Order of the Prefect

Right of ownership of the building and right of use of the land / Acquisition of buildings under Decree no. 58/1974 / Acquisition of buildings under Law no. 61/1990 / Acquisition of buildings under Law no. 85/1992 / Lack of title to the land and building permits / Change of right of use into right of ownership / How we can help you

Ownership of the building and use of the land

In Romania, a number of individuals own certain buildings (e.g. residential houses, apartments) and use the related land.

These persons are registered with the tax authorities as the owners of the building and the holders of the right of use of the land.

Acquisition of buildings under Decree No 58/1974

This situation is common for buildings (buildings and land) disposed of between 1974 and 1990.

During this period, whenever a building consisting of land and construction was alienated / acquired by any means, except legal inheritance, the acquirer of the building acquired only the construction and the land automatically became the property of the communist state without any formality, directly under Law no. 58/1974.

Subsequently, the local authorities of the communist regime assigned to the acquirer a part of the land related to the building in use for the duration of the existence of the building (usually an area of 100 sqm).

For more details on the right of use granted under Decree No 58/1974 please visit the section Right of use of land.

Acquisition of buildings under Law No 61/1990

The acquisition of the right of ownership of the building together with the acquisition of the right of use of the related land is also found in the case of sales contracts concluded under Law no. 61/1990.

Under this law, the former ICRALs (Construction, Repair and Rental Management Enterprises) could sell the buildings built with Communist state funds to the tenants who occupied them.

In the case of sales contracts concluded under Law no. 61/1990, the purchasers acquired the right of ownership of the building and the right of use of the related land.

Acquisition of buildings under Law No 85/1992

The acquisition of the right of ownership of the building together with the acquisition of the right of use of the related land is also common in the case of sales contracts concluded under Law No 85/1992.

Under this law, the former State Enterprises (transformed after the 1990s into joint-stock companies) could sell the buildings built from their own funds to the persons occupying them as tenants.

In the case of sales contracts concluded under Law 85/1992, the buyers acquired the right of ownership of the building and the right of ownership and/or use of the land.

Lack of land title and building permits

In some cases, the acquirers of such buildings have tried to modify the buildings in various ways (e.g. renovation, extension, extension, etc.), requesting the relevant town halls to issue the corresponding building permits.

In general, town halls have refused to issue building permits due to lack of ownership of the land.

In these situations, the acquirers were unable to carry out construction work on the buildings they owned.

Change of right of use to ownership

In order to remedy all these situations and to achieve a state of normality (the owner of the building = the owner of the land), a legislative framework has been created to allow all persons to transform the right of use of the land into a genuine right of ownership, free of charge (at no cost).

The change of the right of use into a real right of ownership is done by means of a document called Prefect’s Order.

The procedure for obtaining this Order is an administrative one and consists of submitting several supporting documents to the town hall in whose district the land in use is located.

How we can help you

Our team can assist you and/or represent you before the competent town hall in order to obtain the Prefect’s Order, thus obtaining for you the transformation of the right of use of the land into a real right of ownership.

Our lawyers can provide you with the following services:

• obtaining all the necessary documents to issue the Prefect’s Order;
• submitting all necessary documents to the competent authorities;
• obtaining the Prefect’s Order;
• assisting in changing the tax role;
• assisting you in carrying out land registry and registration operations for your new property right.

More info about Order of the Prefect