Can I sell inherited Romanian property without travelling to Romania?

Yes. In most cases you can sell inherited Romanian property without travelling, by granting a notarised power of attorney (PoA) to a trusted representative in Romania. The PoA must be signed before a notary in your country, apostilled or legalised, translated into Romanian and drafted with sufficient detail to allow your agent to sign the notarised sale deed, pay taxes and deal with the Land Book. Romanian notaries routinely work with such PoAs for non-resident heirs.

What tax do I pay in Romania when I sell inherited property?

As a general rule, individuals selling real estate from their personal assets in Romania pay a transfer tax at a rate of 3% if the property has been held for up to three years and 1% if it has been held for more than three years, calculated on the value shown in the notarised sale deed. The notary calculates and withholds this tax before authenticating the sale. Separate rules apply to the transfer of ownership by inheritance itself, which may be exempt or taxed at 1% depending on when the succession is finalised.

Will I also pay capital gains tax in my country of residence on the sale?

Very often yes. Most double tax treaties concluded by Romania allow Romania to tax gains from the sale of Romanian real estate, but they do not prevent your country of residence from also taxing the gain under its own rules. In that case, you usually claim a foreign tax credit for the Romanian tax paid, or an exemption, depending on the treaty and local law. You should therefore expect to report the sale both in Romania (through the notary or, where applicable, a tax return) and in your country of residence.

Do I need to update the Romanian Land Book before selling inherited property?

Yes. To sell effectively you must first complete the succession before a Romanian notary, obtain a certificate of inheritance and then register yourself and any co-heirs as owners in the Romanian Land Book. Buyers, banks and notaries rely on the Land Book as the official evidence of title. If the deceased is still registered as owner, the sale will either not be possible or will be significantly delayed until the registration is corrected.

Will my home tax authority find out about the sale of my Romanian property?

This is increasingly likely. Romania participates in the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard for automatic exchange of financial account information, and the OECD and G20 are developing frameworks to extend automatic exchange to real estate ownership and transactions. In practice, large cross-border payments are often visible to tax authorities through bank reporting, and some countries already link land registers with tax systems. It is therefore prudent to assume that your home tax authority can become aware of the sale and to report it correctly rather than relying on secrecy.

Selling inherited Romanian property from abroad

Many Romanians in the diaspora – and an increasing number of foreign nationals with Romanian roots or investments – find themselves inheriting apartments, houses, land or mixed-use buildings in Romania. What looks like a windfall can quickly turn into a legal and administrative marathon: succession has to be opened before a Romanian notary, the Land Book must be updated, old mortgages or annotations need to be clarified, and, finally, the property must be sold in a way that is tax-efficient both in Romania and in the heir’s country of residence.

This article explains how to sell inherited property in Romania while living abroad, with a focus on three pillars that matter most to non-residents:

Ensuring title is clean – the land book is updated with all heirs, encumbrances are checked and succession issues are resolved;
Using powers of attorney to sell without travelling – how to structure a robust power of attorney (PoA), notarisation, apostille and risk management; and
Capital gains tax in Romania and reporting obligations abroad – how the Romanian 1%/3% transfer tax works after recent Fiscal Code changes and how it interacts with double taxation treaties and foreign tax systems.

The analysis is aimed at heirs who are tax resident outside Romania and at foreign advisers (lawyers, tax consultants, wealth planners) who need a clear, practical picture of the process.

Ensuring Title Is Clean (Land Book Updated with Heirs)

Before an inherited property in Romania can be sold, the buyer’s notary and bank will insist that ownership is recorded correctly in the Land Book (cartea funciară) and that all heirs or co-owners participate in the transaction. If the deceased is still shown as owner in the Land Book, or if succession has not been formally completed, the sale will either be blocked or heavily discounted in price.

