Nordis Law Explained: How Romania Protects Property Buyers After the Nordis Scandal

What Was the Nordis Scandal?

The Nordis scandal was the most significant property-fraud crisis in Romania’s modern real estate history — and the direct trigger for the legislative reform that followed. Nordis Group was a high-profile Romanian property developer that marketed luxury residential and hotel projects in premium locations, including Bucharest and the Black Sea coast. The company sold apartments and hotel units off-plan, collecting substantial advance payments from hundreds of buyers through pre-sale agreements.

The core problem — revealed through criminal investigations and media reporting — was that Nordis allegedly sold the same units to multiple buyers. A single apartment or hotel room was promised to two or three different purchasers, each of whom paid significant deposits. The advance payments collected from buyers were allegedly not ring-fenced for the specific project but were used to finance other ventures, cover corporate expenses, and fund the developer’s operations. When the developer’s financial position deteriorated, buyers discovered that their apartments had been promised to others, their money had been spent, and the projects were incomplete or never started.

The scandal destroyed buyer confidence, triggered criminal proceedings, and exposed a fundamental weakness in Romania’s off-plan property framework: there was no mechanism to prevent a developer from selling the same unit more than once, no mandatory registration of pre-sale agreements in the Land Registry, no restriction on how developers could use buyer deposits, and no requirement for the project to be formally registered before sales began. The existing legal framework — primarily the Civil Code provisions on pre-sale agreements — provided theoretical protections but lacked the structural safeguards needed to prevent systematic fraud.

Why Romania Introduced the Nordis Law

• No double-selling prevention. Before the law, pre-sale agreements were not mandatorily registered in the Land Registry. A developer could sign separate agreements with multiple buyers for the same apartment, and neither buyer would know about the other.
• No advance-payment restrictions. Developers could collect 50%, 70%, even 90% of the purchase price as an advance and use the money for any purpose — other projects, corporate expenses, personal spending. Buyers had no visibility into how their money was used.
• No project pre-registration. Apartments did not need to exist as separate legal entities before being sold. A developer could sell units based on nothing more than architectural plans and a building permit — with no formal registration of the individual units in any public register.
• Weak enforcement. The sanctions for non-compliance were either absent or insufficiently dissuasive. Development companies were typically special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) with minimal assets, making penalties based on company revenue effectively unenforceable during the construction phase.
• Market confidence crisis. The scandal — amplified by extensive media coverage — caused a severe loss of confidence in Romania’s off-plan property market. Buyers became reluctant to purchase pre-completion, developers faced reduced demand, and the market needed a structural response.

What Is the Nordis Law?

The Nordis Law is the popular name for Law No. 207/2025 (Legea nr. 207/2025), which entered into force on 11 December 2025, with a three-month transitional period. Full application — including the mandatory pre-apartmentation requirement — took effect on 8 March 2026. The law is not a standalone statute but a modification of two existing laws: Law No. 7/1996 on cadastre and land registration (Legea cadastrului și a publicității imobiliare) and Law No. 10/1995 on construction quality (Legea privind calitatea în construcții). It introduces new provisions governing the sale of off-plan residential property — defined in the law as ‘future condominiums’ (condominiu viitor) and ‘future individual dwellings’ (locuință individuală viitoare).

The law applies to all residential developments sold before construction completion — new apartment buildings, condominium complexes, and individual houses sold off-plan. It affects developers (who must comply with new registration, financing, and documentation requirements), buyers (who receive enhanced protections), notaries (who must verify compliance before authenticating pre-sale agreements), banks (through dedicated project accounts), and the Land Registry authority (OCPI — Oficiul de Cadastru și Publicitate Imobiliară, which processes the new pre-apartmentation registrations).

Key Buyer Protection Measures

Mandatory Notarial Authentication

All pre-sale agreements (antecontracte / promisiuni de vânzare-cumpărare) for off-plan residential property must be notarially authenticated. A privately signed document — even if witnessed — does not have the legal force of a notarial deed and does not qualify for Land Registry registration under the new law. The notary verifies the parties’ identity, confirms the existence of the pre-apartmentation registration, explains the legal consequences, and authenticates the agreement. This requirement ensures that every off-plan transaction passes through a controlled, documented process.

Mandatory Land Registry Registration

The notarially authenticated pre-sale agreement must be registered (noted) in the Land Registry against the specific apartment’s individual land-registry entry (carte funciară individuală). This notation is public and enforceable against third parties (opozabilă terților) — meaning that anyone checking the Land Registry can see that the apartment has already been promised to a buyer. A second buyer conducting basic due diligence will discover the existing notation and know that the unit is not available. This is the single most important structural change: it makes double-selling detectable before it occurs.

