Housing in Moldova

Private ownership is the dominant housing arrangement in Moldova, and 99.7% of the occupied housing stock was privately owned according to the 2024 Census. Urban renting is more relevant than rural renting; in Chișinău, 81.3% of households were owner-occupied. Housing may be acquired, rented, provided through a municipal or social programme, or supplied through supported arrangements such as protected housing and community houses. A buyer should check the property in the cadastral system before paying or taking possession. Cadastral registration records land and real-estate rights. The State Register of Immovable Property, administered through ASP, can show the registered owner, co-owners, restrictions, prohibitions, mortgages, servitudes and the property's cadastral identity. The buyer should also check inheritance or transfer documents, utility arrears, the building's technical and commissioning status, and signs of unauthorized alteration. Real-estate rights and transactions requiring registration must be registered with ASP after the legally required authentication and document checks. Property in Transnistria or Bender requires case-specific verification because right-bank ASP records and assumptions may not apply in the same way. A private lease, also called a contract of locațiune or închiriere, must be made in writing. It should identify the dwelling, landlord, tenant, term, rent, deposit, utilities, repairs, notice rules, inventory, meter readings, subletting and alterations. A lease for more than three years must be entered in the Registrul bunurilor imobile; without that entry, it may not be enforceable against third parties. A private individual who rents out property generally registers the rental contract with SFS within seven working days and pays 7% of the monthly contract value under current SFS guidance. Filing can be made at a tax office, through e-Cerere, by registered mail or by email. A non-written arrangement can be declared to SFS, but it gives weaker evidence of the agreed rent, payment history and responsibilities. A signed contract and traceable payments provide stronger protection. Social housing, called locuință socială, is assigned through a local council decision to a person or family needing social protection. Municipal eligibility rules, records, document lists and waiting arrangements vary, so no single national queue or universal housing-placement portal should be assumed. After a decision, the contract is generally concluded within 30 days and can last for up to five years. The authority checks continuing eligibility at least every 2.5 years, and an extension of up to five years may be available when the conditions continue and the required documents are submitted generally at least two months before expiry. The indicative living-space norm is 9 square metres per person, with a surplus of up to 12 square metres per family in specified cases. Rent and communal or non-communal services are paid according to the contract and invoice, generally by the 30th of the invoice month. Locuințe Publice III is a planned programme rather than a universal entitlement; official planning refers by 2030 to about 450 social homes, 730 student-dormitory places and 730 places in homes for older people, with access tied to projects and institutional criteria. Prima Casă Plus is a state-guaranteed mortgage pathway rather than an automatic right to a home. The programme page reports a maximum housing price of 2.5 million lei, a maximum credit term of 30 years, guarantee quotas of up to 70% outside Chișinău and 50% in Chișinău, and up to 65% for qualifying newer housing in Chișinău. Banks still assess income, documents, affordability and programme conditions. Interest rates, margins, fees and other bank terms can change and should be checked when applying. During occupancy, the lease determines many duties between landlord and tenant. The landlord must provide the agreed usable condition and freedom from material or legal defects. A material defect affecting use can support a rent reduction. Repairs, maintenance, alterations and subletting depend on the lease and applicable law. In a condominium, common property is jointly owned and administered by the owners association, called an asociație de proprietari din condominiu. Owners normally contribute proportionally to common costs, while a tenant pays those costs only when the contract assigns them. Utility arrangements should be checked separately from the lease. Record meter numbers and readings, identify the account holder, confirm the supply contract and check arrears for heating, water, sewerage, electricity and gas. A supplier complaint can be escalated to ANRE, the National Energy Regulatory Agency, whose consumer line is 0 8001 0008, and then to court where appropriate. Registration of domicile or temporary residence is an administrative population record; it does not create ownership or another housing right. ASP currently lists a 50 lei state duty plus a 50 lei tariff for the relevant registration service. When a housing arrangement ends, use a written handover record with the inventory, meter readings, keys and deposit reconciliation. Private lease termination follows the Civil Code, the contract, mutual agreement or an applicable statutory procedure. The Housing Law provides a three-month notice framework for landlord and tenant, while special no-notice grounds can include misuse, serious non-payment, significant damage, intolerable conduct, three months of unpaid assigned common costs or refusal of required common rehabilitation or utility works. A landlord cannot lawfully replace a formal eviction process with a self-help lockout. Ownership, rent, utilities, transaction charges, taxes, common costs and energy compensation have separate rules and variable amounts; current tariffs and processing times should be checked with ASP, SFS, the municipality, the notary, the bank or the utility provider handling the matter.