Buildings without a permit under the new Code: the regularisation permit, fines and demolition

Law no. 169/2026 (the Code of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and Construction, Official Gazette no. 661/10.08.2026) repealed Law no. 50/1991 and replaced it with its own system for works carried out without a permit: a new regularisation procedure, much higher fines and sanctions that go as far as demolition. Below are the rules, as they appear in the published text (art. 301, 353, 356-358).

The regularisation permit (art. 301)

Anyone who carried out works without a permit, or in breach of the permit, has an obligation to apply for a regularisation permit to the authority that also issues building permits (the mayor, and in the cases of art. 304, the president of the county council).

Which buildings can be regularised

• single-family homes with a ground floor or ground floor and upper floor, with a gross floor area of at most 150 sqm;
• annexes to homes, household annexes or annexes to agricultural holdings, of at most 150 sqm gross floor area;
• enclosing balconies, without extending onto public property.

Para. 2 requires that the building is not a historic monument and is not located in monument protection zones or protected built-up areas. The wording is ambiguous (it may concern only homes or all categories); to be safe, check with the town hall.

Conditions that must all be met (para. 3)

• compliance with environmental legislation;
• meeting the essential quality requirements of art. 386 (mechanical resistance and stability, fire safety, hygiene and health, safety in use, protection against noise, energy economy and others);
• compliance with the specific requirements for properties of the National Defence, Public Order and National Security System;
• compliance with the applicable urban planning regulations.

The essential requirements are checked on the basis of technical expert reports prepared by licensed experts, for each field. Compliance with the urban planning regulations is checked by the town hall's planning department or, if there are no qualified staff, by specialists with signing rights in urban planning hired by the applicant (para. 9). The authority may also require works to bring the building into compliance before issuing the permit (para. 10).

If the conditions are not all met, the works are demolished (para. 5). If there are technical solutions for compliance, the authority may require a building permit or a partial demolition (para. 6).

The 1-year window and fees ten times higher

For at most 1 year from the entry into force of the Code, regularisation can also be requested for other categories of buildings, not just those above, if the works comply with the urban planning regulations, meet the essential requirements and the tax obligations and fines have been paid (para. 7).

The Code came into force 15 days after publication, i.e. around 25 August 2026 (art. 575), so the 1-year window expires around 25 August 2027. The exact date is calculated according to the rules in art. 580; confirm it with the town hall before relying on it.

After the deadline, the town hall can demolish unauthorised works at the owner's expense or, for buildings that did not obtain a regularisation permit, must ask the court to order their demolition. The mayor files the request within 30 days of the deadline, on the basis of the inspection report (para. 12-13). The demolition ruling is enforceable (para. 15).

Property tax increased by 100%

For buildings built in breach of the permit or without a permit that were not regularised by the time the Code came into force, the building tax is increased by 100%, from the date the town hall establishes the breach until the regularisation permit is obtained or the building is demolished. Paying the tax does not regularise the building and does not remove the sanctions (art. 301 para. 11).

Fines (art. 357)

The fine can be applied to individuals and companies. For building without a permit (letter b), the law does not provide for a warning instead. The list above is a selection; art. 357 also covers other offences, mainly for authorities and specialists.

When it becomes a criminal matter (art. 356)

Imprisonment from 3 months to one year or a fine applies to: carrying out works without a permit, or in breach of it, on historic monuments, in their protection zones or in protected built-up areas, as well as continuing the works after the inspection body has ordered them to stop, including breaking the seals applied.

What the inspection bodies can order (art. 353 and 358)

• stopping the works, together with measures to conserve what has been built, at the developer's expense;
• banning access to the site, applying seals and disconnecting the site utilities;
• together with the fine, the obligation to bring the works in line with the permit, obtain a regularisation permit or demolish the works, depending on whether or not they comply with the urban planning regulations and quality requirements;
• if the sanctioned person does not comply within the deadline in the report, referral to the court, which can order compliance or demolition; the measures are carried out at the expense of those responsible if the deadlines set by the court are not met.

The authority's right to act to demolish or regularise works carried out without a permit is time-barred 10 years after the works were actually completed (art. 357 para. 10-11).

Legalisation no longer goes through a zonal or detailed plan (PUZ or PUD)

The Code prohibits initiating and approving urban planning documents whose purpose is to legalise buildings built without a permit (art. 146 para. 2, except for the informal settlements in art. 150 para. 14). Initiating and approving them intentionally is a criminal offence, punished with imprisonment from 3 months to one year or a fine (art. 145 letter b). The route provided by law is the regularisation permit.

For future works: some annexes do not need a permit

The Code exempts certain small works from the permit, which reduces the risk of ending up in the situation above. In rural areas, for annexes outside single-family homes:

• no formalities at all: covered terraces, pergolas, summer kitchens, kiosks, sheds, toilet blocks, up to 20 sqm in total and 2.5 m high, without foundations, demountable, on a timber or metal structure (art. 299 para. 2 letter c). Urban planning and technical regulations remain mandatory, liability lies with the owner, and acceptance at the end of the works is mandatory (para. 3-5);
• with a notification to the town hall: garages, covered terraces, pergolas, summer kitchens, kiosks, pools, toilet blocks and similar, up to 50 sqm in total, permanent, in the rural built-up area, except rural localities in metropolitan areas (art. 294 para. 2 letter a point i).

What the text does not yet say

The Code mentions the certificate attesting construction (certificat de atestare a edificării) only among the duties of the authorities (art. 120 para. 1 letter h and art. 121), without detailing the procedure for obtaining it. The forms and required documents are not detailed in the Code; the competent ministry can issue orders, rules and guides (art. 578 para. 2), and local authorities adapt their procedures by 31 December 2026 (art. 578 para. 1). Nor does the text specify how regularisation files pending when it came into force are handled. For these, ask the town hall for clarification. For older buildings, see also the article on legalising a building, written under the previous procedure.