Terminating a contract with a real estate agency: what Bulgarian law says

What the contract is in law

The contract with an agency is a brokerage agreement. The Obligations and Contracts Act (ZZD) has no such contract. The Commerce Act (TZ) gives it three short articles: a broker is a trader who brokers deals as a business (Art. 49), keeps a journal of the contracts concluded (Art. 50) and is entitled to remuneration as agreed, or the customary remuneration if nothing was agreed (Art. 51).

Everything else falls under civil law (Art. 288 TZ). In practice, almost everything about termination is decided by the contract itself. It has the force of law between the parties and ends by mutual consent or on a ground provided by law (Art. 20a ZZD).

People often say brokerage is a “mandate”. For a mandate, the ZZD does let the principal withdraw it (Art. 287) and keeps the agent’s right to expenses and the agreed fee (Art. 288(1)). Case law, however, treats brokerage as different from a mandate and looks at the content — even when the document is titled “mandate agreement”. There are judgments in which the court refuses to apply Art. 288 ZZD to brokerage with a consumer: if the contract provides for no payment on early termination, none is owed (Sofia City Court, Judgment No. 3872 of 16.12.2022).

One ground always remains: if the agency does not perform, the owner can rescind the contract. They give it a reasonable deadline with a warning that afterwards they will treat the contract as rescinded — in writing, if the contract is written (Art. 87 ZZD).

This article reflects the law as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. For a specific contract or dispute, ask a lawyer.

Term, notice and penalty

Four clauses matter when a contract ends.

• The term. A fixed-term contract ends when the term runs out; before that, as agreed or on a ground provided by law.
• Automatic renewal. In a consumer contract it is unfair for the contract to renew by itself when the deadline to object is unreasonably far from its end (Art. 143(2)(9) ZZP).
• The notice. How many days, in what form, to which address. If only the agency can walk away at its discretion, the clause is unfair too (Art. 143(2)(6) ZZP).
• The penalty — for one-sided termination or for selling around the agency during an exclusive.

A penalty is owed without the agency having to prove any loss (Art. 92(1) ZZD). But it has limits.

If the owner is also a trader, such as a company, a penalty in a deal between traders cannot be reduced for being excessive (Art. 309 TZ). The voidness test still applies.

Why a short term and a written commitment often do more than a penalty is covered in our article on the exclusive agreement.

The owner as a consumer: 14 days to withdraw

An owner selling or letting their own home is usually a consumer — a natural person using the service outside any trade or profession (§ 13(1)(1) of the Supplementary Provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, ZZP). The ZZP’s real estate exclusions (Art. 46(5) and (6)) cover the sale itself and the letting of a home, not the agency’s service — the EU directive behind these rules expressly includes the services of a real estate agent (recital 26 of Directive 2011/83/EU).

The right of withdrawal depends on where and how the contract was signed:

• Outside the agency’s office — at the owner’s home or at the property during a viewing (Art. 44(1) ZZP).
• In the office or by link, straight after meeting in person elsewhere — for example you agreed at the property and the owner signs on their phone right after (Art. 44(3)).
• Entirely at a distance — by email, phone or link, with no meeting, when the agency works this way as an organised system (Art. 45).

In these cases the owner can withdraw within 14 days of signing, without giving a reason and without owing compensation or a penalty (Art. 50(1) ZZP). The agency must tell them about this right in advance and give them the standard withdrawal form (Art. 47(1)(8)). If it did not, the period becomes one year and 14 days (Art. 51(1)).

An example: the agent signs the contract in the owner’s living room and says nothing about withdrawal. Seven months later the owner withdraws — they are still within the period and owe no penalty.

Withdrawal is made with the form or any other unequivocal statement (Art. 52(2)), and proving it was sent on time is up to the owner (Art. 52(5)).

If the agency needs to start right away — photos, listings, viewings — it asks the owner for an express request on a durable medium (paper, email) and a confirmation that once the service is fully performed they lose the right to withdraw (Art. 48(3) and Art. 49(9)). If they withdraw after that, they pay in proportion to what was provided (Art. 55(5)); once the service is fully performed on those terms, there is no right of withdrawal (Art. 57(1)).

A contract signed at the office with no earlier meeting elsewhere does not carry the 14-day right. Unfair terms, however, are checked in every consumer contract.

Commission after the end: the protection period

The classic dispute after termination is about the buyer. The agency showed the property, the contract expired, and a month later the same person buys directly from the owner.

This is what a protection-period clause is for: if a buyer introduced by the agency during the contract buys the property within a set period after it ends, the commission is due. The law allows this — a broker’s remuneration is owed as agreed (Art. 51 TZ, Art. 9 ZZD).

