Housing

Steps

1. Search on listing sites and with agencies. Rents are highest in Sofia and in the big cities (Varna, Plovdiv, Burgas), where they can be up to ten times more expensive than in small towns (EURES).
2. Sign a written lease with the landlord: amount, payment date, charges, deposit, duration and notice. Ask for a receipt if you pay in cash.
3. Keep an official proof of address: to register at the employment office, EURES mentions an address certificate issued by the Migration directorate of the local police (РДВР); for some internship or training programmes, EURES asks for a current (temporary) address certificate issued by the municipality.
4. To buy: the seller provides their identity documents, proof of ownership and the statement of encumbrances (mortgages, seizures); the sale is signed before a notary and registered in the land register.
5. Pay the acquisition tax at the time of transfer, to the municipality where the property is located.
6. After the purchase, no property tax declaration is required for a property acquired for consideration (ЗМДТ, art. 14, para. 3): the notary and the registry service inform your municipality within 7 days, it sets the annual tax according to the property's tax valuation and notifies you (art. 51). You owe it from the month following the transfer, unless the seller has already paid it (art. 15, para. 2): check this notification (sheet BG-IMPOTS-TOUS-001). A declaration is still required in other cases, for example for a new building that does not go through commissioning (art. 14, para. 1).

Documents

• Identity document; for a foreigner, personal number (ЛНЧ) or residence document (sheet BG-NIF-TOUS-001).
• For a purchase: seller's title deed, encumbrance certificate, notarial deed.

Costs and timelines

• Rents (EURES, 2025 data): two-room flat at about €9-10 per m² in Sofia, €8-9 in Varna, €8 in Plovdiv, €6-7 in Burgas.
• Purchase prices (EURES, 2025 data): two-room flat at about €1,550 per m² in Sofia, €1,650 in Varna, €1,250 in Plovdiv, €1,600 in Burgas, €1,170 in Veliko Tarnovo, €730 in Vidin.
• Local acquisition tax (данък при придобиване на имущества по възмезден начин, tax on acquisition for consideration, articles 44 to 51 of the local taxes and fees law, ЗМДТ, rules in force in 2026):
  • it covers housing and other real estate, limited property rights over real estate and motor vehicles purchased;
  • it is the buyer who pays it, unless the parties agree otherwise; if the buyer is abroad, it is the seller (ЗМДТ, art. 45);
  • it is calculated on the agreed price, or on the property's tax valuation if that is higher;
  • the rate is set by each municipal council, between 0.1% and 3% of this value. In Sofia, it is the maximum: 3% of the valuation of the property transferred (in case of exchange, of the property of greater value), a rate set by article 35, paragraph 2 of the municipal council ordinance on local taxes, in force since 1 January 2020 (2% before) and recalled by municipal council decision No. 1036 of 18/12/2025; for a property elsewhere, ask the municipality for the rate;
  • it is paid at the time of transfer, to the municipality where the property is located (art. 49); the notary concludes the sale only after checking that it has been paid (art. 50); in case of delay, interest is added;
  • the State, municipalities, certain public bodies, the Red Cross and recognised religions (for their places of worship) are notably exempt.
• Registration of the deed of sale in the land register: state fee of 0.1% of the price stated in the deed, at least 10 лв. (€5.11); without a price, it is calculated on the tax valuation (Registry Agency fees tariff, art. 2, in force in 2026).
• Notary fees: to be confirmed (official notary scale not read).
• Deposit: the lease articles in the Obligations and Contracts Act (Закон за задълженията и договорите, art. 228 to 239) do not provide for a deposit and do not cap its amount. Its amount is negotiated and written in the lease. The same law limits a lease to 10 years (except a commercial lease) and sets the notice for a lease with no fixed term at one month.

Common pitfalls

• Paying in cash without a receipt.
• Signing without checking the property's encumbrances: ask for the encumbrance certificate before the sale.
• Prices still shown in leva: dual lev-euro display was compulsory until 8 August 2026, and the Registry Agency fees tariff, in its consolidated version published on 1 August 2026, still speaks of leva; check the amount in euros in the contract.
• Declaring too low a price: the tax is calculated in any case on the tax valuation if it is higher than the price.
• Buying land, especially agricultural: the purchase of land by foreigners is subject to special rules (see the Constitution and the Property Act below; the rules specific to agricultural land were not read in an official source); have your situation checked by a notary before signing.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens: renting and buying a home possible. The Constitution allows foreigners to acquire land "on the conditions arising from Bulgaria's accession to the EU" (art. 22, para. 1); the Property Act (art. 29, para. 2) specifies that citizens of the EU and EEA States can acquire land in compliance with the requirements set by law, under the conditions of the accession treaty, and its art. 29а opens the purchase of land for a second home to people who do not reside permanently in Bulgaria, once the period in the accession treaty has elapsed. For agricultural land, special conditions are added (to be confirmed: law on ownership and use of agricultural land not read).
• Swiss citizens: art. 29, para. 2 of the Property Act only mentions the EU and the EEA; to buy land, have your situation checked by a notary (to be confirmed).
• British citizens (Scots included) and other non-Europeans: according to the Constitution (art. 22, para. 1) and the Property Act (art. 29, para. 1), a foreigner from a third country can acquire ownership of land only under an international treaty ratified by Bulgaria, or by legal inheritance. For an apartment or a house, the Property Act (art. 29, para. 4) allows foreigners to acquire buildings and limited property rights over real estate, unless the law provides otherwise; the land that goes with it comes under the rules above: have a notary check how they apply to your purchase before signing.