Starting January 1, 2027, Moldova plans to implement a new property appraisal value. For apartments, this value is, on average, about three times higher than the figures set approximately 20 years ago. Authorities emphasize that the revaluation does not automatically mean a corresponding increase in taxes, since the final payment also depends on the local council’s tax rate. Formally, this is correct. However, to maintain the current tax amount, municipalities will have to lower their rates almost in proportion to the increase in property values.
The revaluation covered about 6 million properties. Apartments, single-family homes in cities, garages, and commercial and industrial properties have had their values updated. Properties that previously had no official value—including rural houses and agricultural land—were also assessed.
The work was carried out by the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre (AGCC) and the Public Institution “Real Estate Cadastre” (IPCBI). The previous general appraisal was conducted between 2004 and 2011. Since then, real estate prices have changed significantly, while taxes in many cases continued to be calculated based on outdated cadastral data.
Eight models were developed for the revaluation. This is a mass appraisal, not an individual market valuation of each property: the calculation is based on the property category, its location, and its registered technical characteristics. Therefore, the new cadastral value may differ from the price at which a specific apartment or house could actually be sold.
The preliminary results were submitted for public discussions. Property owners filed 7,429 objections. Of these, 52.3% concerned the property’s technical characteristics, including floor area and the presence of utility connections, while another 44.9% concerned components of the valuation model. The largest number of appeals came from apartment owners, followed by owners of urban and rural houses.
Seventy-four percent of the objections were submitted via the geodata.gov.md platform, while the remaining 26% were submitted through other electronic means or on paper. The AGCC and IPCBI must review the objections, make the necessary changes, and definitively determine the value of the properties. Only then will the results be approved.
The tax is calculated using a simple formula: the official value of the property is multiplied by the tax rate. The value is determined by the state, while the rate—within the limits established by law—is approved annually by the local council. The first part of this formula is currently undergoing significant changes. It is not yet known what the second part will be.
AGCC provides the example of an apartment in Chisinau, for which the tax—based on the old value and the current rate of 0.185%—amounts to 687 lei. If the minimum rate of 0.05%—as provided for by current regulations—is applied to the updated value, the payment would amount to 555 lei.
However, the 0.05% rate has not yet been approved by the Chisinau Municipal Council for 2027. This is merely a calculation illustrating the most favorable scenario for the owner within the current legal limits.
The math behind this example shows just how much the rate needs to be reduced. To keep the tax at 687 lei, the rate would need to be lowered from 0.185% to approximately 0.062%—that is, by nearly three times. At a rate of 0.1%, the payment would amount to about 1,110 lei and would increase by approximately 62%. At a rate of 0.12%, it would reach 1,332 lei—nearly 94% higher than the current level. This is not a forecast of future decisions, but an illustration of how a partial rate reduction could be accompanied by a significant increase in the tax.
Local authorities have a financial incentive not to reduce rates enough to fully offset the revaluation. Property tax flows into local budgets, and an expansion of the tax base allows for additional revenue even at a lower rate. The law does not require municipal councils to keep each property owner’s payment at the same level.
At the same time, a sharp increase would place an additional burden on residents and businesses and would be a sensitive decision for local authorities. Therefore, an intermediate option is quite possible: rates will be lowered, but not by nearly three times. In that case, the tax will increase for many property owners, although the extent of the increase will vary depending on the locality and the specific property.
The rules for 2027 are not yet final. The draft tax policy provides for caps on certain local taxes, including the property tax. Until these proposals are adopted, the final limits within which local councils will be able to set rates remain unknown.
In any case, the outcome will not be the same for everyone. A threefold increase in the appraisal value of apartments is an average figure. One property’s cadastral value may double, while another’s may quadruple. Even a uniform, reduced rate will redistribute the burden across districts, property categories, and individual owners.
For owners of stores, offices, warehouses, and industrial facilities, the tax increase will represent an additional expense. Some of the costs may be passed on to tenants, but this will depend on lease terms, demand for the space, and market conditions.
The revaluation could also affect the wealth tax. Under current law, it is paid by individuals whose residential real estate—excluding land—has a total area of at least 120 square meters and an appraisal value of no less than 200 times the projected average monthly wage for the economy. In 2026, the projected average monthly salary is 17,400 lei; multiplying this by 200 yields a value threshold of 3.48 million lei. In 2027, this amount will change following the approval of a new projected wage figure. Once the appraisal value is updated, some owners of large properties may exceed the established threshold.
However, the draft tax policy for 2027 proposes changing this mechanism as well: raising the value threshold to the equivalent of 500,000 euros and applying the 1% rate only to the amount exceeding that threshold. The proposal has not yet become law, so it is not possible to determine in advance who will be subject to the wealth tax based on the new cadastral values.
The final property tax will depend on the approved value of the property, the local council’s tax rate, national legislation for 2027, and applicable exemptions. Therefore, the assertion that the revaluation itself does not increase the tax is legally correct but economically incomplete.
The government is significantly updating the tax base, and municipalities will have to decide to what extent to offset this increase by lowering tax rates. If the reduction is only partial, the technical update of the cadastre will effectively lead to higher payments for a significant portion of property owners. // 31.07.2026 – InfoMarket.