Entering legality for a building
Built without a permit, or beyond it? Here is what entering legality involves, when it is possible and where the procedure starts.
Check which rules apply to you
The urbanism code applies from 25 August 2026. If you already have an urbanism certificate issued before that date, the approvals it requires follow the rules in force when it was issued.
Your application will follow the new rules (CATUC), in force from 25 August 2026.
This result is indicative only. The exact rules for your file are determined by the issuing town hall.
If you built without a permit, or breached the one you had, the Codul urbanismului introduces the autorizație de regularizare (regularisation permit).
Who can obtain an autorizație de regularizare
Only for buildings with a single-family housing function, with a ground-floor or ground-floor-plus-one-storey height regime, with a total built floor area of at most 150 sqm, which are not historic monuments and are located outside monument protection zones and protected built-up areas.
It also applies to housing annexes, household annexes or agricultural holding annexes, also up to 150 sqm, as well as to enclosing balconies without extending onto public land.
Important: for a period of at most 1 year from the law entering into force, that is until 25 August 2027, the autorizație de regularizare can also be requested for other categories of buildings besides those above. Art. 301 para. (7) sets four cumulative conditions, though: the works must fit the urbanism regulations approved at the date the regularisation permit is issued, meet the fundamental construction quality requirements, the tax obligations must be met, and the contravention measures must have been applied. Inside that window the state control levies and the urbanism certificate and permit fees are ten times higher (art. 301 para. 8).
Conditions that must be met cumulatively
- Compliance with the conditions imposed by environmental protection legislation.
- Compliance with the fundamental requirements applicable to buildings.
- Compliance with the applicable urban planning regulations.
The town hall may require compliance works to be carried out before issuing the permit. If only partial technical solutions exist, the town hall may require obtaining a building or partial demolition permit.
The check is carried out by certified technical experts for each field: mechanical resistance and stability, fire safety, hygiene and environment, operational safety, noise protection, energy efficiency.
What happens if you do not regularise
- For buildings not yet regularised when the code entered into force, the building tax increases by 100% (art. 301 para. 11), from the moment the town hall records the situation until the autorizație de regularizare is obtained or the works are demolished. Paying the increased tax does not regularise the building and does not remove the sanctions.
- The town hall can ask the court for the total or partial demolition of the building, or for measures to restore the previous state.
- A court ruling for demolition is carried out at the expense of the party at fault.
- The town hall's right to ask the court for demolition or regularisation of the works, where the party sanctioned for the contravention did not comply with the measures ordered in the report, is time-barred 10 years after the actual completion date of the works.
How AutoRize helps
- Generates the urbanism certificate request, the starting point of any later regularisation.
- Prepares the aviz requests and the dossier opis, in Word and PDF.
- Shows which avize your case involves and which fees and deadlines apply.
- Keeps your project data, so you do not re-enter it for every document.
Frequently asked questions
What does entering legality mean?
The procedure through which a building executed without a permit or with deviations receives the necessary authorisation afterwards, when the work can be brought in line with the urban planning rules.
Is it guaranteed?
No. If the work breaches the rules and cannot be brought in line with them, authorisation is refused and the measure ordered may be demolition.
What happens with the fine?
The contravention sanction is applied separately from the authorisation procedure. Paying the fine does not replace obtaining the documents and does not by itself legalise the building.
Where do I start?
From an urbanism certificate obtained for the existing situation, and from an assessment by a designer, who establishes whether the work fits within the rules.
Can I register an unauthorised building?
Registration in the land book requires documents attesting that the building was lawfully erected. Without them, registering, selling or insuring the property becomes difficult.
Useful pages for the same dossier
Start from the urbanism certificate
Start for free, no card, and generate the urbanism certificate request for the situation of your land.