1. Completing the Romanian succession procedure

Under Romanian law, inheritance is typically handled in a notarial succession procedure. The core output of that procedure is the certificate of inheritance, issued by a Romanian notary public, which identifies the heirs and their shares and lists the inherited assets.¹

Key points for heirs abroad:

The succession can be opened in Romania even if the deceased died abroad, but foreign death certificates must first be transcribed into Romanian civil status registers to obtain a Romanian death certificate.²
The certificate of inheritance must be issued by a Romanian notary; foreign probate grants or foreign notarial deeds are not sufficient by themselves to register ownership in the Romanian Land Book.³
If the deceased did not have domicile in Romania at death but owned real estate in Romania, the competent notary is usually one from the county where the immovable property is located or, depending on circumstances, where the estate is concentrated.⁴

Practical experience and specialised guidance confirm that you cannot skip the Romanian certificate of inheritance: it is the legally required bridge between the deceased’s ownership and the heirs’ rights and is a mandatory prerequisite for Land Book registration and any later sale.^{1 3 4}

2. Registering the inheritance in the Land Book

Once the certificate of inheritance is issued, the heirs must ensure that their ownership is recorded in the Land Book for each property. Under Law no. 7/1996 on Cadastre and Land Book, rights acquired by inheritance are not registered automatically by the notary; rather, registration is the responsibility of the new owner.⁵

The practical steps are:

obtaining a land book excerpt (extras de carte funciară) for information to verify the current state of the property – registered owner, surface, category of use, encumbrances, litigations, pre-notations etc.;^{6 7}
preparing a registration application to the local Cadastre and Land Book Office (OCPI), attaching the certificate of inheritance and, if relevant, cadastral documentation;
paying the Land Book fee and monitoring the registration until the new owners (the heirs) are shown in the Land Book as co-owners in the correct shares.

Guides on Romanian property ownership stress that having an updated Land Book is crucial for any sale: it is the official public register that buyers, banks and notaries will rely on to verify title and encumbrances.^{6 7} If the Land Book still shows the deceased as owner, a buyer may refuse to sign or will ask for contractual protections and price reductions.

3. Verifying encumbrances, litigation and planning issues

Updating the Land Book is not just a formal step. It is also an opportunity to clean up title and identify potential deal-killers before going to market:

Mortgages and other encumbrances: the Land Book excerpt will show any existing mortgage, judicial seizure, pre-notation of a promise to sell, usufruct rights, easements or other restrictions. These must be addressed – usually by repayment and cancellation for mortgages, settlement for seizures, or explaining and negotiating any surviving rights.
Boundary and cadastral issues: if the property is not yet cadastrally surveyed or has outdated cadastral data, a surveyor may need to update the cadastral plan and technical documentation before a sale, especially for plots of land.
Litigation and claims: the Land Book may show pending lawsuits (for example, claims by third parties, restitution proceedings, disputes over boundaries). Buyers will be reluctant to proceed until such disputes are resolved or properly ring-fenced in the contract.
Urban planning and zoning: while not part of the Land Book, it is wise to verify local zoning plans and building permits if the value of the property depends on development potential. For some buyers (developers, investors), this may influence price significantly.

From a risk management perspective, heirs abroad should obtain a detailed legal due diligence report on the property before signing any preliminary agreement with a buyer. Local counsel can obtain land book excerpts and other documents online via the Cadastre and Land Book system and can liaise directly with the notary and local authorities.⁶

4. Co-ownership and consolidation before sale

Inheritance frequently leads to co-ownership: several siblings, a surviving spouse, or more distant relatives end up owning undivided shares in the same apartment or land. In Romanian law, a buyer cannot be forced to accept a sale signed by only some of the co-owners; the notary will require that all co-owners sign or otherwise participate (for example, by granting powers of attorney).

Heirs abroad should therefore consider:

agreeing on a sale strategy and reserve price among themselves before entering negotiations with buyers;
where one heir wants to keep the property, exploring a buy-out of the others (partition by agreement, possibly combined with cash equalisation);
formalising any agreement in a co-ownership pact (for example, on how to use the property and share expenses while a sale is being organised).

Delays and internal conflicts among co-heirs are one of the main reasons why inherited property sits on the market for years. Sorting these issues early will make the later steps – PoA, marketing, sale contract – far smoother.

Using Powers of Attorney to Sell Without Travelling

For most heirs living abroad, travelling to Romania multiple times to handle succession, cadastral matters and the sale deed is expensive and impractical. Romanian law allows these steps to be handled almost entirely through properly drafted powers of attorney (PoAs) in favour of a trusted representative – typically a Romanian lawyer, relative or other professional.

