Privatization of land in Russia: concept, types, forms, grounds for free, features of property rights, and what it is, is it necessary and can it be sold?

Definition of the concept: what is it and what does it give?

Privatization of a land plot is a legal process , the main purpose of which is to acquire state or municipal land into the ownership of citizens of the Russian Federation.
This procedure does not occur chaotically, but is regulated by the norms of legislation: federal and constituent entities. The main issues are covered in the Land Code of the Russian Federation. There is an established procedure that helps citizens become land owners.

What does an ordinary citizen in Russia need?

The existence of property rights guarantees that a citizen has the right to carry out all possible legal processes and operations with land . But this will become possible only after privatization.

After completing the procedure, a citizen has the right to give, inherit, alienate, change, and also carry out other transactions with real estate.

Drawing up a boundary plan and stages of work for registration of cadastral registration

Contacting an organization providing land management services requires submitting:

statements according to the established form;
registration certificates for a specific area of land;
confirmation of ownership of this area;
passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation confirming the identity of the applicant;
extracts from the BTI on buildings existing on the designated territory;
cadastral extract and territory plan.

The work carried out by a land management specialist is as follows:

collection and analysis of all necessary information;
notification, as well as coordination of emerging issues with citizens and organizations whose rights will be affected during land surveying. Based on this, an act on the approval of boundaries is drawn up;
geodetic survey of a specific area of land;
processing and analysis of the results of the work performed;
preparation and execution of a boundary plan of the site in question;
performing the necessary final actions to register the site with cadastral registration, including directly contacting the relevant authority;
obtaining a passport and a certificate indicating the coordinates of a specific area.

Certification in form with the seal and signature of the performing engineer is required.

Is it necessary to purchase municipal land?

Each citizen decides for himself whether he needs to acquire ownership of a plot of land or not. In many ways, this question is individual, as it depends directly on the characteristics of the site itself, the citizen’s plans, as well as some legal and legal aspects.

Until what year is it extended?

And yet, if a citizen’s plans include privatization of a land plot, this procedure should not be postponed “for later.” In accordance with the law, the so-called “dacha amnesty” has been extended until March 1, 2021. This means that certain categories of citizens can resort to the privatization procedure before the specified moment .

The categories of persons who can take advantage of such an extension include owners of non-residential and residential buildings that are located on SNT, as well as owners of objects that are located on a site intended for dacha farming and gardening.

These changes were introduced by Federal Law No. 20 of February 28, 2015.

Special attention should be paid to the timing of the privatization procedure . If previously the process lasted for several calendar months, now it can be completed in just two or three weeks. However, if cadastral work is required on the site, the deadlines will be increased.

Step-by-step instructions for privatization

It is necessary to draw up an application in the specified form for consideration by the local government body under whose jurisdiction the specific territory is located, and indicate in it, in addition to personal data:
estimated area of the requested site;
and its intended purpose.
For the further registration procedure, you should receive a positive decision on the considered application and prepare all the necessary papers directly for the site itself - depending on the situation, take extracts from the Unified State Register or first register it.
Next, confirming the decision at the request of the applicant with the presence of the required documents and a receipt confirming payment of the state duty, you submit an application to the authorized body for the region in question for privatization in your favor of the designated territory.

Forms and types

Like any other procedure, land privatization can occur on a paid or free basis. Let's find out when we have to pay?

Free

Initially, regulations and legal acts allowed privatization on a free basis only until the end of December 2013. However, after a lot of criticism, the State Duma reconsidered this issue and state free privatization was extended until March 1, 2015.

Then a decision was made to extend it until 2021, but today this process is indefinite.

When can a citizen count on free privatization? This question is answered by Article 39.5 of the Land Code. This norm lists the grounds that give a citizen the right to use the free procedure.

A citizen can get rid of the need to pay money if:

he has three or more minor children;
received a plot of land for free personal use from a subsidiary plot.

However, the laws of the constituent entities may provide for other additional grounds that give the right to free privatization.

Important! If a citizen received a plot of land for the construction of a summer house, garage, house, etc. before 2001, then he can count on a free procedure.

More information about what free privatization of a land plot is, who is entitled to it, and how it is formalized is described in a separate publication.

Paid

Paid privatization of a land plot is carried out in accordance with Federal Law 178-FZ . A citizen has the right to receive ownership of any part of the land or the entire plot if there are any buildings and real estate objects located on it, for example, dachas, houses, outbuildings, and so on. The main thing is that these objects are registered with government agencies.

The land received after 2001 is privatized on a paid basis. The amount is small, but should be transferred as a purchase of the site from the state.

The amount is not set in a single equivalent, but is calculated . Municipal or federal authorities calculate the total by comparing land prices in the area, as well as based on the amount of land tax. Also, when assigning a value, they rely on the established cadastral value.

Confirmation of personal information for land privatization

The following should also be available to provide:

passport (copies of information pages in several copies), provision of data in all completed applications;
TIN certificate, provision of data in applications;
SNILS, provision of data in applications.

The applicant's marriage registration certificate and its copy may be required; check the need at the place where the request is being considered, depending on the specific case.

