Buy Property in Bulgaria

The purpose of this article is to clarify what are the specifics of the process buy property in Bulgaria (buy a house in Bulgaria) by foreign citizens. If you have any legal questions regarding property sales Bulgaria and ownership in Bulgaria, do not hesitate to contact us! We do legal research on properties in Bulgaria.

Can foreign citizens and foreign legal entities buy property in Bulgaria (buy a house in Bulgaria)?

According to the current Bulgarian legislation, foreigners and foreign legal entities can acquire:

• ownership rights to buildings and limited real rights to immovable property in the country;
• limited property rights on agricultural land under the conditions and according to the procedure determined by law;
• right of ownership of land in the following cases:
• under the conditions resulting from the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union;
• by an international treaty, ratified, promulgated, and entered into force for the Republic of Bulgaria;
• by legal inheritance.

It is important to specify that foreign citizens from the EU member states or the countries that are parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) can acquire land under the following conditions:

as of 01.01.2012 and currently – land for a second home (different from the main one);

as of 01.01.2014 – agricultural land, forests, and forest land;

as an exception, at the moment EU citizens who are self-employed farmers and wish to settle and permanently reside in Bulgaria can acquire the right of ownership of agricultural and forest properties for agricultural use. These persons should be registered in this capacity by the BULSTAT Registry Act.

What type of real estate can be subject to acquisition?

From the point of view of the objects and the volume of the exercised right of ownership in Bulgaria, the following three types of property rights can be distinguished:

• Ownership of land – which in turn may represent regulated or unregulated territory (agricultural land);
• Ownership of buildings – which can be residential (house, villa building, apartment), commercial (office, shop), and business premises;
• Limited property rights – the right of construction, right of use, easements, etc.;

It is recommended that the buyer visits and inspects the property in person and familiarizes himself with its actual condition before deciding to purchase it. Do not buy property in Bulgaria without seeing it yourself. This saves many problems that could arise when buying a property based only on an online ad, photos, and electronic correspondence with a real estate agency.

It is important to know that the procedure for buying real estate in Bulgaria is the same for a foreigner and a Bulgarian citizen. That is, a foreign citizen who has purchased a property has the same rights over it as a citizen of the Republic of Bulgaria. We can provide you with legal assistance with property sales in Bulgaria.

If you want to make an appointment for a consultation with our Bulgarian lawyers, contact us at +359 888 19 46 20, or by email at stoyanovlegalpractice@gmail.com. Take advantage of the online consultation service now!