis of reciprocity. Israelis therefore bought through a Romanian company, through a local partner, and sometimes without any registration at all. This rule has not changed.

2How do you locate the plot in the land register?

The land book in Romania is kept under Law 7/1996, and the extract is ordered from the National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration, ANCPI. There are two situations:

• You have a number. Order an extract for information (extras de carte funciară pentru informare) on the ANCPI payments website, with the county, the locality and the cadastral number or land book number.
• You have no number. A lawyer or authorised surveyor searches at the county registration office (OCPI) by the owner's name and the locality, or by the location on the map.

A point that people living abroad almost always miss: Romania is running a national programme for the systematic registration of all properties. Under Article 14 of the law, the systematic registration documents are displayed publicly for 60 days, and corrections can be requested during this period. If the owner was not identified, the notation “unidentified owner” (proprietar neidentificat) is recorded in the land book, without registration of ownership (Article 13(15)). The ownership is not erased: the owner may apply for registration later, with a confirmation from the mayor identifying the property on the cadastral plan and with their title document.

3What do you check in the extract, and when do you also need a historical extract?

If the current extract shows an owner you do not recognise, order a historical extract. It shows the sequence of entries and makes it possible to understand whether and when ownership passed, for example in enforcement proceedings. If the plot rests on a title certificate from the restitution period, see our guide on restitution claims in Ilfov.

4The plot is registered to a company: how do you know it is still under your control?

A Romanian company set up years ago and forgotten is one of the hardest failure points. A local director, or whoever took over management of the company, can sign agreements in its name, and a lawsuit served at its registered office may end in a judgment without anyone defending. So check:

• At the trade register (ONRC): that the company is active, who the shareholders are, who the director is and who is authorised to sign, and whether changes you did not know about were registered.
• On the courts portal (portal.just.ro): whether there are cases against the company.
• The annual financial statements. A company that does not file statements may be dissolved by court order at the request of the trade registrar (Companies Law 31/1990, Article 237).
• Access to the company's bank account, and a copy of every agreement it has signed.

Without a valid authorised signatory nothing can be sold, so regularising the company comes before any other step.

5You held a share in a jointly owned plot: what protects you?

Only what is registered. Someone who bought a share in a large piece of land and received only private documents may discover that they do not appear in any register, and that the registered partner can act alone. Check in the extract who is registered as owner and in what share, and if the land is owned by a company, check at ONRC who the shareholders are. If part of the price was paid at the time outside the notarial contract, that part is not protected by any document, and what counts is what was registered.

6What may be done on the plot today?

Many plots were sold back then with a promise that they would be rezoned for building. To find out what actually happened, request an urban planning certificate for information (certificat de urbanism pentru informare). Under Article 254 of the Planning and Construction Code, Law 169/2026, any person may request it, and it is issued within 10 working days at most. The important question: is the plot inside the built-up area (intravilan) or outside it, and is it agricultural. The answer determines everything that follows.

7Which taxes and debts must be settled?

• Local land tax. Paid to the local authority in two equal instalments, by 31 March and by 30 September. Paying the whole year by 31 March may earn a discount of up to 10%, according to the decision of the local council (Article 467 of the Tax Code). Debt from previous years does not disappear: request a breakdown and pay before planning a sale.
• Sale tax in Romania. 1% of the transaction value on a property held for more than three years, and 3% for up to three years. The notary collects it before signing, and if the price is lower than the minimum value set by the chamber of notaries, the tax is calculated on the minimum value (Article 111(4^1)).
• Inheritance. There is no tax if the inheritance procedure before the notary was completed within two years of the death; after two years the heirs pay 1% of the value of the estate (Article 111(3)). Article 44(2) of the Constitution allows foreigners to acquire land through legal inheritance; if the inheritance is under a will, that is a question for the lawyer.
• The Israeli side. An Israeli tax resident reports the property and the income from it in Israel. Before a sale, speak with your accountant.

8How do you sell an old plot from Israel?

A sale of real estate in Romania is made by notarial deed, so someone who does not attend gives a special notarial power of attorney, with an apostille and a certified translation into Romanian. For a plot inside the built-up area, this is usually the route.

Agricultural land outside the built-up area is a different story. Under Law 17/2014, the offer of sale is displayed at the local authority for 45 working days (Article 6), and holders of a pre-emption right may buy before anyone else at the same price, in a fixed order (Article 4). If none of them buys, the buyer must meet cumulative conditions, such as residence and agricultural activity in Romania for at least five years (Article 4^1), and only if no such buyer is found may the land be sold to any person (Article 4^1(5)). Without the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture the notary does not sign, and a sale that bypassed the procedure is void (Articles 9 and 16). An Israeli buyer without European citizenship generally cannot buy such land (Article 2(3)). The special 80% tax on a sale within 8 years of purchase (Article 4^2) is no longer relevant to anyone who bought in 2007 or 2008.

9In what order do you regularise the plot?

1. Gather the purchase contract, the company documents, the partners' agreements or the inheritance documents.
2. Order a current extract, and if necessary locate the number through a lawyer or surveyor.
3. Read the three parts of the extract, and check whether the locality has gone through systematic registration.
4. If there is a company: check it at ONRC and on the courts portal and regularise an authorised signatory.
5. Request an urban planning certificate for information.
6. Find out and pay the local tax debt.
7. In an inheritance: complete the procedure before a Romanian notary.
8. Only then: a notarial power of attorney, and for agricultural land outside the built-up area, the pre-emption procedure.

10What should you do before signing a sale?

Before agreeing a price with a buyer, make sure you hold a current extract in your name or in the name of a company under your control, confirmation that there is no local tax debt, and an urban planning certificate showing what is permitted on the plot. We accompany Israelis in the review from Israel and in building the sequence of actions, together with licensed lawyers, surveyors and notaries in Romania, who carry out the register searches, the registration corrections, the inheritance procedure and the signing.

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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.