Transitional provisions, annexes, glossary and index

PART VIII - Transitional and Final Provisions (art. 573-584)

What it regulates. Code implementation schedule: entry into force, review committees, repeals, updating of General Urban Plans, ongoing procedures, transfer of competencies to Bucharest. This is the first part to read for anyone with ongoing projects.

General Urban Plan Update (art. 573). Local authorities shall approve, within 3 years from the entry into force of the code, the update of General Urban Plans that are older than 7 years at that date (art. 573 para. 1). General Urban Plans in force, including extended ones, retain their validity until the approval of the update, but no later than this deadline, without new extension acts (art. 573 para. 2). Penalty for non-compliance: prohibition to request or benefit from reimbursable or non-reimbursable funds, from the final decision of the I.S.C. finding (art. 573 para. 3). Partial handovers may be made for works under execution at entry into force (art. 574).

Entry into Force (art. 575). The Code enters into force 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette (art. 575 para. 1), automatically, without being conditioned by secondary legislation (art. 575 para. 2). Published in M.Of. no. 661 of 10 August 2026, the code applies from 25 August 2026.

Committees, Repeals, Equipment Tax (art. 576). Within a maximum of 45 working days from publication, the ministry shall establish the National Integrated Review Commission (art. 576 para. 1), and local authorities shall establish the local integrated review commission and the single approval commission (art. 576 para. 2). The following are repealed (art. 576 para. 3): Law no. 350/2001 on territorial planning and urbanism; Law no. 50/1991 on authorization of construction works; art. 1-9, 11-40 and 42-44 of Law no. 10/1995 on construction quality; Order no. 233/2016 (regulations of Law no. 350/2001), except annexes 4, 5 and 6; Order no. 839/2009 (regulations of Law no. 50/1991). From entry into force, local and county councils may establish the local equipment tax for the territory, intended exclusively for public infrastructure related to the area for which documentation is approved (art. 576 para. 4).

Application of Part IV of Book II (art. 577). Life cycle rules do not apply to public projects under HG no. 907/2016 under execution, with design procurements initiated, with projects received or submitted for approval, with approved financing or with documentation requiring update at entry into force (art. 577 para. 1). The regulations from HG no. 766/1997 (metrology, quality assurance, importance categories, behavior monitoring, technical approval), HG no. 925/1995 (verification and expertise), HG no. 273/1994 and HG no. 845/2018 (handover), HG no. 492/2018 (state control) and HG no. 203/2003 (regulation) remain in force until amended (art. 577 para. 3 and 5-8). Until the reference indices become operational, costs shall be substantiated according to the legislation in force at the time of code approval (art. 577 para. 4). The Ministry of Finance shall initiate amendments to the Tax Code for equipment taxes (art. 63 para. 3) and tenfold taxes on regularization (art. 301 para. 8) within 60 days from entry into force (art. 577 para. 9).

Normative Acts, Annexes, Deadlines (art. 578-581). Central and local authorities shall review their regulations and procedures by 31 December 2026 (art. 578 para. 1). Annexes no. 1-8 are part of the code (art. 579 para. 1); annex no. 1 shall be interpreted in accordance with the code's provisions (art. 579 para. 2). Deadlines shall be calculated according to art. 599 of the Administrative Code (art. 580). The Code is supplemented by the Administrative Code, the Administrative Litigation Law, the Code of Civil Procedure and the Civil Code (art. 581 para. 1). Authorities receiving new sanctioning powers shall review their regulations within 90 days (art. 581 para. 2). Important rule: in applying the code, the provisions of OG no. 2/2001 on the regime of contraventions are not applicable (art. 581 para. 3), except as expressly provided in art. 144 para. 4.

Ongoing Procedures (art. 582). Procedures for drafting, reviewing and approving documentation initiated previously remain subject to the law in force at the date of initiation (art. 582 para. 1); opinions not obtained may be obtained in simplified form through the integrated review commission, while preserving those already obtained (art. 582 para. 2). Local authorities shall initiate the preparation of documentation in GIS format (art. 582 para. 3). Urban certificates issued previously retain their validity, and authorizations are issued based on the opinions required by them (art. 582 para. 4); if competency has changed, the new authority issues the authorization based on the valid certificate (art. 582 para. 5). The date of initiation of the procedure is the date on which the initiation act is brought to the attention of third parties (art. 582 para. 6).

Repeals and Procedures (art. 583). Government decisions adopted under the repealed laws remain applicable until replaced, insofar as they do not contradict the code (art. 583 para. 1-2). References in other laws to the repealed provisions are deemed to be made to the code (art. 583 para. 3). Within 120 days of publication, all entities issuing opinions, approvals and authorizations shall update their procedures (art. 583 para. 4).

Bucharest (art. 584). From 1 November 2028, the general urban planning directorate led by the chief architect of the municipality, assisted by 7 deputy chief architects, shall be reorganized in the apparatus of the general mayor (art. 584 para. 1); from the same date, the competencies of sector mayors provided for in art. 132 and 134 are transferred to the general mayor (art. 584 para. 2). Normative acts for the transfer shall be adopted by 1 July 2027 (art. 584 para. 3); the 2028 budget provides the necessary amounts (art. 584 para. 4); pending requests at the date of transfer are handed over and resolved without restarting procedures (art. 584 para. 5).

Timeline for Code Implementation:

Code Annexes (art. 579)

The Code has eight annexes: annex no. 1, definition of terms; annex no. 2, framework content of the project for construction authorization; annex no. 3, framework content for single-family households in rural areas; annex no. 4, framework content of the project for alteration authorization; annex no. 5, framework content of the project for demolition authorization; annex no. 6, classification of buildings into consequence classes; annex no. 7, budget margins in the private sector; annex no. 8, budget margins for public works.

Annex no. 6 - Classification into consequence classes (selection)

Annexes no. 7 and 8 - Budget margins

Margins do not accumulate but are progressively reduced by stage. In the private sector (annex no. 7) they are plus or minus; for public works (annex no. 8) they are plus only, with the same values.

At stage 0, the beneficiary establishes the target budget by reference to existing indicators; at stages 1-2, the beneficiary, consultant and designer are responsible; at stages 3-4, the designer; at stage 5, the designer and contractor, based on the detailed quantity estimate.

Annex no. 1 - Practical Glossary

The definitions below have direct effect on the calculation of urban indicators and on the classification of works. They are presented in essence, with the exact figures from the annex.

Index: key articles

The table below lists the articles most frequently consulted in investment practice and real estate analysis, with their subject and the summary section in which they are covered. Each article number is a hyperlink to the full text.