Reporting to the owner: how to keep control of the property and the money from another country
Reporting to the owner: how to keep control of the property and the money from another country
Control over an apartment in Romania from another country is built on 3 independent sources: the management company's report, the statement for your bank account and the tax documents for the property. If all three match, you have control; if even one diverges, the issue is resolved right away, not a year later. You do not need to come for this, but you also do not have to “take anyone's word for it”: reporting is written into the management contract as an obligation, not as a courtesy. Below is what the owner sees every month, what the annual tax cycle consists of and what to do if income was received but no tax return was filed.
What the owner sees about the property every month
Every month the owner receives 3 things: a report on the property, the movement of money and confirmation of the apartment's condition. The property report shows payments received from the tenant, utilities and homeowners' association fees paid, work done and open issues. The movement of money is seen not from someone's words but from the statement: the rent comes into the account of the owner or their Romanian company, so checking it takes a minute. Confirmation of condition means photos after scheduled inspections and reports on any work done. The key principle: the report does not replace the statement, and the statement does not replace the photos — each source covers its own area. The frequency, the format of the report and how it is delivered are fixed in the management contract before work begins.
Who needs extended reporting
The extended format is needed in 3 situations.
The first — there is more than one property: then reporting is kept for each property separately and in summary, otherwise the picture becomes unreadable by the second address.
The second — the ownership is held by a Romanian company: the company has its own accounting, reporting deadlines and obligations, and the management company's report must fit into the books without manual reconciliation.
The third — seasonal rental: there are many check-ins, the payments come in small amounts, and without a breakdown by period you see the total but not what made it up. In all other cases the basic format is enough: a monthly report, a statement, the annual tax part. The scope of reporting is determined before the contract is signed, not along the way.
What reporting on the property consists of
A complete set is 4 groups of documents.
The first: the lease registered with the tax office and any addenda to it.
The second: the handover report and the inventory of contents with meter readings — what confirms the condition of the apartment when the tenant moves in and moves out.
The third: the financial part — the management company's report, utility bills and homeowners' association fees, the bank statement of payments received.
The fourth: the tax part — the single tax return on rental income and proof of payment.
Accounting for the property and for the company is handled by specialized audit firms: the management company is responsible for the property, the audit firm for the accounting, and these are different areas of responsibility. What is left for the owner is reconciliation, not keeping the documents.
How the annual cycle of control and taxes works
The cycle consists of 3 horizons: the month, the quarter and the year.
Monthly — the report, the statement, payment of utilities and fees.
Quarterly — reconciliation: whether the payments received match the lease, the condition of the property, scheduled work, and if necessary indexation of the rent by an addendum.
Annually — the tax part: an individual files the single tax return, form 212, by May 25 for the previous year, and the tax is paid by the same deadline; filing is electronic only, a paper version is no longer accepted. The base is calculated as gross income minus a fixed 20 percent for expenses, and the tax rate is 10 percent — effectively 8 percent of the rent received. The health insurance contribution is calculated by annual income thresholds: 24,300, 48,600 and 97,200 lei for 2025 income. The tax return is in itself the basis for payment: there is no need to wait for a decision from the authority.
What to do if income was received but no tax return was filed
The situation can be corrected voluntarily and before an audit — there is a mechanism for this. The picture is a standard one: the owner lives in another country, rental money came in, the lease was not registered with the tax office, nobody filed a tax return, and over 2–3 years the amount has grown to an unpleasant size. Holding on to this any longer makes no sense: the period of the violation keeps running, and there are more and more reasons for questions — data on leases, listings and bank flows have long been matched digitally.
Step 1. Reconstructing the picture: for which periods and in what amount income was received, and what is confirmed by statements and contracts.
Step 2. Legalizing the current relationship: a written lease with the tenant and its registration with the tax office.
Step 3. Tax returns for past periods: a corrective return is filed for each year separately, the tax and contributions are calculated under the rules of that year, and voluntary filing before an audit begins closes the matter more cheaply than any dispute.
Step 4. Setting up the process: a calendar of deadlines, a person responsible for filing, regular reporting.
The work on past periods is done by audit firms; Alliance coordinates the process and keeps the deadlines.
How Alliance works and what Armonia is responsible for
Alliance holds the structure, the money and the timelines, and works with the property and the tenant. The division of roles never changes: Armonia shows the properties, Alliance protects the money and builds the structure. In reporting, this means the format and frequency of the report in the management contract, the bank route for payments received, the tax regime, financial monitoring and coordination of the processes; accounting is handled by specialized audit firms. The management company covers the property in full: turnkey preparation, finding and moving in a tenant, ongoing management. The cost of management depends on the package and is fixed in the contract — together with the timelines, the amount and the working procedure.
We run 2 products: full support for a real estate deal and obtaining EU residence or citizenship. The right to Romanian citizenship is confirmed by documents — and we take that right all the way to a passport. The decision is made by the authority: the result cannot be guaranteed, but the file can be assembled so that it raises no questions. The timelines, the amount and the working procedure are in the contract.
The company's licenses are publicly available on the website.
Where to start: the conclusion and the next step
Start with a free compliance assessment — it is carried out before any decisions and commits you to nothing. In the written opinion you get the recommended bank, the list of documents for the source of funds, an assessment of their origin, the ownership structure and the way the property will be handled. And a direct answer: whether this structure suits you. The assessment may end in a reasoned refusal — that is also a result of the work. Control from a distance is not about how often you call, but about the report, the statement and the documents matching. Write to us — we will review your situation and your property.
How can you check that the rental money is actually coming in?
By the bank statement: the rent comes into the account of the owner or their Romanian company, and the management company's report is reconciled against it line by line. A scheme in which the money bypasses your account is not agreed to in the contract.
When is the tax return on rental income filed?
An individual files the single tax return, form 212, by May 25 for the previous year and pays the tax by the same deadline.
Filing is electronic only; the calculation is made from gross income minus a fixed 20 percent for expenses.
Who keeps the books if the property is owned by a Romanian company?
Specialized audit firms: the company has its own accounting and its own reporting deadlines.
The management company passes them the data on the property, and Alliance coordinates the process and keeps track of the calendar.
Sergey Valentinovich Kononov is the head of the consulting company Alliance Consulting (Constanța, Năvodari). Over 30 years of management experience; the company has run a licensed practice in Romania for four years and supports clients from the first consultation to receiving their documents. The company's licenses and documents are publicly available on the website.