When people hear "property at public sale", most picture an auction run by a private bailiff. But debtors' property is also sold by Bulgaria's National Revenue Agency (НАП / NRA) — when the debt is owed to the state (taxes, social security) and enforcement is handled by an NRA public enforcement agent (публичен изпълнител). These sales are governed by the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code (ДОПК), not the Civil Procedure Code, and the rules differ in ways that matter.
Below we explain how the sale works, the deadlines and costs, and what to check before you pay a deposit. Bailiff sales are covered separately in our guide to buying at a bailiff's public sale, and municipal auctions in our guide to buying municipal property at auction.
Every sale is announced with a notice stating the method of sale, the time and place for viewing, the date and place of the auction, a description of the property and the starting price (Art. 243 ДОПК). It is posted at the NRA office and at the place of viewing or sale, and published on the agency's website.
In practice the easiest route is the NRA sales portal, sales.nra.bg: it lets you search by property type and region, browse a map, and subscribe free of charge to e-mail alerts for new notices. Where the debtor is a private individual, their details are not published.
One important point: the ДОПК sets no minimum period between the notice and the auction. If you are looking for property this way, subscribe to the alerts — the window for viewing and paying the deposit can be just a few days.
The public enforcement agent values the property at market value, using an independent valuer where needed (Art. 235 ДОПК). The valuation of real estate cannot be lower than its tax valuation, and the starting price at the first auction cannot be below the valuation (Art. 241).
This is a significant difference from bailiff enforcement, where the first sale starts at 80% of the valuation. At an NRA sale the first auction starts at the full market valuation.
If there is no buyer, or the winner fails to pay:
That is why the best opportunities tend to appear at the second and third auctions — where competition is also strongest.
Real estate may be sold only by auction (Art. 238(5)). The public enforcement agent chooses the format:
Unlike bailiff sales, the ДОПК does not provide for online auctions of real estate — you take part as the notice specifies, in person or through a proxy holding a notarised power of attorney.
An auction is valid with a single bidder, provided the offer is not below the starting price.
To take part you pay a deposit of 20% of the starting price (Art. 246(3)) into the account given in the notice — separately for each property. At a bailiff sale the deposit is 10%, so at an NRA sale you need twice as much cash available before the auction.
If you don't win, your deposit is returned once the winning bidder pays. If you win but fail to pay on time, you lose the deposit — it covers the auction costs and the rest goes towards the debt.
Who cannot take part: the debtor and their representative, the officials running the auction, the valuers and the property's custodian (Art. 238(7) ДОПК), as well as the persons listed in Art. 185 of the Obligations and Contracts Act. A purchase by someone not entitled to bid is void.
The winner pays the price, less the deposit, within 7 days (Arts. 248(11) and 254 ДОПК). At a bailiff sale the deadline is two weeks — so if you rely on bank finance, arrange the loan in advance. Seven days is not enough to get a mortgage approved from scratch.
If the winner does not pay, the next bidder in line is declared the buyer, provided their offer was at least the starting price.
Once the price is in the account and you have shown proof that the local property acquisition tax has been paid (where due), the public enforcement agent issues the award order (постановление за възлагане) within 3 days (Art. 253).
The key point: ownership passes on the date of the award order — no notarial deed is needed (Art. 246(8)). At a bailiff sale it passes only when the award order becomes final.
You then have to apply for the order to be entered in the Property Register through the registry office (Art. 246(11)). Don't delay — until it is registered, your rights cannot be relied on against third parties.
Note also Art. 239(2) ДОПК: the buyer becomes the owner even if the debtor was not, unless a third party brings an ownership claim within one year of the award order being published in the State Gazette. If such a claim succeeds, you can recover the price, interest and costs — but not the property.
Mortgages are extinguished by the public sale, as are real rights created after the first mortgage (Art. 175 of the Obligations and Contracts Act). Mortgage creditors are paid from the price in order of registration.
Tenants are the more delicate question. NRA sales have no equivalent of the Civil Procedure Code rule that lets a bailiff remove a tenant whose lease was registered after the first mortgage. The general rule of Art. 237 of the Obligations and Contracts Act applies:
So if someone is living in the property when you view it, ask on what basis.
Handing over possession is done by the public enforcement agent personally — within 7 days of the award order, against anyone occupying the property (Art. 246(10)).
You buy the property in the condition it is in at the time of sale, and you have no claim for defects (Art. 241(2)). There is no warranty, no handover protocol, and nobody to hold liable for leaks, structural defects or unauthorised alterations.
Points 2–4 are the same checks as for any purchase — we cover them in detail in our guide to legal checks before buying.
NRA auctions are not a "cheaper version" of bailiff sales. The first auction starts at the full market valuation, the deposit is 20% and you have only 7 days to pay. In exchange, ownership passes faster and getting possession is simpler. The best opportunities usually appear at the repeat auctions at 75% and 50% of the price — for buyers who have done their homework.
If you have spotted a property on sales.nra.bg and want to assess its real value and risks before paying the deposit — call us or come into the office. We'll go through it with you.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. The texts of the ДОПК, the Local Taxes and Fees Act and the VAT Act were verified as of November 2026.
