In Romania, a property right exists only if it is registered in the Cartea Funciară. Not the agreement, not the receipt, not the handshake.
Non-EU buyers register the land through Superficie, a Romanian company (SRL), or a caution note with an irrevocable power of attorney.
Full ownership of the building and exclusive use of the land. Transferable, inheritable, mortgageable and registered in your name.
Dividend tax rose from 10% to 16% in January 2026. A Romanian company mainly suits buyers of several properties or development land.
Owner matches the seller, mortgages and seizures, caution notes and third-party rights, and register matching the ground.
Land ownership in Romania: the question nobody asks out loud
There is one question investors almost always ask me at the end of a meeting, once the laptop is closed. Quietly, a little embarrassed.
"Moti, if I can't register Romanian land in my name, then when I buy a villa, what exactly is mine?"
It is the smartest question you can ask about land ownership in Romania, and very few sellers answer it straight. In this article I answer it in full: what you are buying, through which routes, and how to choose between them before you sign, not after.
The riskiest investment: the right property, registered the wrong way
The riskiest investment in Romania is not the wrong apartment. It is the right apartment, registered the wrong way.
A great property, in a great location, at a great price, whose title was not properly registered, is not an asset. It is paper. You cannot rent it out with confidence, you cannot pledge it to a bank, and you cannot sell it on the day you want out.
The rule everything rests on: in Romania, a property right exists only if it is registered in the Cartea Funciară, the land register run by ANCPI. Not the agreement, not the receipt, not the handshake. We covered registration itself and the term Intabulare in our article on getting the property registered in your name. Here we focus on the land.
Who can register land in Romania in their own name
This is the distinction every investor from outside the EU must know:
- A Romanian or EU citizen registers both the building and the land in their own name.
- An Israeli, or anyone who is not an EU citizen, can register an apartment or a building in their own name, but land is not registered directly in their name.
This is not a restriction that blocks investment. It is a restriction that decides which route you take. Those who don't understand it before signing discover it afterwards.
In an apartment block the question is less visible. In a villa, where the land is a large part of the property and of the experience, it is the central question.
The three routes to land ownership in Romania for foreigners
When the buyer is not an EU citizen, the land is registered through one of three accepted routes:
| Route | What is registered in your favour | Usually suits |
|---|---|---|
| Superficie right | Full ownership of the building, plus exclusive use of the land for the life of the building | A private buyer of a villa or house. The common route |
| Romanian company (SRL) | The company registers the building and the land; you own the company | Buyers of several properties, or of land for development |
| Caution note with an irrevocable power of attorney | A note in the register in your favour, alongside a power of attorney that cannot be revoked | An accepted route, to be assessed case by case with a lawyer |
There is no route that is "right" for everyone. There is a route that fits your goal, the number of properties and your tax planning. And the decision is made before the purchase, not after it.
From the field: the land registered in the broker’s name
Attorney Ilan Leibovitch recalls:
A client who had bought an apartment called me, angry: he wanted to sell and could not. When he bought it, I had explained that the share of land attached to the apartment could not be registered in his name, because he was not a local citizen. After consulting the broker, he agreed to have the land registered in her name. I warned him this could cause problems later, suggested looking for another solution, and at the very least taking an irrevocable power of attorney from her. He said he trusted her.
Now she was not answering her phone, and he could not find her. The fix took longer and cost him a fair amount of money. We went to court, showed that the broker had left Romania several months earlier and had not returned, and presented correspondence showing that registering the land in her name was meant to be a formality only, and that the client had paid the full price of the apartment. After two hearings, in a fairly unprecedented step, the court ordered the land register to record the sale in the name of the next buyer, including the share of the land.
The lesson is simple: the route for the land is chosen before signing, and it must rest on a registration or a document that cannot be revoked, not on trust in one person. That is exactly why the three routes in the table above are worth comparing with a lawyer before you decide.
If it is real enough for a bank's risk department, it is real enough for you.
Superficie: not "almost ownership", and not a compromise
Superficie is a long-standing right in Romanian law, set out in the Civil Code. It gives you two things together:
- Full ownership of the building itself: the villa, registered in your name.
- An exclusive right to use the land beneath it, for the entire life of the building.
And this right has four features that make it a real asset:
- Transferable: you sell it like any property.
