House swap used to be in fashion in the communist period and in the early 90s, but has lost popularity to house acquisitions. However, house exchange seems to have increasing popularity again nowadays. Around 10% of the real estate announcements in Romania focus on house swapping, according to Digi24.

Those who do house swapping avoid the acquisition procedure, but cannot avoid paying taxes. The swap contract can be signed at the notary. However, if a difference in value has to be paid, the state will ask for a tax on both apartments, according to Digi24. It’s more complicated however to do this when one of the swapped properties is mortgaged, as the bank will have a say in the process as well, as the new house owner needs to take over the loan as well, according to experts.

editor@romania-insider.com