Buying a room in a communal apartment: neighbors' pre-emptive right, step-by-step instructions for the transaction, pitfalls, and how to correctly purchase a share?

VKontakte
Purchasing real estate is an excellent investment, and if you don’t have enough money to buy a separate living space, you can consider purchasing a room in a dorm or communal apartment. To competently conduct such a transaction, it is necessary to carefully study the possible risks and pitfalls that the buyer may expect.

Who has the pre-emptive right to purchase?

The transaction is complicated by the need to respect the pre-emptive right to purchase the living space by the apartment neighbors. This right is regulated by Article 250 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

According to its provisions, the pre-emptive right to purchase arises from persons living in other premises of a communal apartment, i.e. neighbors.

Sale of housing to third parties is possible only after the seller receives a written refusal from all neighbors. They are given 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the offer to make a decision on repurchase. The price and other terms of the transaction should not differ from the terms offered to third-party buyers.

How to sell a communal apartment (room in a communal apartment)

Most Russians who have not crossed the threshold of their thirtieth birthday do not know at all what a “communal apartment” is, and those citizens who lived through the times of the former Soviet Union remember this “legacy” of socialist society - some with nostalgia, and some with horror. Modern housing and civil legislation directly prevents the division of existing apartments into shares, which are considered as independent objects of sale and purchase. This is quite understandable and logical.

However, in the housing stock, according to various realtor estimates, the share of communal housing (rooms in multi-apartment apartments) in free sale is about 6%. There is especially a lot of such housing in large cities with old residential buildings, 50 or more years old.

Despite the small volume in the structure of residential real estate and the significant difficulties associated with the sale/purchase of communal housing, the demand for it remains stable, as well as the structure of buyers who, despite all the inconvenience of using such housing, are interested in just the room, and not the entire apartment entirely. Let's look at some of the nuances associated with the sale/purchase of a communal apartment.

What is a "communal apartment"

In the modern understanding, communal housing is one of the types of shared ownership, in which each of the participants has an independent dedicated personal account and pays for utilities depending on the area of living space that he occupies in the apartment and the share of energy resources consumed (electricity, water supply, heating, drainage) determined individually for each owner.

Conditions under which a transaction is valid

The owner of the premises is fully aware of the essence of his actions. At the same time, he must not be registered at the dispensary or be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Documentation rules were followed. The transaction is certified by a notary.
The state registration of the transaction was carried out in Rosreestr.
The interests of minors and other interested parties are taken into account.
The right of first refusal was taken into account, and written refusals were received from the owners of other premises in the apartment.
The essential terms of the contract are indicated - price and subject (in accordance with Article 454 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

If any of these conditions are not met, the transaction may be contested.

Buying a communal apartment in its entirety - nuances

One of the difficult issues in real estate transactions, which has its own nuances, is the purchase and sale of an entire communal apartment.

Legal literacy and careful verification of documents are required to buy or sell this living space.

According to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation dated December 29, 2004 No. 188-FZ, a communal apartment is a living space consisting of several rooms that belong to different owners. The owners of such real estate are most often not members of the same family.

At the same time, a “communal apartment” differs from an ordinary apartment, which is in common shared ownership in that each owner has the right to a certain room, and in shared ownership there are only common areas (kitchen, corridor and bathroom).

How to choose a room in a communal apartment?

But you should be wary not only of your neighbors, who may challenge the purchase and sale transaction or simply interfere with your life.

It is worth carefully studying the documents for the housing being sold - if the price is too low, you should suspect that it is not a room that is being sold, but a share in the apartment, that is, the rights to use the rooms between all owners have not been determined.

In this case, it may turn out that you own a share in the apartment, but it is impossible to live or rent out such real estate. From what has been said, we must conclude that if it is impossible to buy a separate apartment, you can buy a room, but very carefully.

You should not participate in “gray” sales schemes, when the room is donated and not transferred under a purchase and sale agreement. You must also ensure that the rights of use are divided and that you receive a specific room, and not just a share in the common property.

Pitfalls when buying a room

Will “room” investments bring income? To buy a room in an apartment and get rich, you will also have to take into account several pitfalls that could interfere with this. Of course, a modest capital, which is only enough for one room, will not allow you to immediately make a big profit.

They will completely take over the process of legal support of the transaction. However, first the buyer must decide for himself what kind of property he will purchase - a small and cheap room or a more spacious and expensive one.

Is it worth buying a communal apartment?

