Co-ownership Disputes & Termination in Bulgaria

Co-ownership in Bulgaria, the joint or shared ownership of a house, a flat or land by several people, is common after an inheritance or a separation. In Bulgarian it is sasobstvenost (съсобственост), and each co-owner usually holds idealni chasti (идеални части), undivided shares in the whole property rather than a separate room or plot. This page covers co-ownership disputes and termination: disagreements between co-owners about use, costs or sale, and ending co-ownership through delba (делба, partition), by agreement or by the court. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Co-ownership Termination”.

Who usually needs it

Heirs who inherited one home between them, former partners who bought together, and relatives where one lives in the property and the others want their share. Foreign co-owners are often abroad when the dispute starts.

Ways out of co-ownership in Bulgaria

• Agreement: one co-owner buys out the others, or all sell together; a voluntary partition (dobrovolna delba) can also split a property that can be divided.
• Sale of a share: a co-owner may sell a share, but before a sale to an outsider the share is offered to the other co-owners, who have a right to buy it first.
• Court partition (sadebna delba): the court first decides who the co-owners are and what their shares are, then divides the property. A property that cannot be divided may go to one co-owner, who pays the others, or be sold at a public sale with the price shared out.

Points to watch

A public sale can bring less than a sale agreed between the owners, which is why many cases end in a settlement. Long, exclusive use by one co-owner can raise questions of ownership by possession. Rules on land differ for non-EU co-owners. Disputes with the management of an apartment building or complex are a separate matter, see property rights and disputes.

What a lawyer does

A lawyer checks the title, the shares and the history, weighs the options, negotiates a buy-out or a sale, represents the client in the partition case, and acts for co-owners abroad under a power of attorney. Heirs first need their rights in order, see inheritance; after a separation, see divorce. A share sold to another owner or to a buyer goes through a property sale.

Questions and answers

Can one co-owner force the sale of the whole property?

No co-owner has to stay in co-ownership: any of them can ask the court for partition. If the property cannot be divided, it can be given to one co-owner against payment or sold at a public sale.

Can I sell only my share?

Usually yes, but the other co-owners have a right of first refusal when a share is sold to an outsider, and the notary checks that it was offered to them.

Can the property be divided without a court?

Yes, if all co-owners agree. The agreement is made in the form the law requires for property, usually before a notary, and then registered.

What if a co-owner lives abroad or does not answer?

A court partition can still go ahead. The court notifies the co-owners through official channels, which takes longer for addresses abroad.

Can co-owners bid at the public sale?

Yes. Co-owners can take part like other bidders, and the law gives them certain rights to buy at the best price offered.