Your building manager is now in a public register: what to check about your building in 2026

For more than twenty years, acting as a "professional building manager" in Bulgaria required no licence and no registration. Anyone could offer the service — without qualifications, without insurance, and without leaving a public trace. Since 20 February 2026 that is no longer the case.

On that date Regulation No. RD-02-20-1 of 05.02.2026 on the Unified Information System for Condominium Ownership (EISES) came into force, promulgated in State Gazette issue 20 of 20.02.2026. It repealed the 2012 Regulation No. RD-02-20-8 and finally made operative the provisions adopted back in the 2023 amendment to the Condominium Ownership Management Act (ZUES) (SG issue 82 of 2023, effective 31.12.2024).

The change affects everyone living in a building held in condominium ownership — and everyone about to buy an apartment in one. The provisions and amounts below were verified as at July 2026.

Two registers, one system

EISES brings together two public centralised electronic registers, maintained by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works:

1. Register of professional condominium managers (Art. 47a(1)(1) ZUES) — for traders who manage condominium property as a business.

2. Register of condominium ownership (Art. 47a(1)(2) ZUES) — data on owners' associations and on the management boards (managers) of buildings or individual entrances across the country.

Each registered entity is given its own electronic file (Art. 6(1) of the Regulation). The register of professional managers is public and available online on the Ministry's website — as at July 2026 it already contains registered companies.

Who must register — and who does not

The obligation applies to those who manage condominium property as a business — regularly, for remuneration, as an economic activity. The permitted legal forms are sole trader and commercial company.

No registration is required for a building manager elected by the general assembly from among the owners themselves. Such a person is not a professional manager within the meaning of the Act and does not carry the obligations of this regime — but remains liable under ZUES and general civil law for their acts and omissions.

Two categories of building fall outside ZUES altogether:

• gated residential complexes, where management is carried out under a contract pursuant to Art. 2 ZUES;
• buildings with up to three self-contained units belonging to more than one owner — there, management follows the rules on ordinary co-ownership (Art. 3 ZUES, read with Art. 30(3), Art. 31 and Art. 32 of the Property Act).

What a professional manager must satisfy

Art. 47b ZUES sets conditions for both the company and the individuals behind it — the sole trader, the members of the management body, the unlimitedly liable partners. They must:

• have no conviction for an intentional offence of a general nature, unless rehabilitated;
• not have been, in the last three years, members of a management or supervisory body, or unlimitedly liable partners, in a company declared insolvent where creditors were left unsatisfied;
• not be barred from holding a position of financial responsibility;
• not appear on the list under Art. 4b(3) of the Measures Against the Financing of Terrorism Act;
• have no outstanding public liabilities — excluding those under acts not yet in force and those rescheduled, deferred or secured;
• have administrative capacity of at least one person employed under an employment contract.

That last requirement looks technical but matters: it filters out companies with no operating resources at all, which collect fees and pass problems along.

The circumstances are certified by a declaration on a template approved by Order No. RD-02-14-234 of 05.02.2026 of the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works.

Fees and validity

The fees are set in a new Section VIII of Tariff No. 14 (SG issue 17 of 13.02.2026, effective 13.02.2026) and are already denominated in euro:

Service	On paper	Electronically
Initial registration	€80.00	€72.00
Registration of a change of circumstances	€49.00	€44.10

Electronic filing is roughly 10% cheaper. Registration is valid for up to 5 years; once it expires, continuing the activity requires a fresh registration and a new certificate.

Refusals to register, and the striking-off of a professional manager, are appealable under the Administrative Procedure Code.

The insurance that works for owners

For an ordinary owner, the most substantial part of the new regime is the mandatory professional indemnity insurance.

Under Art. 47c(5) and (6) ZUES and Arts. 16–19 of the Regulation, a registered trader must take out such a policy within 15 days of being entered in EISES. It is renewed annually.

The practical difference is significant. Until now, where money went missing from the building's account, a repair was never carried out, or funds were spent improperly, owners had a claim against a company that often turned out to be an empty shell. Now there is an insurer standing behind the manager's liability.

What your building has to do

The register of condominium ownership also affects buildings with no professional manager. Municipalities have two specific duties:

• to enter owners' associations in the centralised register held by the Ministry within 14 days of the association's registration and a compliance check (Art. 47d ZUES). The municipal administration issues a registration certificate, or the mayor issues a reasoned refusal;
• to register the management boards (managers) of buildings or individual entrances and to assign a condominium identification code (Art. 47e ZUES).

The application form (Annex 3 to the Regulation) calls for specifics: when the general assembly was held, what share of the common parts was represented, by what majority the chair and the members of the management and supervisory boards were elected, who the treasurer is, the amount of the monthly contributions to the "Repair and Renovation" fund, how many self-contained units the building has, and its cadastral identifier.

In other words, the building now has a file. That is good news for anyone who wants to know how the money at their entrance is being managed.

If the general assembly appoints a professional

Delegating powers to a professional manager is not a matter of free contracting. Under Art. 11(1)(11) and Art. 19(8) ZUES (effective 31.12.2024):

• the decision is taken by the general assembly with a majority of more than 50 per cent of the ideal shares in the common parts;
• it may only be given to a trader entered in the register under Art. 47a(1)(1);
• the general assembly approves the contract itself, not merely the principle;
• the contract has a maximum term of two years.

A contract with an unregistered person leaves the building with no insurance cover and no public traceability — precisely the two things the register was created to provide.

What this means when buying an apartment

For a buyer, the new regime is a tool rather than red tape. Before signing a preliminary contract it is worth establishing:

• who manages the building — an owners' association, a manager elected from among the owners, or a professional manager;
• if professional — whether the company is entered in the Ministry's register, whether the entry is still active, and whether professional indemnity cover is in force;
• the monthly contribution to the "Repair and Renovation" fund, and whether an expensive repair has been voted through but not yet carried out;
• whether the specific apartment has unpaid liabilities to the building. These are not recorded in the Property Register and do not appear on an encumbrance certificate — but they are settled between the new owner and the condominium.

Checking for liabilities to the building is part of the document preparation we carry out on every transaction, alongside the encumbrance certificate, the cadastral sketch and the tax valuation. The full list of what gets checked before signing is in our guide on legal checks before buying a property.

In short

Since 20 February 2026, professional condominium management in Bulgaria is a regulated activity: a public register, eligibility requirements, mandatory insurance, and a public file for every building. For owners this means more transparency and a real source of compensation where damage occurs. For buyers, one more check — and one that can now be done free of charge and online.

If a purchase or sale is coming up and you would like the building's documents reviewed by a lawyer before you sign, call us or come by the office. We will go through them together, obtain whatever is missing, and tell you plainly what is in order and what needs to be settled before the notary.