Romania’s 2026 property tax: old-apartment comparisons need an age-relief check

A report published on 11 October compared the cost of buying older and newer apartments in several Romanian cities. It illustrated how a previous annual building tax of 170 lei might rise to 306, 391 or 510 lei in different cases. Those examples are not a nationwide schedule. Local authorities set relevant rates, while the building’s category, tax base and documented details all matter. An owner must examine the actual municipality-specific assessment, rather than apply a multiplier from an article to every property.

The legislation also changed after the original increase. Law 239/2025 removed several earlier age-related adjustments, but Emergency Ordinance 9/2026, dated 27 February, reintroduced reductions in taxable value for qualifying older buildings. The reduction is 15% for a building aged from 50 to 100 years and 25% for a building more than 100 years old. Romania’s government and local tax offices subsequently explained those provisions. Describing all old apartments as having no age relief in 2026 would therefore omit a material qualification.

Before buying, ask for the current local tax assessment, verify the official building completion year and check whether substantial renovation changes the calculation. A taxable value is not identical to the price in a property listing. Plans for future market-value-based assessment should also be kept separate from rules that are in force today.