Usucaption in Romania
Real estate attorney in Romania. What is usucaption in Romania?
Usucaption in Romania represents a way to acquire ownership of real estate in Romania and other primary real rights by exercising uninterrupted possession over a property, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified by law.
Usucaption in Romania serves a practical utility due to its nature as an original method of acquiring ownership of real estate in Romania as evidenced by its ability to serve as conclusive proof of ownership of real estate in Romania, thereby alleviating existing difficulties in proving ownership of real estate in Romania, both in actions for recovery and in other legal matters. Usucaption in Romania is also referred to as aquisitive prescription meaning that the passage of time has a constitutive effect on rights acquisition.
Landlord and tenant lawyer in Romania. The parties
Usucaption in Romania is a real action and can be brought to court by any person claiming to have exercised effective possession over an immovable property for the period of time prescribed by law. This person initiates the action as the claimant, suing the true owner of the property in question regarding usucaption in Romania, with the true owner being the defendant in the lawsuit.
Real estate lawyer in Romania. Legal basis
Usucaption in Romania is expressly regulated in the Civil Code in articles 930-934. These articles provide a general framework regarding usucaption in Romania and the acquisition of fruits, goods that cannot be acquired through usucaption in Romania or aquisitive prescription types of usucaption in Romania, and the running of the usucaption in Romania period.
Although usucaption in Romania is an institution regulated by the New Civil Code, in actions concerning the declaration of usucaption in Romania, the Old Civil Code from 1864 continues to apply on specific situations because the provisions of the New Civil Code relating to immovable property, usucaption in Romania apply only to cases where possession began after its entry into force – 1st October 2011. For cases where possession began before this date, the provisions relating to usucaption in Romania in force at the time possession began are applicable. In this regard, even after the entry into force of the New Civil Code, the provisions contained in articles 1890 and subsequent articles of the Old Civil Code will apply in the case of an action usucaption in Romania.
Alandlord and tenant lawyer in Romania, property attorney in Romania or real estate lawyer in Romania can assist you in correctly determining the applicable civil law and initiating usucaption in Romania within the valid timeframe.
Lawyer sales agreement in Romania. The goods that cannot be acquired through adverse possession
The law establishes that goods declared inalienable (goods that cannot be alienated) by law before or after possession cannot be the subject of usucaption in Romania. This category includes goods that are part of public property and some privately owned goods that have been declared inalienable by law. A clause of inalienability contained in a legal document does not have any effect in this regard. Therefore, a third-party possessor may acquire the property right in Romania through usucaption in Romania, as voluntary inalienability does not prevent adverse possession, only legal inalienability does.
Attorney for purchase agreement for house in Romania. Where is the lawsuit based on usucaption in Romania filed?
The lawsuit based on usucaption in Romania is filed in the first instance with the competent district court, regardless of the value of the property.
In terms of territorial jurisdiction, when the subject of the claim is an immovable property, the competence to hear the usucaption in Romania exclusively belongs to the court within whose jurisdiction the property is located. If the property is situated within the jurisdictions of multiple courts, the claim should be filed with the court where the defendant’s domicile or residence is located, if within any of those jurisdictions. Otherwise, the claim can be filed with any court having jurisdiction over the area where the property is located.
A landlord and tenant lawyer in Romania, property attorney in Romania or real estate attorney in Romania can guide you through the necessary steps to ensure that your claim to acquire property right in Romania through usucaption in Romania is correctly formulated and addressed to the competent district court.
The Romanian Law Firm Pavel Mărgărit and Associates recommends consulting with a real estate law firm or a lawyer specialized in usucaption in Romania, land lawyers in Romania, property attorney in Romania or real estate attorney in Romania to ensure that all procedures are properly followed and that you can legally obtain the property right in Romania of the possessed property.
The Romanian Law Firm Pavel, Margarit and Associates provides legal advice and legal assistance services in civil law, especially regarding assistance for usucaption in Romania as a way to acquire ownership of real estate in Romania . A real estate lawyer in Romania can support you in acquiring ownership of real estate in Romania through usucaption before the court, having great experience in civil litigation. In order to benefit from our professional support and for dispute resolution attorneys advice, we invite you to fill in the contact form available on our website https://avocatpavel.com/contact/.
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Land lawyers in Romania. Types of usucaption in Romania
Ususcaption in Romania can be movable or immovable, depending on the nature of the property. Immovable usucaption in Romania comes in two forms: extratabular usucaption in Romania and tabular usucaption in Romania.
