The restitution of properties in Romania

Which law governs property restitution in Romania and what does it involve?

The law on this matter is the Law No. 165/2013 regarding the measures to complete the process of restitution, in kind or through compensation, of properties abusively taken during the communist regime in Romania.

Law no. 165/2013 is based on four important principles, presented below by our lawyers in Romania:

• principle of predominance of restitution in kind;
• principle of equity;
• principle of transparency in determining the remedies;
• principle of maintaining the right balance between the private interest of former owners and the general interest of society.

Under this law, the properties abusively taken during the communist regime are returned in kind. In terms of land restitution, the restitution in kind refers to restoration of property rights on the old site or another one. Our Romanian lawyers can provide more details about each of these principles.

What is property restitution and how does the process work in Romania?

The Local Commission for the Assessment of lands draws up the situation of the agricultural lands, with or without investment, as well as forestry, found in the public domain or in the private state or, where appropriate, the administrative-territorial unit, which may be subject to reconstitution of ownership, on each administrative unit.

The County Commission of land or, where appropriate, the Commission of Land for Bucharest, centralizes the situations consolidated at the administrative-territorial units level. The result is sent to the State Domains Agency and the National Authority for Property Restitution. On the proposal of the county commission, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (for forest land, the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests) and the National Authority for Property Restitution initiate the legal proceedings to change the legal status of the state’s public lands and transfer them to the private property of the state, to be used for restitution in kind.The experts at our Romanian law firm can offer in-depth details about this process.

Is there a time limit for the restitution of properties?

The law originally set one: local and county land commissions or, where appropriate, the Commission of Land for Bucharest had to settle all claims for restitution and issue the ownership titles by 1 January 2016. That provision, together with the special court complaint for failure to meet the deadline, was repealed by Law no. 111/2017.

What happens if the restitution is not possible?

If the restitution in kind of properties abusively taken during the communist regime is no longer possible, the equivalent remedies to be granted are offset with equivalent goods provided.

Specifically, the law provides that in case the restitution of agricultural land in the old locations is not possible after validating the extent of ownership, the former owner or his heirs are assigned land on another site in the following order:

• lands of the reserve of fund of the local land commission;
• publicly owned land, transfered, under the law, in the private property of the state or on lands which are private property of the state, which were administered across administrative-territorial units by research institutes, resorts or other public institutions;
• public property land transfered to private property of the state or on lands which are private property of the state that were managed on administrative-territorial units by research institutes or resorts or public institutions across neighboring municipalities, located in the same county;
• lands occupied by pastures.

In terms of forest land, in a situation where their restitutuion is not possible in their old locations, the restitution of property rights is accomplished at other locations across the administrative-territorial unit. Our Romanian lawyers can give you more details.

If you are interested in other matters concerning properties, such as the division of property after divorce in Romania, our lawyers can answer specific questions. We can also guide you throughout the divorce process, starting with finding the right grounds for divorce, filing the divorce application and with court representation during the divorce proceedings.

When are compensatory measures granted and what can they be under Romanian law?

Restitution applications which can not be resolved through restitution in kind to the entities entrusted by law shall be resolved by granting compensatory measures in the form of points.

In order to grant compensation for properties that can not be returned in kind, entities entrusted by law send the decisions containing the proposal to grant compensatory measures to the secretariat of the National Commission. The experts at our law firm in Romania can give you more details about these compensatory measures.

The evaluation of property that is subject of the decision is made through the application of the notary scale by the Secretariat of the National Commission and expressed in points. A point has a value of one Romanian LEU and the number of points is determined after deducting the updated value of compensation received for the assessed property. Our lawyers in Romania can help those interested with more information about the property evaluation.

Within three years of the communication of the compensation decision, the holder of points can request their capitalisation in cash. The National Authority for Property Restitution then issues payment titles in equal annual tranches over 7 consecutive years (GEO no. 38/2025) or, at the holder’s option, a single payment title for 40% of the value of the points.

Our lawyers provide complete solutions for buying land in Romania. If you are a foreign investor looking for opportunities in the real estate development sector, or if you are interested in purchasing agricultural land in the country (for which special residency requirements apply), our team can give you more details. We assist clients throughout the sale/purchase phase and can represent them in front of the authorities.

For more information regarding the restitution of properties and the means through which you can obtain property which was abusively taken during the comunist regime, do not hesitate to contact the lawyers within the Darie, Manea & associates Romanian law firm!