How to sell a share in an apartment in 2021 legally and profitably? Lawyer's answer

According to statistics, more than 50% of Russian housing is in shared ownership. The circumstances of acquiring shares are different - this is a pool purchase, an inheritance, privatization, and the deliberate acquisition of a share in a residential building, etc. If there is peace and harmony between the co-owners, then problems in the disposal of common property do not arise, but this does not always happen, I would even say that this is rather an exception. Sooner or later, people who cannot agree among themselves have a logical question: how to sell their share in the apartment? I want to answer the most popular questions that are most often asked to lawyers .

Selling a share in an apartment: LAW

According to the law, a transaction for the sale of a share in an apartment is subject to mandatory notarization. If you draw up an agreement in simple written form, Rosreestr simply will not register it.

Second feature. Before selling a share to a stranger, you must offer to buy it back to your co-owners (Article 250 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

If someone sold a share in an apartment in violation of the established procedure, without offering to buy it out to a co-owner, the one whose rights were infringed can go to court and demand the transfer of the buyer’s rights to himself. Those. It is impossible not to demand that the transaction be declared invalid, but to ask the court to buy out this share on the same terms for the same amount.

This can also be done if a person sold a share to an outsider at a price lower than what he offered to the co-owner. The law is clear: you can sell a share to a third party at a price no lower than that specified in the offer to sell the share, which must be sent to the co-owners.

Corner in the room for sale

This growth occurs most often due to the division of apartments between several heirs, during divorces, or when square meters are simply donated. As a result, one apartment ends up with several owners, often complete strangers to each other. Some of them live in such an apartment, while others have such a share that you can’t live in it. It’s rare that one of these co-owners manages to reach an amicable agreement and sell a share that cannot be lived on by someone who already lives in the apartment.

Therefore, the explanations of the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation about the conditions under which the owner of the majority of an apartment can forcibly buy out their insignificant share from other owners can help many citizens.

Our story began in an ordinary city apartment, where a couple and their little daughter lived. This three-room apartment was at one time privatized equally between the man and his mother. Later, the mother sold her share. My son, wife and child were left with half a ruble. But in fact they occupied two isolated rooms. The other half of the apartment turned out to be the property of a certain citizen who bought this half. He did not plan to live in the apartment and, through gift agreements, sold his part “piece by piece” to three different citizens. As soon as the family living in the apartment became aware of this “gift,” they began to ask the new neighbors to sell them their meters. But it was not possible to agree on a price.

Then the family went to the district court with a lawsuit, in which they asked to recognize the shares of the new co-owners as insignificant, terminate their ownership rights, and pay them the market value of the shares.

The district court simply turned the family down. Then they stubbornly moved on. The city court considered that the plaintiffs' demands were justified and granted the claim. The appeal concluded that the share of each of the defendants is insignificant; it is impossible to provide them with isolated living quarters commensurate with their share. The parties failed to agree on the right to use the apartment. At the same time, the defendants are not registered there, they live in another place, and they own another living space. And all of the above is enough to satisfy the requirements of a family with a child.

Then the new owners tried to challenge the city court's decision. In the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. There they insisted: they needed an apartment, and the value of the share presented by the appraiser was underestimated. True, for some reason they did not ask for an examination.

But the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation sided with the appeal, considering its position correct. The Supreme Court recalled Article 252 of the Civil Code, which explains when the owner of a small share can be forced to sell it at market value, without his consent.

But which share is considered insignificant? One that in reality cannot be distinguished. And also - if the owner is not interested in using the common property. Whether the owner needs his share or not is decided on a case-by-case basis, the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases said. But the age of the person in question, his state of health, profession, whether he has children and many other circumstances are taken into account.

If the share of the apartment cannot be made into a separate room, it is considered insignificant

The Supreme Court explained what the lack of interest in the use of housing by the owner of a small share looks like. This is information about the availability of other real estate (confirmed by an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate). We also need information that the owner of the share has never lived in the disputed apartment. It is necessary to provide the court with documents that the main owners bear the full cost of maintaining the apartment. The degree of relationship is also important. The possibility of allocating a share in kind is assessed based on the total area of the disputed object, the number of rooms and the possibility of allocating an isolated room. The claim of the co-owners can be satisfied only if the share of the “extra” neighbor is so small that it cannot be allocated to a separate premises.