- Inheritable: it passes to your children.
- Mortgageable: you can take a loan against it.
- Registered in your name: not a side agreement in someone's drawer.
The real test: what the bank does
I am not asking you to trust me. Look at the bank.
A Romanian bank will accept Superficie as security for a mortgage. An institution whose whole existence depends on enforcing collateral, with a full legal department, has examined this right and decided to put its own money on it. If it is real enough for a bank's risk department, it is real enough for you.
In our project in Balotești, which Walla Nadlan has covered (in Hebrew), by the way, the buyer is registered as the holder of a Superficie right with no recurring payment for the land. It is a question worth putting to any developer: is there a periodic fee for the land-use right, and how much?
Romanian company (SRL): when it is worth the effort
A Romanian company can register both the building and the land in its name, and you hold the company. On paper, it sounds elegant.
In practice, a company has to be run: bookkeeping, filings, and tax at company level and then again at shareholder level. And Romania's dividend tax rose from 10% to 16% in January 2026, which has eroded the case for holding a single property through a company.
So an SRL mainly suits buyers of several properties or of land for development. For a private buyer of one villa, Superficie is usually simpler. We set out the holding costs and taxes of each route in our article on what it really costs to own property in Romania.
The land register extract is only the beginning
Even the right route is worth little if the land itself has a problem. Before any purchase, you pull a current extract and check four things:
- The registered owner, and whether it matches the person actually selling to you.
- Mortgages, charges and seizures.
- Caution notes and third-party rights.
- Whether the register matches what is actually on the ground.
And a point most guides skip: in Romania there are cases where the register looks "clean" but planning problems sit behind it. That is why the check is twofold, legal and planning, and is done by a lawyer independent of the seller. Not the developer's lawyer, and not the agent.
How to read the extract itself, part by part, is in our due diligence guide. The full order of steps, from reservation to final contract, is in our guide to the legal check before signing.
The day after: selling, mortgaging, inheriting
Land ownership in Romania is not tested only on the day you buy. It is tested on the day you want to sell, take a mortgage or pass the property on to your children. That is when you find out whether you bought a registered right or a promise.
Here is a piece of advice from Adv. Ilan Leibovitch that I repeat in every meeting: Romania recognises Israeli inheritance orders, but requires a local recognition procedure. An international will that explicitly mentions the Romanian property, signed today, can save your heirs years. It may be the cheapest and most important expense in the whole transaction.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner buy land in Romania?
A non-EU citizen can buy and register an apartment or a building in their own name. Land is not registered directly in the name of someone who is not a Romanian or EU citizen, so it is registered through one of the accepted routes: a Superficie right, a Romanian company (SRL), or a caution note with an irrevocable power of attorney.
What is Superficie, in plain words?
Full ownership of the building, together with an exclusive right to use the land beneath it for the life of the building. The right is registered in the land register in your name, and it can be sold, inherited and mortgaged.
Can I get a mortgage on a villa bought under Superficie?
Yes. Romanian banks accept a Superficie right as security for a mortgage. That is also the best test of how solid the right is: the bank examined it and decided to lend against it.
When does buying through a Romanian company make sense?
Mainly when you are buying several properties or land for development. For a single property, a company adds ongoing administration and company-level tax, and since January 2026 the dividend tax has been 16%. Do the comparison with a tax adviser who knows both countries, before you buy.
What happens to the land right when the owner dies?
A Superficie right is inheritable. Romania recognises Israeli inheritance orders through a local recognition procedure, and an international will that names the Romanian property explicitly shortens the path for your heirs.
The bottom line
"Who owns the land?" is not an embarrassing question. It is the right question.
Ask it before signing, and you choose your route. Ask it afterwards, and you discover it.
If you are looking at a property in Romania right now, with us or anywhere else, book half an hour with me. We will go through the route that fits you, the land register extract, and the questions worth putting to your lawyer.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources and data: Romania's National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration (ANCPI) · Romanian legislation portal: the Civil Code, Law 287/2009 · PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Romania · Walla Nadlan on Compass on the Lake (in Hebrew) · Interview with Adv. Ilan Leibovitch, Compass Group Romania investor guide (August 2026).
This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Before any transaction, consult an independent lawyer and tax adviser.
Now you know more.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
