Who owns the home — the spouse named in the title deed, or both? The answer often surprises people, and it matters when selling, when taking a mortgage and above all on divorce. Here we explain the rules of the Bulgarian Family Code (SK) as they come up in property transactions.
The provisions below were verified in October 2026.
Spouses choose between three property regimes (Art. 18(1) SK):
| Regime | What it means | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory community | What is acquired during the marriage is joint | By default, if you chose nothing else (Art. 18(2)) |
| Statutory separation | What each spouse acquires is theirs | If chosen by joint declaration |
| Contractual regime | The rules are set by a marriage contract | If a marriage contract is signed |
The choice is made when marrying — by a joint declaration with notarised signatures or by a marriage contract (Art. 9(2) SK) — and can be changed during the marriage (Art. 18(4) SK). The regime is recorded in a public central electronic register at the Registry Agency (Art. 19 SK). If no regime is recorded there, third parties deal with the couple as under the community (Art. 20 SK).
Under the statutory community, property rights acquired during the marriage through joint contribution belong to both spouses regardless of whose name they are in (Art. 21(1) SK). Contribution can be money, work, childcare or housework (para. 2), and it is presumed unless proven otherwise (para. 3).
In practice: a flat bought during the marriage in the wife's name only, with savings from salaries, is joint. A claim that there was no joint contribution can be brought by a spouse during or after the marriage, or by a spouse's heir (Art. 21(4) SK).
Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation holds that the character of a property is decided by where the money came from, not by who is named as buyer (Interpretative Decision No. 5/2014). Transformation is possible even when both spouses buy together. In Interpretative Decision No. 2/2022 (issued 20 January 2025), the court added that paying from one spouse's bank deposit is not enough on its own: the spouse claiming the property is personal must prove that the money in the deposit came from personal assets.
What to do before you sign:
If you are buying from a married seller, check whether the property is joint — if it is, both spouses must sign.
Under separation of property, what each spouse acquires during the marriage is theirs (Art. 33(1) SK). On divorce, a spouse who contributed to what the other acquired can claim part of its value (Art. 33(2) SK).
A marriage contract can be signed before or during the marriage (Art. 37 SK) and covers rights in property acquired during the marriage and owned before it, management, expenses and the consequences of divorce (Art. 38). It cannot turn one spouse's pre-marital property into joint property, nor contain dispositions on death (Art. 38(2)–(3)). The contract:
The community ends when the marriage ends; during the marriage it can be ended by a court for important reasons, or by choosing separation or a marriage contract (Art. 27 SK). Shares are, as a rule, equal (Art. 28). The court can award a larger share to the spouse given parental rights if equal shares cause them particular hardship, or to a spouse whose contribution significantly exceeded the other's (Art. 29) — such claims must be brought within one year (Art. 31). In a divorce by mutual consent, the spouses also agree on the use of the family home (Art. 51(1)).
After that, the property remains jointly owned by the two until they sell or divide it — see our guide to co-ownership and division.
Only a civil marriage produces the legal effects of marriage (Art. 4(1) SK). So unmarried partners have no property community: a home belongs to whoever is named as buyer. If you buy together, both of you should be buyers in the title deed, with the shares clearly stated.
This article is general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Before a transaction or in a dispute, speak to a lawyer.
If you are buying or selling as a family and want to be sure how the deal will be documented, call us or visit our office — we will go through the documents with you before you sign.