For all these, possession is an essential condition. It must be useful (continuous, uninterrupted, and public), meaning it should not be tainted, as this leads to the suspension of the usucaption in Romania period.
In the case of extratabular usucaption in Romania, the ownership of real estate in Romania can be recorded in the land register for the benefit of the one who has exercised possession for 10 years if the owner recorded in the land register has passed away or, as the case may be, ceased to exist; if a declaration of renunciation of property right in Romania has been recorded in the land register, or if the property was not registered in any land register. The possessor in extratabular usucaption in Romania can be in good faith or in bad faith, as the law only requires the essential condition of exercising untainted possession.
Tabular usucaption in Romania, in turn, requires meeting certain conditions such as registering ownership of real estate in Romania or another real estate right in the land register without a legitimate cause; exercising useful possession (a common condition for all types of usucaption in Romania); the person recorded in the land register must have been in good faith at the time of registration of the application for registration, and possession must have been exercised for 5 years after the registration of the application.
The Romanian Law Firm Pavel Mărgărit and Associates invites you to seek the services of a real estate law firm in Romania, land lawyers in Romania, landlord and tenant lawyer in Romania, property attorney in Romania or real estate attorney in Romania to assist you with conducting a due dilligence report in Romania on the property in question to verify if it is registered in the land register, if there are any contentious rights over it, and other important aspects to ensure that the usucaption in Romania will be successful.
Attoney for purchase agreement in Romania. Long Term usucaption in Romania
The 30 years usucaption in Romania is a method of acquiring property right in Romania or another real right (such as property rights like servitudes) through uninterrupted possession, without good faith or the existence of a valid title. The institution of usucaption in Romania operates as a civil sanction that affects the owner’s rights due to their long-term inactivity, allowing another person to possess the property.
The action for usucaption in Romania is a real action that can be exercised by any person claiming to have exercised useful possession over an immovable property for 30 years. This person initiates the action against the true owner of the property right in Romania.
According to the Old Civil Code, a valid title refers to any title transferring ownership, such as a sale or exchange. A pre-sales agreement in Romania(promise of sale, bilateral promise of sale and purchase) cannot be considered a valid title because it does not transfer ownership rights; instead, it creates an obligation to perform an action in the future. Therefore, if the conditions imposed by law regarding continuous, uninterrupted, peaceful, public possession with the status of an owner are not met, useful possession cannot be established in favor of the defendants leading to usucaption in Romania.
Various situations encountered in practice have led to solutions where the court has held that, according to the principle of conversion of legal acts, a privately signed document should be classified as a pre-sale agreement (promise of sale) because the parties’ obligation is to conclude a sale and purchase agreement in Romania in the future in authentic form.
Ownership acquired through usucaption in Romania entitles the possessor to the same rights as a sale and purchase agreement in Romania or other property transfer act.
The Romanian Law Firm Pavel Mărgărit and Associates recommends seeking the services of a real estate law firm in Romania, land lawyers in Romania, landlord and tenant lawyer in Romania, property attorney in Romania or real estate lawyer in Romania who can explain your rights following the acquisition of property right in Romania through usucaption in Romania, similar to those under sales agreement in Romania or purchase agreement for house in Romania. They can also advise on the aspects to consider when dealing with a sale and purchase agreement in Romania, pre-sales agreement in Romania (promise of sale, bilateral promise of sale and purchase), and how to evaluate the property situation through a due diligence report in Romania.
Therefore, usucaption in Romania is a legal procedure through which a person can acquire the property right in Romania over a real estate that they have used and possessed for a specified period of time as defined by law, even though they did not initially hold legal title to it. Usucaption in Romania serves to protect long-term possession by eliminating disputes over property ownership.
The Romanian Law Firm Pavel Mărgărit and Associates recommends seeking the services of a landlord and tenant lawyer in Romania, property attorney in Romania or real estate attorney in Romania to obtain personalized legal assistance and fully understand the application and implications of usucaption in Romania in a specific situation. Our legal team’s assistance includes establishing the legal context of your situation, providing guidance for preparing documents such as purchase agreement for house in Romania, sale and purchase agreement in Romania, sales agreement in Romania as well as conducting a due diligence report in Romania to analyze and assess the specific situation of the property in question.