This year a law appeared that share owners should be aware of. We're talking about microshares. A share in an apartment, according to this law, can now only be sold if its footage meets the established standard. Previously, you could sell even half a meter, but now it is prohibited.

The possibility of conducting transactions with microshares has given rise to a lot of fraudulent schemes. A special law had to be developed. According to it, a share in the common ownership of an apartment can be formed and alienated only if its final size allows the owner to move into the premises and live in it. If the share is less than this norm, the sale transaction will not be possible. The value of the norm is established separately by the authorities of each region of the Russian Federation.

Is it possible to sell a child’s share in an apartment?

Yes, you can, for this you need to obtain the consent of the guardianship and trusteeship authority. In this case, in exchange for the alienated share, the child must receive an equivalent share in another residential area, otherwise the guardianship will not give permission for the transaction. It is not necessary to carry out both transactions of sale and transfer of property to a minor through purchase and sale. An option is possible in which the minor’s share is sold, and he receives an equal share as a gift. The task of guardianship is to ensure that the minor is not left without property, his share is not reduced, and conditions do not worsen.

Transactions involving guardianship and trusteeship authorities are always difficult and time-consuming. On average, it takes the guardianship authorities 1-1.5 months to consider the application. At the same time, guardianship does not always make a positive decision. If they do not give permission for the transaction, there is only one way out - to go to court, but this is a very slow process. On average, the consideration of a case takes 6 months. Whether the buyer will wait that long is a big question.

Who most often becomes the buyer of shares?

There is a demand for shares in the real estate market. Of course, it is not comparable with the demand for separate housing, but they still buy them. At the same time, a huge misconception among owners is the assessment of the value of the share.

For example, the price of ½ share in an apartment and the market value of the entire property, divided by two, are completely different things. The price of the share will always be lower, because in this case there are aggravating circumstances that may prevent the new owner from fully using the property. To determine the market price of your share, it is best to contact an independent appraiser.

Personally, in my opinion, the market price of a share always tends to zero, because it is a suitcase without a handle.
(Svetlana Petrikova, lawyer, partner at the law firm PG Partners)

If this share can at least be allocated, for example, we are talking about 1/3 in a three-room apartment, while the owner can count on a separate room - this is all right.

Get legal advice on selling a share in an apartment

Order a consultation

If we are talking about a share, for example, in a one-room apartment, where there is only one room and nothing can be allocated, then ownership of the share does not even guarantee that the owner will be able to live in this apartment.

Another misconception is to think that the size of the share is proportional to the owner’s rights to occupy a certain area in the apartment. A share is a right of joint ownership.

Moreover, the owner of even the largest share may occupy the smallest room or not be able to live in the apartment at all. It all depends on the conditions and circumstances of the other co-owners.

Let's say there is a two-room apartment, rooms measuring 10, 19 square meters. m. The apartment has two owners - the first single man has 2/3 shares, the second - a woman with a child has 1/3 shares. Moreover, if the co-owners cannot agree and determine the procedure for using the residential premises through the court. A woman with a child can get a larger room, despite having a smaller share. Therefore, when purchasing a share, you should not count on the fact that you will be able to get a proportional area in the residential premises for use.

For an ordinary ordinary buyer, a share in an apartment is not of particular interest; he would rather consider even the smallest studio. Shares are of great interest mainly for black realtors, who move into a residential building and systematically drive out the remaining residents, inducing them to sell their shares for pennies.

Why is market share assessment needed?

Carrying out audit activities will allow the company's management to determine the future prospects of its financial activities. Thanks to competent marketing research, professionals will identify the level of competitiveness of the enterprise. Correctly defining a market segment makes it possible to:

increase the efficiency of pricing policy;
develop methods of sales promotion;
determine the effectiveness of the organization;
identify the right directions for product promotion;
reduce production costs;
predict the development prospects of the company;
enter new markets;
produce larger packages.

