Buying a tenanted home in Bulgaria: when will you receive vacant possession?

If you are buying a Bulgarian home occupied by a tenant, the issue is not merely when you receive the keys. You need to establish what lease exists and whether it will bind you as the new owner.

Article 237 of the Obligations and Contracts Act provides different consequences. A lease registered in the Property Register remains effective against the buyer. A lease concluded before the transfer and bearing a legally reliable date may bind the buyer for the agreed term, but for no more than one year after the transfer. Where there is no such date but the tenant is in occupation, the statute provides consequences corresponding to a lease without a fixed term.

Obtain the actual lease, not only the seller's explanation

Review the term, parties, amendments, notice provisions, security deposit, prepaid rent and termination clauses. Check whether the lease is registered and which date can be relied on against third parties.

An oral assurance that “the tenant will leave before closing” is not enough. If vacant possession is essential to your purchase, turn it into a verifiable contractual obligation with a deadline and consequences for non-performance.

Define vacant possession

Vacant handover normally involves more than handing over keys: occupation should have ended, personal belongings should be removed and a handover record should document the condition. If the seller must procure vacancy before the notarial transfer, this can be connected to the payment structure where appropriate.

Allocate rent, utilities and the deposit

If the lease continues after the purchase, specify who receives rent from the transfer date, how the tenant's security deposit is transferred and how utilities are reconciled. Do not assume that all financial relations between the former landlord and the tenant have been settled.

Avoid buying an existing dispute without assessing it

If the seller and tenant already disagree about termination or possession, assess that dispute before you buy. Your purchase price and planned move-in date do not override the lease or applicable law.

For a specific transaction, review the lease together with title, Property Register entries and the provisions of your own preliminary agreement.