1. Formal requirements for a valid PoA used in a property sale

Because a sale of real estate in Romania requires an authenticated notarial deed, any PoA used to sign that deed must also be authenticated (equivalent to a notarial deed) and must clearly describe the authority granted.⁸ In practice, this means:

The PoA is signed before a public notary in the heir’s country of residence.
The notarial document is then apostilled under the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention or legalised via diplomatic channels, depending on the country.
A sworn translation into Romanian is prepared by a certified translator and attached to the original for use in Romania.
The PoA explicitly authorises the agent to sell specific property (identified by address, Land Book number and cadastral number), to sign the sale-purchase agreement in authenticated form, to receive the price under specified conditions, to pay taxes and fees and to sign any ancillary documents with the notary, tax authorities and Land Book office.

Romanian real estate investment guides emphasise that the notarial sale contract itself must be in Romanian (it may be bilingual), and that the notary will check the authority of the person signing, including the PoA.⁸ A vague or badly drafted PoA can lead to last-minute delays, if the notary refuses to accept it.

2. Specific vs general powers of attorney

From a risk perspective, heirs abroad should usually prefer a specific PoA, dedicated to the sale of a particular property (or set of properties) and clearly delimiting the agent’s powers. A specific PoA can:

identify the property with Land Book and cadastral references;
grant authority to sign preliminary agreements, sale-purchase contracts, tax forms and Land Book applications;
define a minimum acceptable price or a price range, to prevent the agent selling at a deep discount without consulting the heirs;
restrict or regulate the agent’s ability to receive the sale price (for example, specifying that the price must be paid by bank transfer to the heir’s account, not to the agent);
include obligations for the agent to provide updates and to remit any documents or funds received.

A very broad general PoA (covering all of the heir’s affairs in Romania) may be convenient, but it is also riskier – particularly where the agent is not a professional and there is no clear reporting mechanism.

3. Drafting and language

Although the PoA is signed abroad, it should ideally be drafted with input from Romanian counsel. This ensures that the document uses terminology and structures acceptable to Romanian notaries and Land Book offices and is fully aligned with the legal requirements of Romanian property and succession law.

In practice:

a bilingual PoA (Romanian plus English or the heir’s local language) avoids misunderstandings and makes it easier for the foreign notary to verify the contents;
the Romanian version is usually treated as the controlling text for use in Romania;
the PoA should reference relevant identification documents (passport, personal number) and, if applicable, the heir’s status as shown in the certificate of inheritance.

4. Using PoAs in the succession procedure and for ancillary steps

The same or a separate PoA can also be used to:

open and finalise the succession procedure before a Romanian notary, including presenting civil status documents and signing statements;
obtain land book excerpts, cadastral documents and certificates from local authorities;
conclude service contracts (for utilities, property management, insurance) while the property is being prepared for sale; and
negotiate and sign brokerage agreements with real estate agencies in Romania.

This multi-step approach is common in practice: heirs sign one or more PoAs in their country of residence, have them apostilled and translated, and then the Romanian agent coordinates the entire process from succession to final sale and tax payment.

5. Revocation and safeguards

Because a PoA grants significant powers, heirs should also think about safeguards:

the PoA can be limited in time (for example, valid for one or two years) and can specify that it becomes ineffective once the sale of the property is completed;
heirs should keep a clear record of the document and, if relations with the agent deteriorate, they can revoke the PoA via notarial deed, then notify the agent and relevant notaries;
it may be prudent to appoint a professional agent (lawyer, notary’s clerk, specialised firm) rather than a lay acquaintance, especially for high-value assets.

Careful structuring of the PoA allows heirs to avoid repeated travel to Romania while retaining control over key commercial and tax decisions.

Capital Gains Tax and Reporting Obligations Abroad

Once title is clean and a PoA is in place, the next key question is: what tax will I pay on the sale, and in which country? For non-resident heirs selling Romanian property, the answer has two layers: (1) Romanian transfer tax on the sale and (2) taxation in the country of residence, often mitigated by double tax treaties and foreign tax credits.

