Building Code explained, by chapters

Article 301 paragraph (2) allows at any time a regularization permit for single-family ground floor or ground floor and one-storey dwellings with a maximum of 150 sqm built area, which are not historical monuments and are not located in protected areas, for dwelling annexes, farm annexes and agricultural operation annexes of a maximum of 150 sqm, as well as for balcony closures without extension on public domain. For any other building, paragraph (7) opens a window of at most one year from the entry into force of the code, so until August 2027. The small house and annex do not expire with the window: they remain regularizable even after that date.

State control fees are paid: 0.5% to the State Construction Inspectorate according to article 352 paragraph (1) and 0.1% for state control in urbanism, to which is added the authorization fee from the Tax Code, of 0.5% for individuals. All are applied to the value of works, not to the value of the property. For buildings in the one-year window provided for in paragraph (7), article 301 paragraph (8) sets fees and taxes ten times higher. For permanent regularization the usual percentages remain. Separately, the project, technical expertise and cadastral documentation are paid.

Article 357 paragraph (11) provides that the authority's right to ask the court for demolition or regularization is prescribed in ten years from the date of actual completion of the works. For a building completed more than ten years ago, the demolition action can no longer be initiated. However, prescription does not transform the building into an authorized one: for sale, mortgage credit or full land registration, the file still needs to be put in order.

Article 301 paragraph (11) increases the building tax by 100%, from the date the municipality ascertains the situation until the regularization permit is obtained or the works are demolished. Payment of the increased tax does not regularize the building and does not remove construction discipline sanctions. After the one-year window expires, paragraph (12) obliges the mayor to ask the court for demolition, the request to be made within 30 days of the deadline expiration. The demolition ruling is an enforceable title and demolition is carried out at the owner's expense.

Article 299 paragraph (2) letter c) exempts from any formality the exterior annexes of single-family dwellings in rural areas, such as covered terraces, pergolas, summer kitchens, kiosks, storage sheds or sanitary facilities, if they do not exceed a cumulative 20 sqm and 2.5 m height, are without foundation, demountable, on wood or metal structure, and comply with the general urban plan and local regulations. In urban areas the exemption does not apply, and the building remains an annex that is permanently regularized under the conditions of article 301 paragraph (2).

No. Closing an existing balcony, without extending into public domain, is expressly mentioned in article 301 section (2), so it can be regularized at any time, without deadline. A newly built balcony, added to the façade, is an extension of the building and falls under section (7), meaning within a one-year window, with fees and quotas multiplied tenfold under section (8).

The application is submitted on form F_AR_01, request for issuance of regularization authorization, approved by Order of the Minister of Development, Public Works and Administration no. 975/2026, mandatory from 26 August 2026. The file includes cadastral documentation with the survey of the building as executed, the updated authorization project, technical expertise on the fundamental quality requirements provided in article 301 section (9), property deeds and approvals required by environmental regulations, according to sections (3) and (4).

If the building was registered in the land register, the construction appears as existing in official records, and the code glossary classifies it as an existing building. Regularization concerns works executed without authorization or in breach of it, so for a building already registered there is no longer a question of a regularization authorization for the registered structure. Any extensions or modifications made after registration, which do not appear in the land register, remain to be dealt with separately.

Article 301 section (3) conditions the issuance of regularization authorization on cumulative compliance with environmental legislation, fundamental quality requirements in construction and applicable urban planning regulations. If the location breaches the local regulation, through setbacks, street frontage below the required minimum, exceeded occupancy percentage or non-conforming use, the file does not proceed in its current form. Section (10) allows the City Hall to request works to bring into compliance, and section (6) a partial demolition authorization. When non-conformity concerns zone regulation, the only way remains exemption through a detailed or zonal urban plan.