Building permit process in Romania

As we had many request coming from non-Romanian investors related to Bucharest building permit we decided to write an article and what you can find below is a detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs for a building in Bucharest. This includes obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections including building permit. Summary include extended procedures, some cases (small building or houses) could include or exclude clearances.
If you will need a specialist support for building permit please contact us here or call +4 0722 494 447.

Step 1. Obtain urban planning certificate

Authority: Urbanism Department of the local City Hall

The urban planning certificate for building permit provides information on the ownership, the public utility service availability, the location within („intravilan”) and outside („extravilan”) the city limits, the urban planning requirements, the land use at the time, the allowed uses, and so forth.

From a technical point of view, the certificate for building permit shows the percentage of land occupation, the coefficient of land use, the minimum and maximum dimensions of the plots, the allowed built-up area, utilities, and access, necessary parking, alignment of the land and buildings with the adjacent streets, and the maximum and minimum building height allowed.

This certificate does not grant the right to build (building permit). Its validity period varies but cannot exceed 12 months. Building must start during that 12-month period and it can be prolonged.

Building permit AIA Proiect Bucharest

The urban planning certificate for building permit enumerates all the necessary project clearances applicable to the building case considered here. The municipality has the right to decide which project clearances are needed. You can contact a professional for building permit in Bucharest (click) here  or call +4 0722 494 447.

Timing: 30 days / Cost EUR ≈5

Step 2 Obtain project clearance from Bucharest Regional Environmental Protection Authority

Authority: Regional Environmental Protection Authority

According to the Order of the Ministry of the Environment and the Climacteric Changes no. 865 / 2014 regarding the amendment of certain regulations in the environment protection field, the cost in case the application requires no assessment (the project can be built without environmental permit) is of EUR ≈30. In this case, the application will be responded in 10 days;

If a preliminary assessment of the project is found necessary by the Environmental Protection Authority (highly probable for our case study) the tax is of EUR ≈100 and the application will be responded in 21 days.

Timing: 21 days / Cost EUR ≈100

* Step 3 Obtain project clearance for building permit from water supply and sewerage authority

Authority: Apa Nova SA

By law, the project clearance for building permit from the water supply and sewerage authority (Apa Nova S.A.) must be issued within 15 days.

Timing:18 days / Cost: EUR ≈72

* Step 4 Obtain project clearance for building permit from General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations
Authority: General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations

The relevant legal provisions in force are Methodological Norms for the Endorsement and Permitting regarding Fire Security and Civil Protection, approved by Order no. 3/2011 of the Ministry of Administration and Interior.

According to the amendments to the Building Law, if the 30-day term provided by the law for issuing the clearance is not observed by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, the legal provisions referring to tacit approval shall be applied.

Timimng: 30 days / Cost: no charge

* Step 5 Obtain project clearance for building permit from Health Department

Authority: Bucharest Health Department

The maximum term to respond to the application for project clearance from the Heath Department is 20 working days by the Order no. 251/2012 issued by the Ministry of Health, published in the Official Gazette Part I, no. 196/2012. In practice, the term to obtain the clearance is normally 15 days.

To apply for approval at the Bucharest Health Department, several documents must be submitted:
– urban planning certificate with annexed plans
– technical memorandum drafted by the architect
– ownership title
– incorporation certificate

Timing: 15 days / Cost: EUR ≈50

* Step 6 Sign contract with the solid waste authority for building permit

Authority: Cleaning companies

Through the urban certificate for building permit the municipality requests that a contract be signed with a waste disposal company to clear building debris from the building site. There are two Bucharest companies that provide services in this area: ROSAL S.A. and REBU S.A. The latter is a larger player with a wider network. The fees are EUR ≈75 per cubic meter of waste. Additionally, for the surface of the land in question, a tax of EUR ≈20 would also be applicable. The minimum of 35 cubic meters must be contracted according to the requirements of company. Other cities have local provider of this services.

Timing: 1 day Cost: EUR ≈500

* Step 7 Notarize statement about nonexistence of land disputes

Authority: Notary

The company must notarize a statement (in this case, investor is both the company and the applicant) stating that there are no disputes related to the land. This procedure is not a standard requirement by law but is often requested in practice.

Each notary charges a different fee, but the fee cannot exceed EUR ≈30, the maximum notary fee established by the National Notaries Union.

Timing: 1 day / Cost: EUR ≈15

Step 8 Obtain building permit

Authority: City Hall

Documents needed for building permit in Romania

You must apply for a building permit by submitting the following documents:

• City-planning certificate
• Property title on the land (there are no requirements as to how recent the title must be)
• Technical documentation for the building permit. For a complete technical documentation send us an offer request.
• Necessary approvals, as required by the city-planning certificate
• Environmental approval
• Proof of payment of the legally required taxes (receipts from the tax authorities)
• Legalized copy of the title to the real estate or the updated land plan (click here for details) and land registry extract for informative purposes

The building permit is issued by the City Hall. For Bucharest, the building permit is issued by the General Mayor of Bucharest if the building is outside the buildable area or if it exceeds a district area; or by the relevant district mayor if the building is located in one of the six districts of Bucharest.