1. Romanian tax on the transfer of real estate from personal assets

The Romanian Fiscal Code treats the sale of real estate held as a personal asset as a distinct category of income. Article 111 of Law no. 227/2015 (Fiscal Code), as amended by Government Ordinance no. 16/2022 and subsequent methodological norms, sets the basic rules.^{9 10 11 12}

Main features as of 2025 include:

Income from the transfer of ownership or dismemberments (such as usufruct) over buildings and land held in personal patrimony is subject to a tax of 3% for properties held for up to three years and 1% for properties held for more than three years, with the previous non-taxable threshold of 450,000 lei having been abolished by recent amendments.^{10 12 13}
The tax is calculated on the value stated in the transfer deed (the notarial sale-purchase contract), which may be checked against minimum values published in market studies for real estate if the declared price appears too low.^{11 13}
The tax is calculated and withheld by the notary public before authenticating the sale deed and must be paid by the notary to the tax authorities by the 25th of the following month.^{11 14}
In the specific case of inheritance itself, article 111 provides that if the succession procedure is opened and finalised within two years of the date of death, no tax is due on the transfer of ownership by inheritance; if it is finalised after two years, a 1% tax on the value of the estate is due when the succession is completed.⁹

It is important to distinguish between:

the transfer by inheritance from the deceased to the heirs (which may be exempt or taxed at 1% on the estate value, depending on timing); and
the later sale of the inherited property by the heirs to a third-party buyer (which falls under the 3% or 1% rules above, depending on how long the heirs have owned the property).

Current practice analyses confirm that for non-resident individuals, the tax treatment of property transfers is broadly the same as for residents; the notary still applies the percentage tax on the transfer value, and treaty relief, where available, is usually granted in the other state by way of foreign tax credit, not by exemption in Romania.^{10 12 15}

2. Non-residents and double taxation treaties

Romania has signed over 80 double taxation treaties (DTTs) with other jurisdictions, largely based on the OECD Model Tax Convention.¹⁶ As a rule, these treaties state that gains from the alienation of immovable property may be taxed in the state where the property is located – in this case, Romania.

Specialised real estate and tax guides confirm that under most of these treaties, capital gains from the sale of Romanian real estate by non-residents remain taxable in Romania in accordance with domestic law.^{15 17} The country of residence of the heir typically provides relief by either:

granting a foreign tax credit for the Romanian tax paid; or
exempting the gain from tax, in whole or in part, depending on the treaty model and domestic rules.

For example:

a UK-resident heir selling Romanian property will generally be taxed in Romania under article 111 of the Fiscal Code and may also be subject to UK capital gains tax, but with a credit for the Romanian tax, subject to UK rules;
a German or Italian resident may face similar dual reporting, with relief governed by the relevant DTT and local tax law.

The exact outcome depends heavily on the combination of the DTT, the domestic law of the residence country and the heir’s wider income and reliefs. This is why, alongside Romanian tax advice, heirs should obtain local tax advice in their country of residence before or soon after the sale.

3. Interaction with broader capital gains rules and reporting

From the perspective of Romanian tax law, private individuals’ income from sale of real estate in the personal patrimony is not treated as a classic “capital gain” but as a separate category with its own percentage tax collected at source by the notary.^{11 13 14} Domestic and international tax analysis sometimes refers to this loosely as “capital gains tax”, but technically it is a transfer tax with rates based on holding period.

Other capital gains – for example, gains from the sale of shares – are indeed subject to a 10% income tax in Romania, and individuals must report them in their annual return.¹⁸ These rules may become relevant if the inherited asset is not directly real estate but shares in a Romanian company that owns real estate.

Heirs should therefore consider:

whether the inheritance consists of direct ownership of real estate or of equity in a company (the latter may trigger different tax rules in both Romania and the residence state);
whether they are obliged to file any Romanian tax returns beyond the tax already withheld by the notary, for example if they earn other Romanian-source income; and
how the gain must be reported in their residence state (for example, on self-assessment returns in the UK, US, Canada or EU Member States).

4. Reporting obligations abroad and automatic exchange of information

Even if an heir lives thousands of kilometres away, tax authorities in their country of residence increasingly have tools to learn about cross-border real estate transactions.

Two developments are particularly relevant:

Common Reporting Standard (CRS): The OECD’s Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, adopted in 2014, requires participating jurisdictions to collect financial account data from local financial institutions and exchange it automatically with other countries on an annual basis.¹⁹ While CRS is focused on financial accounts, it interacts with property transactions where sale proceeds pass through bank accounts.
Emerging real estate transparency frameworks: In 2025, the OECD and G20 have been working on a framework to extend automatic information exchange to ownership and transactions in immovable property, building on digital land registers and beneficial ownership registers to improve transparency of cross-border property holdings.^{20 21}

In parallel, policy and media reports describe how tax authorities are increasingly using digital land registries and cross-border co-operation to identify undeclared foreign property and associated income.^{20 22} For heirs selling Romanian property, the practical takeaway is clear: do not assume that the sale will remain invisible to your home tax authority.