Pre-Apartmentation (Preapartamentare)

Before selling any unit in a development project, the developer must complete pre-apartmentation — the formal registration of each individual apartment, parking space, storage unit, and commercial space as a separate entry in the Land Registry. Each unit receives its own individual land-registry number (număr de carte funciară individuală), even though the building does not yet exist physically. The units are registered as ‘future property’ (bun viitor) based on the building permit, the architectural plans, and cadastral documentation. Pre-apartmentation transforms each planned apartment from an abstract concept in a marketing brochure into a legally registered entity with a unique identifier.

Dedicated Project Bank Account

The developer must open a separate bank account dedicated to the specific project. Buyer advance payments must be deposited into this account. The funds in the account cannot be used for other projects, unrelated corporate expenses, or purposes outside the construction of the specific development. This ring-fencing of buyer funds is designed to prevent the diversion of deposits that characterised the Nordis scandal — where money paid for one project was allegedly used to fund entirely different ventures.

Advance Payment Restrictions

The law introduces strict limits on how much a developer can collect and spend from buyer advances at each construction stage.

Before vs After: How the Rules Changed

New Off-Plan Purchase Process Under the Nordis Law

1. Developer obtains building permit. The building permit (autorizație de construire) is issued by the local authority.
2. Building permit registered in Land Registry. The developer registers (notes) the building permit in the Land Registry on the project land’s registry entry.
3. Pre-apartmentation completed. The developer submits cadastral documentation to OCPI and obtains individual land-registry numbers for each planned unit — apartments, parking spaces, storage boxes.
4. Dedicated project bank account opened. The developer opens a separate bank account for the project.
5. Reservation agreement (optional). Buyer signs a reservation agreement with a maximum 5% reservation fee, deposited into the project account.
6. Pre-sale agreement (antecontract). Notarially authenticated. References the unit’s individual land-registry number. Noted in the Land Registry. Defines price, payment schedule, delivery date, specifications, penalties, and withdrawal conditions.
7. Stage payments during construction. Payments made to the dedicated project account as construction reaches defined milestones — structure, installations — within the legal caps.
8. Construction completion and inspection. Building completed, reception protocol signed, technical book of the building prepared.
9. Final sale-purchase agreement. Notarially authenticated transfer of ownership. Balance paid. The ‘future property’ notation converts to full ownership registration (intabulare).
10. Ownership registration. The buyer is registered as the owner in the Land Registry. The process is complete.

What Risks Still Remain?

The Nordis Law is a significant improvement — but it is not a guarantee of a safe purchase. The law closes the most egregious structural gaps (double-selling, unrestricted advance usage) but does not eliminate all risks.

How Foreign Buyers Benefit

• Greater transparency. Every off-plan apartment now has an individual Land Registry entry verifiable by anyone. Foreign buyers can confirm, independently, that the unit exists in the register, that no other buyer has a prior claim, and that the building permit is registered.
• Reduced fraud risk. The structural prevention of double-selling — the most damaging form of developer fraud — directly protects foreign buyers who may be less familiar with local market practices and less able to verify claims through informal channels.
• Clearer purchase process. The mandatory notarial form, Land Registry registration, and stage-gated payments create a defined, step-by-step process that is easier for foreign buyers and their lawyers to follow and verify.
• Increased market confidence. The law signals Romania’s commitment to EU-standard consumer protection in real estate — making the market more attractive to international investors who require regulatory certainty before committing capital.
• Stronger legal position. A pre-sale agreement that is notarially authenticated and registered in the Land Registry is substantially stronger than a privately signed document — it is enforceable against third parties, provides priority in insolvency proceedings, and creates a clear evidentiary record.

Practical Checklist for Off-Plan Buyers After the Nordis Law

1. Engage an independent Romanian real estate lawyer before contacting the developer.
2. Verify that the building permit is registered (noted) in the Land Registry.
3. Verify that pre-apartmentation is completed — the apartment has an individual land-registry number (număr de carte funciară individuală).
4. Confirm the existence of a dedicated project bank account.
5. Check the developer’s corporate registration, financial statements, and track record.
6. Verify that no other buyer has a prior notation on the specific unit’s Land Registry entry.
7. Review the pre-sale agreement — price, payment schedule (compliance with legal caps), delivery date, penalties, specifications, withdrawal rights.
8. Ensure the reservation fee does not exceed 5% of the purchase price.
9. Ensure the antecontract is notarially authenticated and registered in the Land Registry.
10. Monitor construction progress against the payment milestones defined in the contract.

Frequently Asked Questions