Advice from professionals If the buyer is not deterred by the features and problems described above and is ready to purchase a room in a communal apartment, he needs to pay attention to a number of other aspects associated with this type of transaction. First and most important is perspective.

It is important to find out whether the apartment is for resettlement (as part of city targeted programs) or for sale (whether it has a potential investor ready to buy all the rooms). In these cases, the buyer has a good chance of becoming the owner of a separate home in the future.

But the most important thing is that the buyer needs to familiarize himself with the documents for the property being sold.

So, in addition to the notarized refusals of the neighbors, the seller must have on hand a document confirming his ownership of this residential premises, a cadastral plan of the room and the entire apartment, as well as a Form 9 certificate.

A room in a communal apartment - an investment or a problem?

Or more precisely, their refusal to buy a room (since, in accordance with the Housing Code, neighbors have a priority right to purchase). And there are quite serious problems with this. Therefore, first of all, you need to meet with the other residents of the apartment and find out their attitude to the deal.

Source: https://3dlipz.com/pokupka-kommunalnoy-kvartiry-tselikom-nyuansy/

Selling a room in a communal apartment: nuances of the procedure

Do not forget that all real estate transactions are subject to state registration, which is carried out by employees of the Registration Chamber. It is necessary to collect a certain package of documents in order for the sale to be legalized. It should also be remembered that if the new owner violates the norms of human coexistence, the neighbors will have the right to challenge the deal. It is for this reason that the choice of a buyer should be approached as seriously as possible.

Firstly, you will need a passport. Secondly, you must submit a document confirming the fact that no one is registered in the premises being sold. Thirdly, you are required to present copies of registered letters that you addressed to the owners of apartments located in the neighborhood. In addition, you will need a document from the post office stating that the mailing was completed. Fourthly, you must submit title documents for the living space, an extract from the BTI and a cadastral plan of the property.

PRO new building 7 (499) 703-51-68 (Moscow)

First, the conditions under which a particular property is sold are determined.
Then they send notices of intention to neighbors who have priority rights.
For a month you have to wait for a refusal or an answer, or silence.
Only after this they begin to search for external buyers.
They draw up an agreement.
Register ownership.
They transfer funds, keys to real estate.
Submit all necessary documents.

Communal apartments as a concept appeared in the last century, during the 20-30s. Back then, it was customary to take away extra meters from those whose housing was considered spacious.

Several families lived in rooms belonging to the same apartment.

How is a communal apartment sold?

general passports of all people involved in the transaction;
a certificate of discharge of all residents registered in the room;
in the case where the buyer is a person who does not have a pre-emptive right to purchase communal housing, you will need a notice of sale with the conditions and price indicated therein, sent by registered mail to all neighboring owners;
in the same case, written refusals from the owners will be required;
a completed purchase and sale agreement;
extract from the Bureau of Technical Inventory;
cadastral plan of residential premises;
act of acceptance and transfer of housing;
documents establishing your ownership of the apartment;
notarized permission to sell from other owners of communal housing;
in the case where the owner of one of the parts of a communal apartment is a minor, permission from the guardianship and trusteeship authorities will be required.

Underwater rocks

Unallocated shares. If the boundaries of shares between the owners of a communal apartment are not defined, it is better to refuse to buy out such a share, since it may turn out to be either a whole room or a part of it or a common area.
If it is not possible to reliably establish the history of the property. If the room has been repeatedly resold or people were previously registered in it, whose fate is currently unknown, it is worth making a request to the Unified State Register of Real Estate to obtain information about the citizens registered in it.
Neighbours. If other owners of rooms in a communal apartment are against the sale and do not agree to voluntarily formalize the refusal, you should send a notice by mail with a mandatory notification of delivery of the letter and wait the period specified by law.
Redevelopment. If they have not been agreed upon with the BTI, it will be difficult to register the room after purchase.
Presence of encumbrances. If there is an encumbrance placed on the property, any registration actions with it may cause problems.
Replacement of a purchase and sale agreement with a gift agreement. This method allows you to bypass the need to obtain refusals from other owners of premises in the apartment, but for the buyer the transaction becomes much more risky. The gift agreement assumes a gratuitous basis for the transaction, therefore, if it is contested and canceled, the buyer will lose the funds transferred to the seller.

Thus, the procedure for buying and selling a room in a communal apartment has its own characteristics and pitfalls that should be taken into account when finalizing the transaction.

If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl+Enter.

○ How to avoid problems?

