CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LIMITATIONS IN ROMANIAN LEGISLATION REGARDING THE ALIENATION AND EXECUTION OF LAND CONTRACTS

Abstract

The execution of agreements aimed at transferring ownership of real estate is hampered both by the behavior of the seller, who refuses to fulfill his obligations, and by legal regulations that make it difficult to transfer ownership of real estate by imposing important obligations on the seller. The legislation of the last ten years has made it much more difficult to carry out sales of land, especially outside the built-up areas of localities. A legal modification from 2020 implements a series of important legal changes related to the holders of pre-emption rights, but also concerning the specific ways of selling agricultural land located outside built-up areas, when the holder of pre-emption rights does not want to buy. Whenever the court is asked to give a decision which supersedes a selling contract, the petition is admissible only if the pre-contract is legally signed, in accordance with Civil code provisions, and all other legal requirements are fulfilled, meaning: obtaining all necessary authorizations, respecting pre-emption rights, respecting the fiscal and land registration requirements. Following the latest legislative changes imposed by Law No. 116 of 2024, failure to comply with these obligations is sanctioned, as the case may be, with absolute or relative nullity of the concluded contract. In finding solutions for the execution of these contracts, the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania has an important role, which has ruled through several decisions that are presented in this study.