Tenant not paying rent? Lawful eviction, step by step.

Your tenant is not paying and will not leave: what can you do?

In short: you cannot remove the tenant yourself. The Romanian Civil Code provides that, unless the law states otherwise, a tenant is evicted on the basis of a court judgment.

The lawful route usually has four stages: ending the tenancy agreement, serving an eviction notice through a court enforcement officer, filing an eviction claim with the court and, if the tenant still does not leave, enforcement by the enforcement officer.

There is one exception: if a fixed-term agreement signed before a notary or registered with ANAF (the Romanian tax authority) has expired, you can go straight to an enforcement officer, without eviction proceedings.

Mind the calendar: between 1 December and 1 March, a forced eviction from a home cannot be carried out, save for the exceptions provided by law. The court proceedings, however, can continue during this period.

What you must not do, even though you own the property

Owning the home does not give you the right to carry out the eviction yourself. Romanian criminal law protects the home of the person who actually lives in it, even if that person is not the owner.

So avoid:

• changing the locks or blocking access to the home;
• entering the flat without the tenant's consent;
• putting the tenant's belongings outside;
• cutting off the electricity, water, gas or heating to put pressure on the tenant;
• making threats or using force.

Entering a home unlawfully, without the consent of the person living there, may constitute the offence of violation of domicile (Article 224 of the Romanian Criminal Code). Occupying property in another person's possession by violence or threats may constitute disturbance of possession (Article 256 of the Romanian Criminal Code). The tenant may also claim damages from you, and your position in the eviction proceedings may become more difficult.

After how many months of unpaid rent can you seek eviction?

Many landlords look for a fixed "three months of arrears" rule. That rule did exist in Housing Law No. 114/1996, but the relevant articles (Articles 21–33) were repealed when the new Civil Code came into force on 1 October 2011.

Today the Civil Code does not set a minimum number of months. Non-payment of rent entitles you to seek termination of the agreement. What matters, however, is how serious the breach is: an isolated delay of a few days does not, in principle, justify termination, whereas repeated non-payment may do so, even if each missed payment seems small on its own.

What the agreement says is just as important. A well-drafted clause can greatly simplify the procedure, while a vague one can complicate it.

First step: the tenancy agreement must come to an end

As long as the agreement is in force, the tenant is entitled to use the home. The first step is therefore to end the agreement. The route depends on your situation:

A badly drafted notice — with no deadline, sent without proof of delivery or contradicting your own agreement — can delay the whole process. It is worth having it checked before it is sent.

When can you go straight to an enforcement officer, without eviction proceedings?

The Civil Code provides an exception to the rule that a court judgment is required. A fixed-term tenancy agreement signed before a notary, or a private written agreement registered with ANAF, is, under the conditions laid down by law, an enforceable title for handing back the home when the term expires. The same applies to an indefinite-term agreement concluded in the same form, once you have terminated it and the notice period has run out.

In these cases you can instruct a court enforcement officer directly, without an eviction judgment. The enforcement officer asks the court to authorise enforcement, after which the same steps apply as when a judgment is enforced: the tenant has 8 days to leave voluntarily and may then be evicted by force.

The exception has its limits, however:

• it covers handing back the home when the term or notice period expires, not termination of the agreement for non-payment before the end of the term — in that case you will usually need a court judgment;
• if, after expiry, you let the tenant stay on and keep paying without objecting, a new indefinite-term agreement may be deemed to have been concluded, and enforcement based on the old term may be challenged;
• the winter rule (1 December – 1 March) also applies in this case;
• the tenant can challenge the enforcement and, because the enforceable title is not a court judgment, may also raise defences on the merits, under the conditions laid down by law.

Quite apart from handing back the home, an agreement signed before a notary or registered with ANAF is also an enforceable title for unpaid rent, on the dates set out in the agreement.

The eviction notice served by a court enforcement officer

Under the special eviction procedure in the Romanian Code of Civil Procedure, once the agreement has ended you serve the tenant, through a court enforcement officer, with a notice requiring them to vacate the home and hand it back within no more than 30 days of service.

For a fixed-term agreement, the eviction notice must be served at least 30 days before the term expires, unless the law provides otherwise. For an indefinite-term agreement, the notice terminating the agreement also serves as the eviction notice.

If, after receiving the notice, the tenant leaves — hands back the keys, removes their belongings and stops using the home — you can take back possession without going to court.

Filing the eviction claim with the court

If the tenant refuses to leave, you file the eviction claim with the court of first instance for the area where the home is located — for a flat in the city of Iași, the Iași Court of First Instance.

The special procedure has several advantages over ordinary proceedings:

• the claim is heard as a matter of urgency, in chambers, with summary argument;
• if eviction is sought for non-payment of rent and the agreement is an enforceable title for the rent (signed before a notary or registered with ANAF), the claim may be decided without summoning the parties;
• you can also claim the rent arrears in the same case, including amounts falling due during the proceedings — in that case the parties are summoned;
• the eviction judgment is immediately enforceable, and the tenant can only appeal against it within 5 days of the judgment being delivered or, where applicable, served;
• enforcement of the judgment is not suspended automatically: where the eviction is for non-payment of rent, the tenant may apply for a stay in an enforcement challenge or on appeal, and the court may grant it only if the tenant deposits the rent they have been ordered to pay and the amounts for the months falling due during the proceedings.

