THE METHODOLOGICAL NORMS OF LAW NO 17/2014 (AS IT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY ORDER NO 719/740/M57/2333/2014) DETAILS THE PRINCIPALS RULES AND PROCEDURAL ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE FOLLOWED IN THE EVENT OF PURCHASING AGRICULTURAL LANDS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE CITIES LIMITS.

The purchasing process of agricultural lands located outside the city limits initiates with filing a request address to the City Hall, where the lands in question are located, through which the owner requires the display of its selling offer regarding the agricultural lands. The application shall be accompanied by the purchasing offer, as well as a series of documents proving the identity of the owner-seller and the ownership of that land.

The purchasing offer shall be displayed at the City Hall’s headquarter and, where appropriate, on the public institution’s site for a period of 30 days. During this period, the holders of the preemption right shall be able to exercise their right regarding the land’s purchase through the submission before the City Hall of the offer’s acceptance, accompanied also by the documents certifying its identity and its quality as a preemptor.

We remind you that the holders of the preemption right, in the order of preference predetermined through the provisions of Law no 17/2014, are as follows: co-owners, tenants, owners of neighboring buildings that have a common border with the land submitted for purchase and the Romanian State through the National Agency of State Domains.

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The seller’s option in choosing the preemptor buyer shall be expressed by respecting the priority rank established by the Law no 17/2014 in the order abovementioned, as well as the price’s conditions offered by the preemptor buyer and furthermore the seller shall indicate its name to the City Hall. Within 3 working days, the City Hall shall transmit the purchase’s file to the local structures and, if it is the case, to the central structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which shall issue the Final Notice or the negative Notice regarding the agricultural land’s acquisition by the holder of the preemption right, under the following conditions:

For the agricultural lands with a surface area exceeding 30 ha including, the Notice shall be issued by the territorial structures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and

For the agricultural lands whose area exceeds 30 hectares, the Notice issuance incumbent on the central structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The validity of the final Notice is 6 months starting with the date of its communication to the land’s owner. However, the Romanian legislator has allowed the possibility of extending its validity on the assumption that the parties have perfected a Bilateral Promise of sale-purchase or an Option Pact between the Notice’s period of validity, whose object regards the agricultural land located outside the city’s limits for which the final Notice has been previously issued.
The negative Notice can be given in case the previous verifications have revealed the non-accomplishing the legal procedure regarding the exercise of the preemption right, notice that shall be provided by the Office of Cadaster and Real Estate Publicity located in the territorial division of the agricultural land’s location, as subject for the further purchase, in order to be noted into the Land Book. In the same time, the negative Notice could be removed from the Land Book, by the subsequent issuance of a further positive final Notice, a Certificate regarding the free sale or an irreversible Decision.

In case none of the holders of the preemption right does not show their interest in acquiring the agricultural land, the owner may proceed with the land’s purchase to third parties, but could not sold it at a lower price or any other terms more favorable than those initially predetermined through the selling offer that was displayed at the City Hall. Otherwise, the civil sanction applied to any contracts or similar legal acts is the relative nullity.

Perfecting the Sale-purchase Agreement before a Public Notary shall be conditioned upon the following mandatory documents:

Letter issued by the City Hall in which jurisdiction the agricultural land is located, and through which it is decided if it is necessary or not the issuance of a specific Notice from the Ministry of Culture and, if it is appropriate, of a specific Notice issued by these Ministry, regarding the lands where are located any archaeological sites, have been established an archaeological heritage areas or accidentally revealed archeological areas;

A certificate issued by the City Hall, showing that the purchase is free of charges, as well as a copy of the selling offer certified for conformity by the City Hall’s officials;

The Notice issued by the Ministry of National Defense for the agricultural lands outside the city located in a depth of 30 km from the Romanians states borders and the Black Sea’s coast, and those located at a distance of up to 2,400 km from the special military objectives.

L’avis délivrée par le Ministère de la Défense Nationale pour les terrains agricoles situés sur une approfondie de 30 km de la frontière de l’Etat Roumain et du littoral de la Mer Noire, ainsi que ceux situés à une distance de maximum 2.400 km par rapport aux objectifs spéciaux.

The agricultural lands purchase which violates the legal rules regarding the preemption right exercise or without obtaining the necessary Notices from the competent Public Authorities attracts the application of the relative nullity. In equal measure, the purchase of agricultural lands located outside the city without respecting the preemption right represents a contravention, punishable by a fine between 50,000 RON and 100,000 RON.