Is it possible to draw up a donation agreement for a share in an apartment?

Yes, you can donate a share in an apartment. In this case, you do not even need to inform your co-owners, much less be interested in their opinion on this matter. The only condition is that the transaction must also be certified by a notary. This is a kind of loophole in our legislation for those who want to get rid of their share without informing their intractable co-owners. People practice such a thing as buying a share through a gift agreement. In this case, all documents are formalized as a donation, and the buyer unofficially transfers the money to the seller. From a legal point of view, this is illegal. If an interested party proves in court that the seller received money under a gift agreement, he will be able to raise the issue of invalidating the transaction. In addition, such a scheme is very risky for the seller. Money is transferred unofficially, and if something goes wrong, no one can prove anything. As a lawyer, I would not recommend anyone to use such a scheme.

Donation is one of those transactions that is quite difficult to challenge in court, however, this is possible under certain circumstances.

The share of a minor cannot be gifted. Guardianship will not give permission for this.

What is the procedure for performing online share valuation?

First you need to choose an audit organization, paying attention to customer reviews and the availability of documents confirming the knowledge of employees. After this, the customer enters into an agreement with the company.

Assessment requires providing specialists with:

financial statements;
business plan;
information on production volumes.

After receiving the papers, the appraiser conducts a detailed analysis of them. Next, the auditor prepares a report, which he transmits to the client after the examination.

Is it possible to buy out a neighbor's share against his will?

It is possible to buy out a share against the will of a neighbor, but only if this share is insignificant (1/8, 1/10, 1/32, 1/50, etc.), the owner does not live there and it cannot be allocated in kind .

For example, in a two-room apartment there are two owners. One has a 7/8 share, the other 1/8. Provided that the owner of the smaller share does not live there and has no interest in the property, you can go to court and demand that the co-owner be forced to sell his share at the market price. To do this, it is necessary to make an assessment of this share and deposit the entire amount with the court. This practice is not uncommon. Courts are willing to give permission for the redemption of insignificant shares, because in reality, an insignificant share is of no benefit either to the owner or to his co-owner, who cannot fully manage his property.

What to do if neighbors prevent you from selling your share in an apartment?

Comply with all the conditions of Art. 250 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation “Preemptive right to purchase” and sell. If neighbors do not allow potential buyers into the apartment for viewing, then sell without viewing. Such offers also occur, however, the price for such options is negligible.

What documents are needed to evaluate an apartment or room in a communal apartment?

Passport of the customer of the assessment.
Certificate of state registration of rights or extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.*
The document providing the basis for the purchase of housing, indicated in the certificate of registration of title or in the USRN extract.**
Technical passport (or extract from the technical passport) of the BTI, including an explanation and a floor plan.

* If the housing is located in a new building and there is no certificate of state registration of rights, the assessment of the apartment in the new building is carried out on the basis of an agreement for shared participation in construction.

** This can be a purchase and sale agreement, an agreement of shared participation in construction, a gift agreement, etc.

To evaluate an apartment, it is enough to provide copies of documents or send scanned pages by email.

Missing documents? No problem! Call us for a consultation: +7 495 22-777-92

How to force a share to be sold?

Answers the question

Sincerely, Victoria Suvorova, leading lawyer of family law (Pyatigorsk)

Once upon a time there lived people in a three-room apartment; Sasha used one room. Well, how I used it - I stored furniture there, my unnecessary things, in short, a warehouse. His ex-wife Sveta and their daughter lived in the other two rooms. Sveta really wanted to buy this room from Sasha and never see him or his things again.

Sasha lived separately, but did not want to sell his room to her. He doesn’t need money, and let him have 1/3 share in the apartment. As they say, the owner is a gentleman, he wants to keep the furniture, but he wants to settle a camp there.

Sveta thought and thought and decided to go to court. The claim was to recognize Sasha’s share as insignificant and to buy it out.

But she lost the first trial, and the appeal too. The case was appealed and the Supreme Court (this is the main one in our country) sided with her.⠀