The special procedure is optional: you can also choose ordinary proceedings, for example when you ask the court itself to terminate the agreement. Choosing the right route depends on the agreement and on what has happened so far.

Enforcement: how the eviction is actually carried out

With the eviction judgment, you instruct a court enforcement officer. The enforcement officer asks the court to authorise enforcement and then serves the tenant with the authorisation and the enforceable title.

The tenant has 8 days from service to leave voluntarily. If they do not, the enforcement officer goes to the property and evicts them, with the assistance of the police or the gendarmerie if necessary.

The eviction applies to everyone living with the tenant, even if they did not sign the agreement. Belongings that the tenant does not collect are entrusted to a custodian at the tenant's expense, and the enforcement officer sets a deadline of no more than one month for collecting them.

Can an eviction take place in winter? The 1 December – 1 March rule

The Romanian Code of Civil Procedure provides that no eviction from residential property may be carried out from 1 December until 1 March of the following year.

The law nevertheless allows an eviction during this period in two situations: if the landlord proves that they and their family have no suitable home available to them, or if the landlord proves that the tenant and their family have another suitable home they could move into immediately.

Nor does the ban apply to people who unlawfully occupy a home by their own act, without any title, or to people evicted because they endanger peaceful coexistence or seriously disturb public order. A tenant who moved in lawfully and then stopped paying is not, as a rule, an unlawful occupier without title.

The tenant has young children. Can they still be evicted?

Yes, on the basis of a court judgment. The Romanian Code of Civil Procedure contains no separate exception for families with children. The main protection is the winter rule, which applies to any eviction from a home, with or without children.

The eviction judgment is enforced against everyone living with the tenant, including the members of the tenant's family.

The presence of children, however, makes it all the more important to follow the procedure strictly. Any pressure outside the law — a blocked door, the heating cut off in the middle of winter — is risky for the landlord. A written agreement on the date of departure and the payment of arrears can often resolve the situation faster and more cheaply than enforcement.

How to recover the unpaid rent

Eviction gives you back the home, but it does not automatically bring you the money. For rent arrears, you have several options:

• if the agreement was signed before a notary or registered with ANAF, it is an enforceable title for the rent on the dates set out in it, so you can go straight to an enforcement officer for those amounts;
• you can claim the rent arrears in the same case as the eviction;
• you can use the payment order procedure, after sending the tenant a formal demand giving them 15 days to pay;
• if the amount claimed does not exceed RON 50,000, excluding interest and legal costs, you can use the small claims procedure;
• for damage to the home, you can claim compensation separately.

If other people also lived in the home and the agreement did not prohibit this, they are jointly and severally liable with the tenant for the obligations under the agreement for the period during which they used the home.

A favourable judgment does not, however, guarantee that you will recover the money: if the former tenant has no income or assets that can be seized, enforcement may be difficult.

How to protect yourself from the start when letting a home

Most problems can be prevented when the agreement is signed:

• if you are an individual letting a home from your personal assets, you must register the agreement with ANAF within 30 days of signing it (Form 168); besides meeting the tax obligation, registration makes the agreement an enforceable title for the rent and, when the agreement expires, for handing back the home;
• include an express clause providing for automatic termination for non-payment of rent, with a clear deadline;
• set out in writing who pays the utilities and service charges and how payment is proved;
• keep proof of payments and your correspondence with the tenant.

For stronger protection, the agreement can also be signed in authenticated form before a notary.

Conclusion: lawful eviction is the only safe route

A tenant who neither pays nor leaves is a stressful situation, especially when the home is an important source of income. Quick fixes — changed locks, utilities cut off — may seem effective, but they can expose you to civil and criminal liability.

The lawful route has clear stages: ending the agreement, serving notice through an enforcement officer, obtaining an eviction judgment and enforcement. Between 1 December and 1 March the physical eviction is, as a rule, on hold, but the procedure can move forward. The sooner you start, the sooner you can get your home back.

Updated on 10 November 2026. This article provides general information on Romanian law. The appropriate solution depends on the agreement, the notices sent and the circumstances of the case. It does not replace individual legal advice.

Legislative sources

• Romanian Civil Code – Articles 1551–1553 (termination) and 1798, 1809, 1810, 1816, 1824 and 1830–1832 (residential tenancies)
• Romanian Code of Civil Procedure – Articles 896–902 (forced eviction), 1014–1025 (payment order), 1026–1033 (small claims) and 1034–1045 (eviction procedure)
• Romanian Criminal Code – Articles 224 and 256
• Law No. 71/2011 – Article 230(s) (repeal of Articles 21–33 of the Housing Law)