A tenant who is not paying:
the order, the claim, the deadlines.
Four months of unpaid rent at 490 EUR add up to a 1,960 EUR debt. The fees and deadlines under the Civil Procedure Code, before it gets there.
The payment order is for the money, a separate claim is for the property.
Article 410 of the Civil Procedure Code lists what the payment order procedure covers: sums of money and fungible items (item 1), a movable item (item 2). Real estate is not on that list.
Vacating a rented dwelling is a separate claim, under the fast-track procedure (Art. 310, para. 1, item 2 of the Civil Procedure Code). The two are not combined into one procedure: the order returns the money, not the apartment.
The word "deposit" does not appear in the Bulgarian Contracts and Obligations Act. How much is withheld and when it is returned is decided by the clause in the lease, not by the law.
Two fees, one debt.
With four unpaid months of rent at 490 EUR, the debt is 1,960 EUR. The fee for a payment order is 2%, minimum 12.78 EUR (Art. 12 of the Tariff for State Fees under the Civil Procedure Code): for this sum, 39.20 EUR.
If the tenant objects and the case continues as a claim, the fee is 4% (Art. 1 of the same Tariff): 78.40 EUR. Filing electronically through the Unified Portal for Electronic Justice cuts it by 15% (Art. 73, para. 4 of the Civil Procedure Code).
Tariff for State Fees under the Civil Procedure Code, Art. 12 and Art. 1, in force per State Gazette 18/2026.
Every month is another 490 EUR.
While the case is running, the rent keeps not arriving. Under the deadlines in the Civil Procedure Code for the fast-track procedure under Art. 310 (a hearing set within 6 weeks of the reply, a 1 month reply deadline under Art. 131, a ruling within 2 weeks under Art. 316), the first instance takes roughly around three months, without objections or an appeal.
Three months at 490 EUR add up to another 1,470 EUR of unreceived rent before the case ends. The real duration in Varna, given how loaded the specific panel is, has not been measured and is not stated here as fact.
Art. 131, 310, 312, 316 of the Civil Procedure Code. Does not include an objection or an appeal.
Same amount, a different kind of liability.
A claim over 1,960 EUR of unpaid rent costs 78.40 EUR in state fees. The lawful path runs through that, not through changing the locks or moving out belongings without a payment order.
Anyone who, on their own and outside the legal process, enforces a right of theirs that is being disputed risks up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to 511.29 EUR; using force or a threat raises it to up to 6 years (Art. 323, para. 1 and para. 5 of the Criminal Code). No punishment follows if the person restores the situation immediately after a warning from a state authority (para. 3).
Do you know how many months of rent the deposit covers?
We check the lease, the deposit, and the steps for non-payment, before it comes to a payment order or a claim.
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