A warning about tenant law from Strahil Ivanov, head of the Yavlena real estate agency.

Bulgaria’s property market was virtually unregulated, he said, which was “bad and good”. It was good because it enabled the market to develop rapidly, but bad because it meant that there was very little protection for the customer from unscrupulous operators.

In addition, landlords were vulnerable from defaulting tenants because the court system did not function as it should.

“If you own a property and some tenants are occupying your property without the right to do so and without paying, it can take several years to get them out because neither the police nor the prosecutors are able to do so.”

The “rapid” court process to redress the problem was easily slowed down on technical grounds, he said.

Source:  Sofia Echo