Courts apply it when the facts are proven. In one case the Supreme Court of Cassation awarded remuneration under a clause that ran for one year after the contract ended. What decided it were the emails between the parties and testimony that the agency’s broker had organised the viewings and the negotiations (Judgment No. 244 of 9.02.2018, commercial case No. 2/2017, II Commercial Division).

So the clause says three things: how long the period lasts, who counts as an “introduced” buyer and how the owner learns who they are. In a consumer contract this clause can also be tested for fairness (Arts. 143 and 145 ZZP) — its length should be reasonable compared with the term of the contract itself.

The same works the other way: if you have a contract with the buyer or tenant, the viewing sheet they signed shows which property you showed them and when. When exactly the commission is due — at the preliminary contract or at the notary deed — is also written down expressly (see how to state and defend the commission).

How it ends in practice

Termination is done in writing. An agreement over the phone is the first thing both sides later remember differently.

The agency that receives the notice has work to do too — in its own interest:

1. Confirm receipt and the termination date in writing.
2. Take the listings down from the portals and its own website the same day. A listing that is no longer yours collects calls you cannot handle, and the owner sees it next to the new agency’s — like one property in five agencies.
3. Stop the ads and close colleagues’ and partners’ access to the property.
4. Return the keys and original documents against a signature.
5. Send the list of introduced buyers, if there is a protection period.
6. Keep the contract, the viewings and the correspondence at least while the protection period runs.

What the contract should say from day one

A termination dispute is won or lost on signing day.

• An exact term and what happens after it. If it renews automatically, the deadline to opt out should be close to the end.
• Early termination for both sides — with the same notice and form.
• What is owed on early termination — stated expressly, in an amount that matches the agency’s real costs and losses. If the contract is silent, don’t count on Art. 288 ZZD.
• A protection period — its length, who counts as an introduced buyer and how this is communicated.
• Who pays the commission and when — in detail in from the deal to the invoice.
• An address and email for notices for both sides.
• When signing outside the office or at a distance — the information on the right of withdrawal, the form, and the express request if you start right away. For an off-premises contract the client gets a copy on paper or, if they agree, on another durable medium (Art. 48(2) ZZP).

A good contract is not the strictest one. It is the one where both sides know from the start how to get out of it.

The contract, the term and take-down in OptiEstate

In OptiEstate all of this sits with the property, not in a folder and in the agent’s head.

• The contract is written from your template and signed by link: first by the agency, then by the client on their phone — with a code from their email and explicit consent. It is a simple electronic signature agreed between the parties (Art. 13(4) of the Electronic Document and Trust Services Act, ZEDEUU). The audit page keeps the name, IP address and device, the signed copy stays with the property, and the client can view and save their own copy.
• The clauses. AI writing help offers a ready termination or penalty clause, marked until you press “Accept”. Have the template itself reviewed by a lawyer. This is available from the Core plan up.
• The term. The property records the type of contract — commission or exclusive — and its end date. The agent gets a notice 30, 21, 14 and 7 days before the end and every day in the last week.
• Termination. Archiving asks for a reason — for example “The owner gave up” — and takes the property down from every portal at once; it disappears from the agency website too. Listings published on imot.bg through the browser extension show up in its “To do” tab for removal.

Frequently asked questions

Can I end my contract with the agency before the term?

It depends on the contract: if it has an early-termination clause, you follow it — notice and form. If the agency is not performing, you can rescind with a written warning and a reasonable deadline (Art. 87 ZZD). If you are a private individual and signed outside the agency’s office or at a distance, you have 14 days to withdraw with no reason.

Do I owe commission if I terminate?

Commission is for a deal concluded through the agency and is owed as the contract says (Art. 51 TZ). If the contract provides for no payment on early termination, there is case law that nothing is owed without a concluded deal. If it does provide for one, a court can reduce an excessive amount, and in a consumer contract declare the clause unfair.

How long do I have to withdraw from a contract signed at home?

14 days from signing, with no reason and no penalty (Art. 50 ZZP). If the agency did not tell you about this right, the period is one year and 14 days (Art. 51 ZZP). Send the withdrawal in writing, because proving it is up to you.

What is a protection period in an agency contract?

A clause under which commission is also due if a buyer introduced by the agency during the contract buys the property within a set period after it ends. It works if it is clearly written and the agency proves the buyer is theirs — with a signed viewing sheet, correspondence and records.

Is a penalty equal to the full commission valid?

It is not void just because it is high. A court can reduce it if it is excessive compared with the loss (Art. 92(2) ZZD), declare it void if it goes beyond its functions (Interpretative Decision No. 1/2009 of the Supreme Court of Cassation), and in a consumer contract declare it unfair (Art. 143(2)(5) ZZP).