Real Estate and Rental Lawyer in Cluj

I advise tenants, landlords and buyers in Cluj on Romanian property law: lease agreements, deposits, notice periods, eviction and buying an apartment or land as a foreign national. The rules on renting are in the Civil Code (Codul civil, art. 1.777 and following), eviction has its own fast court procedure, and land ownership by non-EU citizens is restricted by law.

What should a Romanian lease agreement contain?

A lease agreement (contract de închiriere, called “locațiune” in the Civil Code) exists as soon as landlord and tenant agree on the property and the rent (art. 1.781 Codul civil). A verbal lease is valid, but put it in writing: parties, property, rent, term, deposit, utilities and how either side can end it early. A lease cannot run for more than 49 years (art. 1.783).

Two formalities matter:

• Registration with the tax office. A landlord who is a private individual must register the lease, and any later change to it, with the tax authority (ANAF) within 30 days (art. 83 alin. (5) Codul fiscal). It is the landlord’s obligation, but ask for proof.
• Enforceable title. A lease registered with the tax office, or signed before a notary, is an enforceable title (titlu executoriu) for the rent (art. 1.798 Codul civil), and a fixed-term lease in either form is also an enforceable title for handing the property back when the term ends (art. 1.809 alin. (2) and (3)). For these the landlord can go straight to a bailiff (executor judecătoresc), without a court case.

The landlord must hand over the property fit for use (art. 1.787) and ensure quiet enjoyment (art. 1.789); you must allow inspections at reasonable intervals (art. 1.804).

How much notice must a landlord or tenant give?

The Civil Code has specific rules for homes (închirierea locuinței). Your contract can give you more protection than these, not less.

If the term ends, you stay and keep paying, and the landlord does not object, a new lease arises on the same terms for an indefinite period (art. 1.810). A notice that ignores the legal period takes effect only once that period has run (art. 1.816 alin. (2)).

Can the landlord keep my deposit?

Romanian law leaves the deposit (garanție) to the contract: how much, what it covers, when it comes back. What the law forbids is a clause making you acknowledge or pay in advance, as “repairs”, sums estimated by the landlord alone; such a clause is deemed unwritten (art. 1.826 lit. c) Codul civil). A landlord who keeps part of the deposit has to show actual damage beyond normal wear, so keep a handover protocol with photos from move-in day. An unreturned deposit is a money claim; see the debt recovery page.

How does eviction work in Romania?

A tenant can only be evicted on the basis of a court judgment (art. 1.831 alin. (1) Codul civil). Until the day you actually leave, you owe the rent (art. 1.831 alin. (2)).

For landlords, the Code of Civil Procedure (Codul de procedură civilă) has a special procedure for property used or occupied without right (art. 1.034 to 1.045):

1. Notice through a bailiff. A former tenant gets up to 30 days to leave (art. 1.038 alin. (1)); for a fixed-term lease the notice is served at least 30 days before the term ends (art. 1.038 alin. (3)). An occupant with no lease at all gets 5 days (art. 1.039).
2. Voluntary departure. If the person leaves, the landlord retakes possession without any court step (art. 1.040).
3. Claim at the first-instance court (Judecătoria) where the property is (art. 1.036), heard urgently, in chambers, with summary debate (art. 1.042 alin. (2)). Unpaid rent can be claimed in the same case (art. 1.042 alin. (4)). Statutory interest on the unpaid rent covers the period after the due date.
4. Judgment. Enforceable at once; appeal only within 5 days (art. 1.042 alin. (5)). The tenant may contest the merits but cannot bring counterclaims (art. 1.043).
5. Enforcement. It cannot be suspended, except in rent-arrears cases where the tenant deposits the rent owed (art. 1.045 alin. (1)).

The court stamp duty for this procedure is fixed at 100 lei (art. 6 alin. (3) OUG 80/2013); for other claims use the stamp duty calculator.

Can a foreigner buy property in Romania?

Buildings, yes. Land, it depends on your citizenship.

• Apartments and houses. The restrictions in Law no. 312/2005 concern land only (art. 1 alin. (1)); the share of land under an apartment block is the point to check for a non-EU buyer.
• EU and EEA citizens, and companies from those states, buy land on the same conditions as Romanians (art. 3 Law no. 312/2005). The transitional periods for non-residents, five years for second homes (art. 4) and seven years for farmland and forest (art. 5), ran from Romania’s accession in 2007 and have expired.
• Non-EU citizens can acquire land only under an international treaty, on a reciprocity basis, and never on better terms than EU citizens (art. 6 Law no. 312/2005; art. 44 alin. (2) of the Constitution). Inheritance by law is the exception (art. 1 alin. (2)); the shares can be worked out with the inheritance shares calculator. A company registered in Romania is a Romanian legal person even when its shareholder is a non-EU national, which is why many non-EU buyers hold land through an SRL; see company formation.

Whatever your citizenship, the sale is signed before a Romanian notary: a contract transferring a real estate right that is not in authentic form is absolutely void (art. 1.244 Codul civil), and ownership is recorded in the land book (cartea funciară) (art. 885 alin. (1) Codul civil). Before the deed is signed, the notary obtains a land book extract for authentication (extras de carte funciară pentru autentificare), valid for 10 working days, which shows the registered owner, mortgages and other encumbrances (art. 35 alin. (1) Law no. 7/1996). I read that extract and the seller’s title before you sign a pre-contract (antecontract).

How working with me looks

1. You send me the lease, notice or pre-contract with the dates, proof of payments, your messages with the other side and photos of the property.
2. I tell you where you stand and which deadline matters; we decide whether to negotiate, send a formal demand or go to court.
3. I draft and file everything in Romanian, keep you informed in English and handle enforcement through a bailiff if needed.

Related pages: the English home page for everything I handle for expats, employment law, debt recovery for unpaid rent, dealing with Romanian authorities, and the procedural deadline calculator for court time limits. The consolidated Civil Code is on legislatie.just.ro. Contact me with the documents you have.