Drd. Eugen Sarbu, attorney-at-law
Abstract
Real estate development is one of the fields in which the interdependence between the technical and legal components is not only evident, but structural. Unlike other types of investments, where the legal dimension may function relatively independently from the technical one, in the construction sector these two layers continuously condition one another, from the identification of the land plot through to the final transfer of ownership to the purchaser.
In practice, most deadlocks or disputes do not arise solely from an isolated technical or legal error, but rather from the lack of coordination between these two dimensions. Urban planning documentation that is inconsistent with the legal status of the land, or conversely, a robust contractual structure applied to an unrealistic technical project, may generate significant legal and economic consequences.
Law No. 207/2025 (also known as ”Nordis Law”) marks a paradigm shift: the legislator intervenes directly at the points of intersection between the technical and legal stages, particularly during the commercialization of future real estate units, by conditioning legal transactions upon verifiable technical realities.
The Land: Legal Status and Technical Constraints
The land plot represents the starting point of any real estate development, and its analysis must be carried out simultaneously from both a technical and legal perspective.
From a technical standpoint, key aspects include the permitted height regime, urban planning indicators (site occupancy ratio and floor area ratio – POT/CUT), protected areas, mandatory setbacks, access to public roads, and the possibility of connecting to utilities. These factors determine not only whether construction is possible, but also what type of project is economically feasible.
From a legal perspective, the developer must clarify the nature of the title over the land and any potential encumbrances or limitations: liens, mortgages, litigation, transfer history, or discrepancies between the land book records and the factual situation on site. The method of acquisition (ownership, superficies right, joint venture/association) directly impacts both the ability to build and to secure financing.
The intersection between the technical and legal dimensions becomes particularly evident in relation to cadastre and land registration. The technical documentation forms the basis of the legal records, and any inconsistency may block the project or its financing.
At this stage, the financing structure is also established. The possibility of creating mortgages over future assets is conditioned, among other things, upon the registration of the building permit in the land book, foreshadowing the central role this formality will play in the subsequent stages.
Urban Planning Documentation: Combating Delays Through GEO No. 31/2025
Urban planning documentation transforms the abstract potential of the land into a concrete project capable of being authorized. The process involves obtaining the urban planning certificate, preparing any necessary zonal or detailed urban plans (PUZ/PUD), securing approvals and permits, and ultimately obtaining the building permit.
The duration of these procedures has traditionally represented a bottleneck; however, the legislative trend has shifted toward accelerating such procedures, with a direct impact on the market, a trend reflected in Government Emergency Ordinance No. 31/2025.
From a legal standpoint, the building permit is the administrative act that legitimizes construction and conditions all subsequent operations. Without it, and especially without its registration in the land book, the developer cannot effectively access financing nor enter into the sale mechanisms regulated under the new law.
Accordingly, the building permit becomes not merely an administrative act, but an essential legal and economic asset.
Execution Agreements: Construction Contracts and Procurement of Materials
The construction phase brings the technical dimension to the forefront, without diminishing the importance of the legal framework.
From a technical perspective, the developer establishes the construction standards — the level of finishes, compliance with nZEB requirements, and the types of materials used — all of which influence both costs and market value.
From a legal perspective, the execution phase is governed by construction and supply agreements regulating obligations, deadlines, and liability for defects or non-compliance.
The intersection between the two dimensions is evident: technical standards become contractual obligations, and failure to meet them gives rise to legal liability. Furthermore, the progress of the works begins to directly influence legal and financial mechanisms, particularly in the context of advance payments.
Pre-Apartmentation (“Preapartamentare”) – An Absolute Novelty and a Means of Legal Protection under Romanian Law
Pre-apartmentation is one of the most significant innovations introduced by Law No. 207/2025 and consists of the technical-legal operation through which the future individual units within a condominium are defined, individualized, and registered in the land book as future assets prior to the completion of the construction works. In practice, based on the technical documentation attached to the building permit (DTAC), an anticipated legal structure of the future building is created, including the opening of separate land book entries for each individual unit.
The importance of this operation is substantial: for the first time under Romanian legislation, the sale of future real estate units is conditioned upon a form of “anticipated legal materialization,” significantly reducing uncertainty for purchasers.
Pre-apartmentation creates a direct link between the technical documentation and the civil circuit. It is no longer possible to promise the sale of undetermined or insufficiently defined units, but only of future assets that are clearly individualized within the real estate publicity system.
In this context, reservation agreements are strictly limited (reservation agreements may be concluded for a maximum period of 60 days prior to signing the sale promise agreement, and the amount paid upon reservation may not exceed 5% of the purchase price). Sale promise agreements may only be concluded in notarized form and only after the legal conditions have been fulfilled: registration of the building permit in the land book and completion of the pre-apartmentation procedure.
A fundamental shift is therefore apparent: the legal moment at which the project “enters the market” is postponed until after its technical and cadastral consolidation.
Use of Advance Payments Depending on Construction Stages (25% Structure / 20% Installations) – Utility Connections, Acceptance of Works, and Apartmentation
The completion stage can no longer be analyzed exclusively as a technical process, but must instead be correlated with the legal mechanism governing the use of advance payments, which directly links the physical progress of the works to the project’s financial flows.
The law establishes a phased system regarding the use of advance payments:
- a maximum of 25% of the purchase price may be used during the structural phase (foundations and structural framework);
- subsequently, a maximum of 20% of the purchase price may be used for installations (following completion of the structure).
These limitations transform the advance payment into an instrument strictly allocated to the completion of the project. The use of the funds is conditioned upon technical validation (“approved for payment”), thereby conferring upon the site supervisor an indirect legal role in controlling financial flows.
Subsequently, utility connections, acceptance of the works (including partial acceptance by stages, where applicable), and apartmentation complete the transition from a future asset to an existing asset. The apartmentation procedure must reflect the reality on site, within the limits established by the pre-apartmentation. Any changes between pre-apartmentation and final apartmentation are permissible only within certain limits and without affecting the characteristics of the asset as presented to the purchaser at the time of the pre-apartmentation and the execution of the sale promise agreement.
Failure to comply with these restrictions regarding the use of advance payments triggers administrative sanctions (fines of up to 1% of turnover). In our opinion, these sanctions also apply to advance payments collected prior to the entry into force of the law, since the object of the regulation concerns the act of spending the advance payment, performed under the new legal regime. The law does not provide for any derogatory transitional provisions, and its purpose is to protect the purchaser by preventing the use of advance payments for purposes other than increasing the value of the asset promised for sale.
Transfer of Ownership and Subsequent Stages
Following completion of the construction works and the update of the cadastral documentation, the sale-purchase agreements are executed and ownership rights are registered in the land book.
This stage depends on the accuracy of all prior stages. Any technical or legal inconsistency may prevent the transfer of ownership or generate disputes.
Subsequently, developments may continue through extensions or additional floors, which implies restarting the technical-legal cycle.
Conclusions
Law No. 207/2025 brings about a profound transformation in the logic of real estate developments, shifting the focus toward strict coordination between the technical and legal stages.
By introducing pre-apartmentation, conditioning sales, and regulating the use of advance payments, the legislator creates a system in which technical clarity becomes a prerequisite for the validity of legal transactions.
For practitioners, this evolution requires an integrated approach: construction law can no longer be treated as an exclusively legal or exclusively technical field, but rather as an interdisciplinary area in which technical consultants work closely together with legal specialists.