What is repealed and what remains in force
As of 25 August 2026, Article 576(3) of the Code repeals in full Law no. 50/1991 and Law no. 350/2001, together with their implementing rules (including Order no. 839/2009 and Order no. 233/2016). Law no. 10/1995 on quality in construction is repealed for the most part (Articles 1-9, Articles 11-40 and Articles 42-44), its content being taken over and further developed in the Code.
Among others, the following remain in force: Law no. 372/2005 on the energy performance of buildings, Law no. 422/2001 on the protection of historical monuments and Law no. 184/2001 on the organisation and practice of the profession of architect. The regulation on the acceptance of works (Government Decision no. 925/1995 and subsequent acts) continues to apply until new secondary legislation is adopted.
The urban planning certificate
The Code replaces the single urban planning certificate with five distinct types of certificate, issued according to their purpose: for information, for cadastral and notarial operations, for construction/demolition, for infrastructure (engineering) works and for special constructions. The issuance deadline is reduced from 30 days to a maximum of 15 working days, while the period of validity is extended and may reach, depending on the type of certificate and the nature of the investment, up to 36 months, and longer for public investments.
A three-tier authorisation regime
One of the substantive changes is the abandonment of the binary “with or without a permit” logic of Law no. 50/1991 in favour of a three-tier system:
Works requiring no formalities — minor repairs and maintenance, replacement of joinery while preserving existing dimensions, works on interior installations, the installation of solar panels on roofs, and other works that do not affect the structure or the architectural appearance. In protected areas, the scope of such works is considerably narrower.
Prior notification — a simplified procedure, new to Romanian legislation, under which certain works may be carried out on the basis of a notification filed with the town hall, accompanied by a simplified design prepared by specialists. This category includes, among others: household annexes of up to 50 sqm in aggregate within rural built-up areas (garages, summer kitchens, covered terraces, swimming pools); a single-family dwelling of up to 150 sqm, ground floor only, in rural areas; conversion of an existing attic within its existing volume; non-structural repartitioning; the enclosure of balconies; and energy renovation works. The authority has 15 working days to respond; the absence of a response amounts to tacit approval, and works may commence upon expiry of the statutory deadline.
The building permit — remains the rule for all other works, with a procedure reorganised around the single approval (see below).
The single approval, integrated permitting and tacit approval
The Code reorganises the permitting stage, regarded as the main source of delay under the previous legislation. The permits and approvals required for authorisation are obtained, as a rule, through a single approval issued by integrated permitting commissions — one national commission and local commissions — bringing together the issuing authorities on a “one-stop shop” model. The procedures are to be carried out through a national digital platform, and constructions will be recorded in the National Register of Constructions.
The rule of tacit approval is generalised: a permitting body that fails to respond within the statutory deadline is deemed to have issued a favourable opinion, subject to limited exceptions (defence, public order, national security). According to official estimates communicated at the time the law was adopted, the cumulative duration of the authorisation process should fall from 4-8 months to approximately 65 days. The Ministry of Development has 45 working days to set up the national commission, town halls must establish their local commissions within similar deadlines, and permitting institutions must update their procedures within 120 days.
Urban planning documentation and developers’ obligations
In terms of urban planning, the Code maintains the hierarchy of the General Urban Plan (PUG) - Zonal Urban Plan (PUZ) - Detailed Urban Plan (PUD), but introduces a number of new rules with a direct impact on real estate developments. General urban plans older than 7 years must be updated within 3 years, failing which the administrative-territorial unit concerned loses access to public funding. The detailed urban plan may make limited adjustments to urban planning indicators, in principle of up to 20% compared with the higher-level regulation.
For large-scale urban planning operations, the Code regulates the urbanisation agreement and a local territorial equipment levy, through which developers contribute to financing the public infrastructure generated by their own projects: roads, water and sewerage networks, schools, nurseries, green spaces. The stated aim is to align real estate development with public investment, so that new neighbourhoods no longer appear ahead of the infrastructure meant to serve them.
Quality in construction and professionals in the field
Taking over the subject matter of Law no. 10/1995, the Code replaces the importance categories of constructions (A-D) with four consequence classes (CC1-CC4), to which correspond four levels of technical design verification — from simplified verification for low-risk constructions to independent parallel calculation for constructions with major consequences. Professional indemnity insurance becomes mandatory for design verifiers, technical experts, site supervisors and technical execution officers, and the right to practise of certified specialists is confirmed periodically.
Self-performed works are significantly restricted: for new constructions, this remains possible only for ground-floor dwellings in rural areas and for household annexes, all other works having to be carried out by qualified economic operators. At the same time, monitoring the behaviour of constructions over time takes on a central role, with increased obligations for owners and administrators, particularly in the case of buildings of public interest.
The regularisation permit
The Code introduces a transitional mechanism for bringing certain constructions built without a permit into compliance: the regularisation permit. For a limited period following the entry into force of the Code, this mechanism is available, in essence, for single-family dwellings and household annexes of up to 150 sqm, as well as for enclosed balconies, provided that urban planning and safety requirements are met. Regularisation is not free, however: the fees are substantially higher than for ordinary authorisation, and until regularisation is obtained the building tax is increased.
Tougher penalties
The sanctions regime is visibly tightened. By way of example, exceeding the authorised building height is punishable by fines of between RON 50,000 and RON 500,000 for each additional storey; carrying out works without notification, where notification would have sufficed, is punishable by fines of between RON 5,000 and RON 50,000; and for more serious breaches fines may reach RON 100,000. Moreover, according to published analyses of the Code, actions for the demolition of unlawful constructions benefit from an extended limitation period of 10 years from completion of the works.
What happens to ongoing projects
The transitional rules are essential for ongoing projects. Urban planning certificates and permits issued before 25 August 2026 remain valid for the period for which they were issued. Procedures for drawing up, permitting and approving documentation that commenced before the entry into force of the Code are, as a rule, completed in accordance with the legal provisions applicable at the date they were initiated (Article 582). For the Municipality of Bucharest, the Code also provides for an important institutional change: as of 1 November 2028, urban planning certificates and building permits will be issued by the Bucharest City Hall rather than by the district town halls.
Our recommendations
For clients with investment projects under way or in preparation, we recommend the following in the period immediately ahead: reviewing the status of documentation currently in the permitting or authorisation procedure and the legal regime applicable to it after 25 August 2026; taking stock of existing urban planning certificates and permits, together with their validity periods; analysing the structure of rights over the land (particularly where authorisation was to rely on a right of superficies); assessing whether regularisation is worthwhile for eligible existing constructions; and, for developers, anticipating the impact of the urbanisation agreement and of the territorial equipment levy on project budgets.
We will return with detailed analyses as the practice of the authorities and the secondary legislation take shape.