Citeste articolul in romana → Arhitect sau echipa de constructori: de cine ai nevoie la renovare?
For cosmetic, like-for-like work, a good crew is enough. Once you touch the layout, replace the installations, or do anything that needs approval, someone has to design it first. The new code says only an architect (or an interior architect with signing rights) and engineers can sign the approval documents, and only a contractor can carry out the works. Which route you take decides who carries the risk when something goes wrong.
In short
Painting, new floors, new fixtures in the same places: hire a good crew. You don't need an architect.
Walls, moving a bathroom or kitchen, the riser, the balcony, gas, or a full rewire and replumb: design first, then build.
Three routes: a crew on its own; a designer or architect plus a separate crew; or one team that designs and builds.
An "interior designer" without signing rights can't sign anything that needs approval. Check signing rights on the Order of Architects' national register.
Interior design projects typically cost €30–60/m² (range €15–100+), as of October 2026. Ask what's included, not just the price per square metre.
Whoever you hire, get a written contract with the scope, the price, payments tied to finished stages, and the warranty period.
When don't you need an architect?
When nothing moves and nothing needs approval. A good crew and a clear list are enough.
Under the new code (Law 169/2026, art. 299), these need no formality and, usually, no design:
Repainting, replastering, new floors and tiles.
New sanitary fixtures, kitchen units and appliances, in the same places, connected to the existing pipes.
New interior doors.
Replacing sockets, switches and light fittings on the existing circuits.
What you still need: a crew that gives you a written scope and price, and someone who checks the work before it's covered up. Usually that's you.
"No formality" doesn't mean no rules. The technical rules still apply, and if they're broken, the owner is liable together with whoever designed and built the work. A handover at the end is mandatory even here, done under your contract with the crew (art. 299 alin. (3)–(5)).
Do you need design? An eight-question self-test
One "yes" means someone has to design the work before a crew prices it. A "yes" marked with an asterisk also means approval and an engineer.
Are you removing or opening any wall? * Always get a structural engineer first. In a panel bloc, many interior walls are structural.
Are you moving the bathroom or kitchen, or extending it into another room? * This is a notification under the new code (art. 294 alin. (2) lit. b) pct. (iv)).
Will the work touch the shared riser (the building's water or drain stack)? * That needs a notification and the association's involvement.
Are you closing or merging the balcony? * Closing it uniformly is a notification. Merging it with a room means structure and insulation, so an engineer comes first.
Are you changing anything on the gas installation? * Only an authorised gas designer and installer can do it, with the supplier's approval.
Are you replacing all the wiring and pipes? No approval, but you need a plan: circuits, socket positions, pipe routes, and what goes where before the walls are closed.
Are you changing the layout, even with non-structural partitions? You need a drawn plan, or the crew will decide the layout for you as they go.
Will three or more trades work at the same time while you're living elsewhere, against a deadline? Someone has to coordinate the sequence and check each stage.
If every answer is "no", hire a crew. A "yes" to 6, 7 or 8 means you need design. An asterisked "yes" means design, an engineer, and approval documents signed by someone with the right to sign them.
What are the three routes, and who carries the risk?
A crew alone, a designer or architect plus a separate crew, or one team that designs and builds. They differ less in price than in who answers when something goes wrong.
1. A crew on its own
What you get: labour and materials, priced from what the crew sees and what you tell them.
Cost: the lowest upfront. Changes during the works are priced as you go, without competition.
Who carries the risk: you. Every decision the crew makes on site, from cable routes to which wall comes down, becomes yours once it's done.
Works well for: cosmetic and like-for-like work.
2. A designer or architect, plus a separate crew
What you get: a project the crews price from, so offers can be compared like for like. Site visits, if they're in the contract.
Cost: the design fee on top of the works. Interior design projects typically run €30–60/m², from about €15/m² for basic packages to €100/m² and more with site supervision (published price pages, October 2026).
Who carries the risk: split. The designer answers for the project, the crew for the execution. Problems that fall between the two, like a detail drawn one way and built another, are where disputes start.
Works well for: layout changes, a full renovation, and anything that needs approval, provided whoever designs it can sign it.
3. Design-and-build: one team does both
What you get: one contract and one point of responsibility. The design is priced against real construction costs from the start.
Cost: design is folded into the works price or quoted alongside it. It's never free, so ask to see it priced separately.
Who carries the risk: the team, for both the design and the execution. The trade-off is that no independent person checks the builder on your behalf, and comparing offers is harder because each one comes with its own design.
Works well for: owners who want one counterparty and a fixed scope, and who can check the result (or pay someone to).
Interior designer, interior architect, architect: who can sign what?
Only an architect or an interior architect with signing rights (drept de semnatura) can sign the drawings for a notification or permit, together with the engineers. An interior designer without signing rights can design the flat but can't sign anything that needs approval.
Architect with signing rights: signs the architecture part of a permit or notification project and coordinates the engineers (Law 169/2026, art. 317 alin. (1) lit. a)).
Interior architect with signing rights: signs interior architecture documentation, including documents for approval (art. 317 alin. (1) lit. b) and art. 429).
Engineers: structural, plumbing, electrical and gas engineers sign their own parts. A notification needs a simplified technical project from "architects with signing rights, structural engineers and other engineers" as needed (art. 295 alin. (4)).
Interior designer: a title, not a licence. Useful for furniture, finishes and styling. They can't sign approval documents.
How to check: search the name in the national register of architects (Tabloul National al Arhitectilor) on the Order of Architects' website. It shows whether the person has signing rights.