Although there are some complications, the risks of buying a room can be reduced by taking reasonable care.

✔ Checking the seller’s documents.

To avoid unpleasant surprises, double-check the information provided by the seller. To do this you can:

Order an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate, which will indicate information about registered persons, the history of the room and the presence of encumbrances.
Contact the Management Company or Housing Office, where you can find out about the presence of debts for utilities.

✔ Help from realtors.

Turning to professionals will also reduce the risks when purchasing real estate. A good realtor will not only help you find a suitable purchase option, but will also check it yourself. In addition, the presence of a third party in the transaction increases its reliability.

Step-by-step instruction

You need to act consistently, and the question of how to buy a room will cease to be a problem.

Enter into an agreement with a real estate agency or look for housing yourself.
Check the object. Pay attention to the condition of the housing: the year the house was built, the state of communications, the area, the presence of infrastructure, and most importantly, the neighbors, because you will have to live next to them and meet them every day. Seemingly good-natured and sociable people may turn out to be anything but, so you need to be on the safe side. Word of mouth will help - neighbors can tell you a lot about the inhabitants of the apartment. If the police are often called, or other unpleasant precedents occur, then it is better to forget about concluding a deal.
Check documents:

Familiarize yourself with the documents on ownership and the basis for purchasing the living space.
Ask the owner to provide a certificate stating that he is not registered with the PND (this will eliminate doubts about the citizen’s legal capacity).
Require an extract from the house register: problems may arise if the interests of minor citizens are violated (transactions involving minors must be approved by guardianship specialists).
Ask for a certificate stating that the apartment has not been seized and is not under bail.
Request notarized approval for the transaction from the second spouse - disposal of common property occurs only with the approval of the legal half.

Wait until the seller presents the documents and sign the contract.
Contact a notary to certify documents.
Carry out calculations. A reliable way is to transfer funds through a safe deposit box. Cash payments are used less frequently - this form of payment is more risky. Cashless payment is also practiced. Both parties are present at the time of debiting and crediting funds.
Pay the state fee.
To register ownership rights, contact the specialists of the Rosreestr division.

The acceptance certificate is a document that marks the transfer of the apartment. It indicates the condition in which the apartment is being transferred and states that there are no complaints.

Find out the cost of a room for urgent purchase

We will quickly buy your property

1
Leave a request for a real estate assessment on the website or call us
We are in touch! Call
+7 +7 +7 Leave a request
2
Examination of the market value of real estate
As part of the urgent purchase service, we will evaluate the property within 3 hours
3
Prepaid expense
We will pay an advance of up to 2 million rubles on the day of application
4
Verification of documents
Lawyers will promptly conduct a legal examination of title documents for the transaction
5
Entering into a deal
Signing a purchase and sale agreement and submitting documents to register the transfer of ownership to Rosreestr
6
Final settlement
On the day of registration of the transaction, you will receive the final payment for the sold property (opening a letter of credit, a safe deposit box or receiving money through a notary's deposit account)

Arbitrage practice

The dispute about what is needed to buy a room in an apartment was considered by the Ryazan Regional Court (case No. 33-2092/2017 dated September 13, 2017).

The owner of a share in the apartment sent an offer to purchase to another co-owner. It was proposed to buy 25/113 shares for RUB 1,129,306. The notice was sent through the notary's office, and a positive response was sent through the notary. But the seller did not give an answer; she did not sell the property either to the plaintiff or to other persons.

Then the second owner went to court with a request to restore justice. He argued that the notice was a written offer to sell the property.

The court confirmed that there were no grounds for signing the purchase and sale agreement. The preliminary agreement has not been signed, the terms have not been discussed, and there are no grounds to force the defendant to sell his share.

our employees

Tatiana Alexandrova

Director of Development

In the company since 2002. Education: software engineer (graduated from MSTU STANKIN) and economist (Moscow Banking Institute at Sberbank of the Russian Federation).

[email protected]

Slav Alena

Lawyer

Work experience since 2014. Higher legal education. Specialization: civil relations. Legal support of transactions with residential and commercial real estate.

Olga Polovnikova

operational management and customer relations specialist

Has been working for the company since 2021. Graduated from the Moscow Institute of Public Administration and Law. A lawyer by training.

Kovalev Alexander

facilities operation and maintenance engineer

Has been working for the company since 2010. Higher technical education. Graduated from the National Research Moscow Civil Engineering University (NRU MGSU) with a degree in mechanical engineer.