The registration of an apartment is a main process in the Romanian real estate advertising system, ensuring the official registration of the ownership of the real estate in the cadastral and land register records. This process is mainly regulated by the Law on Cadastre and Real Estate Publicity no. 7/1996, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, as well as by the related implementing rules.
REGISTRATION OF AN APARTMENT IN ROMANIA
The registration of an apartment is the registration of the ownership of the property in the land register. This process involves several stages and aims to ensure that the property right is enforceable against third parties and to facilitate subsequent real estate transactions.
As a general rule, the registration procedure starts with the purchase of the apartment, whether it is a new construction or a transfer of ownership between natural or legal persons. For newly built apartments, the registration is part of the wider process of acceptance of the works and the handing over of the building.
In the case of new apartments, the technical documentation of the entire building is also required, including site and boundary plans, surveys for each level and a centralizing table with the undivided share-ownership rates for each individual unit.
The registration process involves verification of the documentation by specialists from the Cadastre and Real Estate Publicity Office (OCPI), followed by the actual registration of the property right in the land register. Depending on the complexity of the case and the office’s workload, this can take several days to several weeks.
An important point to note is that registration confers the right of ownership erga omnes, i.e. vis-à-vis all third parties. This means that, once it is registered, the ownership of the apartment is recognized and can be asserted against any other person.
WHERE DO YOU REGISTER AN APARTMENT IN ROMANIA?
The registration of an apartment is carried out at the cadastre and real estate publicity office (OCPI) within whose territorial radius the property is located. OCPI is the specialized public institution that manages the integrated cadastre and land registry system at county level.
The land registration procedure can be initiated by submitting the necessary documentation to the public relations office of the OCPI with territorial competence. In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to digitize this process. As a result, in many cases, this process can also be carried out online, through the electronic platforms provided by the National Agency for Cadastre and Real Estate Publicity (ANCPI). e-Terra, for example, allows authorized professionals to submit cadastral documentation and track the status of applications electronically.
It is important to note that although land registration is carried out at the OCPI, in practice many people use the services of a notary public to manage the whole process. The notary can broker the relationship with the OCPI, ensuring that all documentation is complete and complies with legal requirements. This can be particularly useful for people who are not familiar with administrative procedures or who do not have the time to deal with the process themselves.
In the case of newly built apartments, it is often the real estate developer (through a notary public) who deals with the registration process as part of the procedure of finalizing and handing over the property to the buyers. This usually involves the registration of the entire property, followed by breaking it down into individual units (apartments) and registering each unit individually.
For specific situations, such as apartments resulting from the dismemberment of larger properties or those requiring updates of cadastral information, additional procedures may be required, which are also carried out through the OCPI. These may include, for example, updating cadastral plans or correcting material errors in existing documentation.
Moreover, in the case of the purchase of an apartment, it is the notary public who, ex officio, initiates the procedure for the registration of the real estate in the land register in the name of the new owner. This procedure involves filling in an application form addressed to the competent OCPI, accompanied by the deed by which the property was acquired (contract of sale, donation contract, will, etc.) and the receipt showing that the registration fee has been paid.
The costs associated with registering an apartment can vary depending on a number of factors, such as the value of the property and any additional fees for urgent services. The fees for cadastre and real estate advertising services are set by order of the ANCPI Director General and are updated regularly.