For that reason, heirs should:

obtain from the Romanian notary clear documentation of the sale price, taxes withheld and net proceeds (contracts, tax receipts);
consult local tax advisers on how and when to report the gain and claim foreign tax credits or exemptions under the applicable DTT;^{16 17}
be aware of any special reporting forms for foreign assets (for example, FBAR and Form 8938 in the US, or foreign asset reporting obligations in France, Spain, Italy or other jurisdictions);
keep records for the statute of limitations period in their home jurisdiction.

5. Other taxes and costs

Beyond the transfer tax and foreign capital gains taxes, sellers of inherited property in Romania should budget for:

notary fees, which are usually calculated on a sliding scale based on the property value, and which also cover the notary’s role in calculating and paying the transfer tax;^{23 24}
Land Book and cadastre fees for registrations and cadastral updates;^{5 6}
any local property tax outstanding at the date of sale (annual property tax rates are governed by the Local Taxes title of the Fiscal Code and have been adjusted in recent years, including new valuation methods and minimum rates applied to residential and non-residential buildings).¹⁰

Some treaties and domestic rules may also affect withholding tax on rental income if the property was rented out before sale; specialised guides for foreign investors emphasise that Romania taxes rental income at 10% for individuals, with certain deductions, and that DTTs may allow foreign tax credits in the residence state.^{17 24}

Practical Roadmap: From Inheritance to Completed Sale

Bringing all of the above together, a typical roadmap for an heir living abroad might look like this:

Fact-finding and advice: Identify all Romanian assets; obtain death certificates and civil status documents; consult a Romanian lawyer and (if needed) a tax adviser in the country of residence.
Succession planning: Decide whether to open succession immediately in Romania or to coordinate with any foreign probate proceedings; collect evidence of family links and prior wills; identify all co-heirs.
Powers of attorney: Draft one or more PoAs (with Romanian counsel’s input), sign them before a local notary, obtain apostille/legalisation and certified Romanian translations.
Notarial succession: Through the agent, open and complete the succession before a Romanian notary; obtain the certificate of inheritance; pay any inheritance-related tax (0% or 1% depending on timing).^{2 4 9}
Land Book and cadastre: Register the heirs as owners in the Land Book; commission cadastral updates if needed; obtain updated land book excerpts showing the new owners and any encumbrances.^{5 6 7}
Due diligence and clean-up: Address mortgages, seizures, usufructs or other encumbrances; settle or clarify any litigation; verify urban planning status.
Marketing and negotiation: Engage a real estate agent where appropriate; negotiate terms with prospective buyers; use preliminary agreements if necessary, ensuring they are consistent with Romanian law.
Sale deed and tax payment: Conclude the authenticated sale-purchase agreement before a Romanian notary (through the PoA); have the notary calculate and withhold the 1% or 3% transfer tax; ensure that proceeds are paid to the correct accounts.^{11 12 14}
Post-sale registration and reporting: Confirm that the buyer has registered their ownership in the Land Book; retain all documentation; report the sale and tax paid in the heir’s country of residence and, where required, in Romania.

For sizeable estates or portfolios, heirs should also consider medium-term estate planning: whether to hold Romanian real estate through companies, trusts or family vehicles, balancing tax, succession and compliance considerations across multiple jurisdictions.

Conclusion

Selling inherited property in Romania from abroad is no longer the opaque, low-visibility transaction it might have been two or three decades ago. Today, Romanian cadastral and Land Book systems are digitised, notarial rules on transfer tax are well-defined, and international tax transparency mechanisms are steadily expanding.^{5 6 19 20 21} For heirs and foreign investors, the combination of these developments means that a successful and compliant sale is perfectly achievable – but it requires methodical planning.

The critical steps are to regularise title early via the succession procedure and Land Book registration, structure robust powers of attorney so that a trusted agent can act in Romania without endless travel, and anticipate tax and reporting obligations in both Romania and the country of residence. With the right team – Romanian counsel, tax advisers in both countries, and a competent notary – the process can be turned from an administrative headache into a controlled, tax-efficient exit from a Romanian real estate position.