A word on the high-end route. Much of the Romanian interior design market sells renders: polished 3D images, a mood board and a shopping list. That's useful if what you want is a look. But a render doesn't tell a crew where the drain goes, what the electrical circuits are, how the shower is waterproofed or whether a wall can come down. Before you pay for design, ask to see the technical drawings from a past project, not just the images. If there are none, you're buying a picture.
Not sure your renovation needs design at all? Book a free 45-minute Office Hours session. Tell us what you want to change and we'll tell you honestly whether a good crew is enough, or which parts need design, an engineer or approval.
What should you physically receive at each stage?
Design is a set of documents, not a conversation. If you can't hold it, the crew can't price or build from it.
Measured survey (releveu): the flat as it is, with dimensions, ceiling heights, wall thicknesses, windows, the riser and the existing installations.
Concept: one to three layout options, with the trade-offs explained, before any finishes are chosen.
Technical project:
demolition and construction plans (what comes down, what goes up);
electrical plan: circuits, sockets, switches, lighting, the panel;
plumbing plan: supply and drain routes, falls, where they join the riser;
tiling layouts and joinery details;
a finishes schedule: what goes where, by product.
Bill of quantities (lista de cantitati): so every crew prices exactly the same work.
If approval is needed: the signed simplified technical project and the filed notification, or the permit.
During the works: site visits tied to stages (before walls are closed, after the pressure test, before tiling), and every change in writing with its cost.
At handover: a snag list, the handover record (proces-verbal de receptie la terminarea lucrarilor), which is mandatory for all building works, including those that need no formality (art. 298 and art. 299 alin. (5)), as-built drawings of where the cables and pipes actually run, and the warranties.
What goes wrong when nobody designs the work?
Four things, in almost every renovation that skips design.
The wrong order. Tiles laid over pipes that were never pressure-tested. Walls painted over wiring nobody checked. Finding out later means breaking finished surfaces.
Changes priced under pressure. Whatever wasn't defined gets discovered on site and priced then, with all the leverage on the crew's side.
Approval exposure. Under the new code, works that needed a notification but went ahead without one carry fines of 5,000–50,000 lei; works that needed a permit, 50,000–1,000,000 lei (art. 357 alin. (4) lit. a)–b)). Unapproved works also come up when you sell.
No handover. The crew simply stops. There's no snag list, no record of what was done, and no clear warranty.
What should you ask before hiring anyone?
Ask the designer how they work, and ask the crew what they'll sign.
To a designer or architect:
Can you sign the approval documents? Do you have signing rights, and who are the engineers?
What does your survey include, and what do you hand over from it?
What exactly is in your fee? Technical drawings, installations, the bill of quantities, approvals, site visits?
How many site visits do you make, and what triggers them? They should be tied to stages, not to a calendar.
How do you handle changes during design and during the works? The answer should describe a written process.
Have you worked on this building type before? Panel blocs, older brick blocs and interwar buildings each have their own constraints.
To a crew or contractor:
Will you sign a contract with the scope, the price, the schedule and payments tied to finished stages?
Do you invoice as a company?
What warranty do you give, and is it written in the contract? The code sets a minimum by consequence class (art. 531 alin. (6)), and contractors answer for hidden defects for 10 years after handover (art. 451 alin. (3)).
How do you price changes? In writing, before the work is done?
Can I see a flat you finished, and speak to that owner?
What should you prepare before the first meeting?
Three documents, three decisions, and a budget range. Leave the layout to the design.
Documents:
The land book extract and the cadastral plan. Any old plans help too, even partial ones.
Photos of every room, the electrical panel, under the sinks and the ceilings.
Anything from the association: planned works, riser replacement, rules on balconies.
If the building is listed or in a protected zone, say so from the start. It changes what's allowed and how long approvals take.
Three decisions to make first:
How you'll use the flat: live in it, rent it out, or sell it. Each needs a different brief.
What it must do: requirements, not solutions. "The kitchen has to work for two people cooking at once" is a requirement. "An island with pendant lights" is a solution, and it closes the question before anyone has looked at it.
When it must be done, and any fixed dates (a lease ending, a move).
Budget: give a range with a ceiling: "between X and Y, never above Z." Without a number, the design is aimed at a guess.
If the budget doesn't cover everything, design the whole flat now and build it in stages. The first stage then leaves the right cable and pipe routes for the second, so you don't pay twice to open the same walls.
Leave open: the layout, materials and finishes. That's what design is for.
How are fees set?
There's no mandatory fee scale in Romania. Fees are negotiated, so compare what's included, not just the headline price.
Interior design projects: usually quoted per square metre. Typically €30–60/m²; basic packages from about €15/m²; full packages with site supervision €60–100/m² and above (published price pages, October 2026).
Architecture for approvals (a notification or permit project, with the engineers): usually quoted per project, because it depends on what's being changed.
Lump sum or percentage: a lump sum suits a defined scope; a percentage of the works suits a scope that may still change. Either works if the services are listed.
Design inside a works price (design-and-build): it isn't free. You're paying for it in the works. Ask for it as a separate line so you can compare.
What makes the per-square-metre price meaningless: whether it includes the installations, the bill of quantities and site visits. A €20/m² package of renders and a €50/m² package with technical drawings aren't the same product.
Find out which route your renovation needs
In a free, 45-minute Office Hours call, an architect looks at what you want to change and tells you honestly: whether a good crew is enough, which parts need design or an engineer, whether you need a notification, and what to ask the people you're about to hire.
Bring: the cadastral plan or any floor plan, photos of the rooms and installations, a list of what you want to change, your budget range and your timeline.
No pitch, no obligation. Pick a time below; it shows in your local time.
Renovating in Romania: all articles
Start here
Before you buy
Rules and approvals
Planning the renovation
Room by room
Houses and land
