Bucharest is located in Romania’s most active seismic area. In the past, the city has been significantly affected by a few earthquakes, including the 1977 one, which was one of the strongest and caused the most significant number of human victims and material damage. The concentration of population, old or high buildings means that in Bucharest, living with high seismic risks is one of the most important economic and socio-demographic vulnerabilities. The shadow of the great earthquake is constantly present here in debates and public actions, but the operationalisation of disaster risk management measures are not yet at optimum in terms of implementation actions. This research presents a critical assessment of regulatory and operational measures used to identify vulnerable seismic buildings, the responsibilities of the public and private stakeholders involved, and the way in which each of latter assumes and implements the first.