How to Protect Yourself from Real Estate Fraud in Moldova

What happened

The Minister of Infrastructure recently confirmed that about 5,000 apartments, located in 27 buildings across the country, cannot be legally occupied: the buildings are either unregistered or were built without a construction permit. In practice, people who have already bought these apartments cannot legally take possession of them, and the authorities are now looking for solutions.

In response, the National Inspectorate for Technical Supervision published an official guide for homebuyers, with the exact steps everyone should follow before signing a contract.

Why this matters to you

A real estate purchase isn't easily cancelled. If you sign without checking the documents, you risk:

• not being able to register the apartment in your name;
• discovering later that the property is mortgaged, seized, or involved in a legal dispute;
• being left with money invested in a building that will never be legally occupied.

The good news: these risks can be significantly reduced if you know which documents to request before paying any deposit.

If the building is already in use

Before signing the contract, ask the notary to check:

• the extract from the Real Estate Register — shows who the registered owner is, what rights and encumbrances are recorded, and whether they have the right to dispose of the property;
• the geometric plan — lets you compare the property's characteristics with the cadastral documentation data.

These two documents help you verify information about the property, registered rights, and any encumbrances. However, whether the building has actually been put into use and whether it complies with legal requirements must be checked separately.

If the building is still under construction

When buying a "future asset" (an apartment that doesn't physically exist yet), the list of documents is longer:

• the construction permit — confirms that the necessary permit for construction work exists;
• the project documentation — lets you verify the planned characteristics of the future property;
• the extract from the Real Estate Register, which shows who owns the land and what rights the developer has over it.

The contract must clearly state the exact deadline for completing construction and putting the property into use, as well as a clear penalty in case the developer is late.

Why work with a professional real estate agent

Checking these documents takes time, legal knowledge, and access to registries — this is exactly where a professional real estate agent comes in. A specialist doesn't list a property without first checking its documents, which means an extra layer of protection compared to a direct transaction without an intermediary. If you want to buy or sell a home safely, the AIR team checks every property in its portfolio before listing it.

Source

Information about the official guide and the statements by the Minister of Infrastructure comes from a report by PRO TV Chișinău: Mii de familii riscă să rămână fără locuințe.