Costs of bulding permit in Romania

The cost of the building permit is 1% of the value of the building investment value.

Timing: 30 days / Cost: EUR ≈2,500

Step 9 Receive foundations work inspection

Authority: Bucharest Building Inspectorate

The schedule of inspections is described in the building permit. By law, investor must pay 0.1% of the authorized value to the competent territorial inspectorate for building. In addition, the investors or owners must pay the State Inspectorate for Building a monthly payment equivalent to 0.70% of the value of the expenses incurred in that month for the execution of the building work.

Timing: 1 day / Cost: EUR ≈3,000

Step 10 Receive frame inspection

Authority: Bucharest Building Inspectorate

The examination of the building is performed in all cases through inspection of the building and by analyzing the documents contained in the technical book of the building (you can find a specialist here)  or call +4 0722 494 447.

Timing: 1 day / Cost: no charge

Step 11 Request final assessment of the building from the Acceptance Commission

Authority: Acceptance Commission

Investor notifies the local public administration and other relevant authorities of the date of completion of building so that the Acceptance Commission may be convened and a final assessment can be carried out.

Timing: 1 day / Cost: no charge

Step12 Receive final inspection from the Acceptance Commission

Authority: Acceptance Commission

The final acceptance commission will analyse: (i) the protocol(s) signed upon completion of the works, (ii) the

Building permit AIA Proiect Bucharest

manner the remaining works [mentioned by the initial protocol(s)] were performed and (iii) the report on the building performance in time. (ask for support here)  or call +4 0722 494 447.

Although prescribed by the law, in practice, the final inspection hardly ever takes place (especially in cases where the investor is also the building company).

Timing: 1 day / Cost: EUR ≈100

Step 13 Obtain final assessment of the building from the Acceptance Commission

Authority: Acceptance Commission

Investor notifies the local public administration and other relevant authorities of the date of completion of building so that the Acceptance Commission may be convened. The Acceptance Commission is a body made up of the building beneficiary, officials from local public administration, and technical experts. It is legally required to meet and determine that the building meets all applicable legal requirements.

The Commission must be convened within 15 days from the date of completion of works. The utility connections would have been made at this stage. The final assessment can take several days and includes an on-site inspection. Within 3 working days from the end of the assessment, the Acceptance Commission must submit the notes and conclusions to the beneficiary of building and recommend approval (with or without reservations), postponement, or rejection of the building. In the event that the reception is accepted with objections, considering that some corrections/additional works are necessary, the procedure may last 90 days. Ask for support in preparing the documents here  or call +4 0722 494 447.

Timing: 90 days / Cost: EUR ≈350

*Step 14 Obtain water and sewage connection (Apa Nova SA)

Authority: Apa Nova SA

According to the water and sewage authority (Apa Nova S.A.), this procedure takes approximately 2 – 3 months due to a significant increase in demand and backlog. The associated costs were increased to EUR ≈120.00 for connection fee, for application fee. Inspections for utilities occur at the same time as the connection.

Timing: 75 days / Cost: EUR ≈400

Step 15 Register the building with the Real Estate Registry

Authority: Real Estate Registry

The building can be registered once it has been completed and approved. There are two stages of approval, and for that reason, the building can be registered twice. The first stage is after the Acceptance Commission, and the second is when the warranty period has expired, after the approval by the Acceptance Commission. The second approval applies only when the owner and the builder are different entities. Therefore, in the case considered here, it is assumed that only one registration is done.
To contact a Real Estate registry professional click here.
Pursuant to Order no. 700/2014 for the approval of the regulation regarding the endorsement, the reception and the registration with the Real Estate Registry, the standard registration time is 15 days but, if the applicant pays an additional fee, the registration time will be reduced to 5 business days. According to Order No. 39/2009 on the approval of fees for performing services by the National Authority for Cadastre and Land Registration („Order 39”), the standard registration fee is EUR ≈120 and the fast-track fee is 5-times the standard fee.

Timing: 7 days / Cost: EUR ≈600

* Starred steps takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

In some cases, issuing the permits/endorsements may last longer than the legal terms,
depending on the complexity of the construction project.

If a construction is built without a building permit or by infringement of such permit, the control
authorities may order the demolition of those elements which are not compliant with the permit
or were built without a permit; in such cases, the construction works can be also be suspended.
Moreover, the investor may be also sanctioned to pay an administrative fine (up to
approximately Euro 3,000) and the relevant indemnities for the caused damages.

Request model for building permit in Romania

You can download drafts of documents and requests needed Cereri si model documente de urbanism – building permit.

All stages support can be found (click) here  or call +4 0722 494 447.