Grounds for free-of-charge

In 2021, the legislator has significantly reduced the list of persons who have the right to count on free privatization. Today, citizens who belong to the category of beneficiaries have this opportunity.

Another group of people with privileges are participants in the “dacha amnesty” program.

The category of beneficiaries includes the following citizens:

Military personnel.
Heroes of the Russian Federation.
Heroes of the USSR.
Veterans.
Orphans.
Families with three or more minor children.
And other categories of persons established by municipal authorities.

Preparatory stage

First of all, it is necessary to determine whether the land user has the right to privatize the land for free.

Individuals can privatize land free of charge once in their lifetime in the following cases:

If persons use state land for more than five years under a lease or free use agreement;
If persons have the right of perpetual use or lifelong inheritable possession;
If there is ownership of buildings within the boundaries of the site;
Upon the start of actual use of the site before October 25, 2001;
Large families.

It is important to remember that privatization of state-owned plots after five years of use is possible only in cases where the agreed conditions for such use are met (Article 39.5 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation).

Such conditions may include the following:

Construction of housing on the site;
Engaging in a certain type of activity on the site;
Work in a profession in demand in rural areas for a specified period of time.

Upon receipt of ownership of a building located on a land plot leased from the state, such plot is also subject to free privatization (Clause 1, Article 28 of Federal Law No. 178 “On Privatization...”).

Religious organizations that are legal entities can privatize land free of charge for farming in order to meet internal needs without the right to make a profit (Article 39.5 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation).

If the person applying for privatization does not belong to the above categories, then such a person can privatize the land by purchasing it from the state owner.

How to find out the status?

In order to find out whether someone has managed to privatize a land plot or not yet, you need to use some tips:

If the plot was received by a citizen before 2001, then it is necessary to contact the municipal authorities. In the archive you can find the Decree of the Administration, on the basis of which the land plot was provided to someone for use until you received this allotment. If there is no such document, then you need to resort to a public cadastral map. This method is suitable for land plots that were registered before 2001 and after this period.
The Unified Cadastral Map is a resource that is located on the Internet and provides citizens with publicly available information on land plots, as well as on the buildings located on them.
You need to type “Public card” into your browser. Go to the first tab. If you have the cadastral number of the plot, then enter it in the empty field. If not, then specify the city of your residence, and by searching on the map, highlight the cursor area. A pop-up window will appear on the screen that will display basic information about the land. This is the location address, area, established cadastral value, possible intended use, as well as the presence or absence of a form of ownership. Allotments that are in municipal or federal ownership of citizens are available for privatization.
The third, but no less effective way to use the Rosreestr portal. To do this, you need to go to the official website. You need to get an extract and pay the state fee in advance. You can receive the service either on the official website of Rosreestr or by visiting a branch in your locality in person.

How you can find out whether land is privatized, in government agencies, on the Internet and in other ways, is described in detail here.

Power of attorney

If for some reason the applicant himself cannot submit documents for privatization of the site, he can use the help of his representative. However, the powers of such a person must be certified by means of a power of attorney. The power of attorney for privatization must meet the following requirements :

Be certified by a notary in the manner prescribed by the legislation on notaries.
Contain passport details of both the principal and the authorized person.
Contain the necessary list of powers.

The powers that must be recorded in a power of attorney include at least the following:

Provide and receive documentation from various organizations and authorities.
Pay the state fee for completing registration actions.
Sign for the principal.

Procedure for carrying out the procedure in the Russian Federation

If the land plot is still in municipal ownership, you have every chance of becoming its full owner. But to do this you need to follow a series of sequential steps.

List of documents

The composition of the package of documents may vary depending on individual circumstances. But employees of a government agency may require the following documents:

A decree or certificate that confirms the fact that the plot has been provided for use.
Passport of the citizen for whom the certificate or resolution was issued. A photocopy will also be required.
Cadastral passport.
A passport issued by the BTI for all immovable objects located on the site.
Certificate from the state register about the non-commercial nature of SNT.
Constituent documentation of the partnership.
Extract from the Unified State Register.
If a person is a member of the SNT, a photocopy of his book will be required (how to privatize land in the SNT?).

How much does it cost to register a property?

The cost of the land privatization procedure itself . If a citizen participates in the dacha amnesty program, registration is free of charge. But there are also paid ways to become the owner of an allotment.

In the first case, you will need to buy it from the legal representative. If the plot was issued by the state free of charge, then you can register your own right.

You must pay the state fee:

For areas that are intended to be used for individual housing construction and SNT, etc., a state duty of 350 rubles is provided.
For other land plots 2,000 rubles.

You can pay the state fee both at the government agency itself and through the government services portal.

We wrote separately about how much the procedure for privatizing a land plot costs, the price for preparing documents, and state fees, but here you can familiarize yourself with the procedure and methods for the privatization of a land plot.

Where to start privatizing a land plot

To begin the process of land privatization, you must first make sure that it is subject to registration as a property, and also that the ownership rights to it have not yet been formalized.
You can obtain such information by requesting an extract from the Unified State Register. Any citizen can receive an extract by paying a preliminary state fee.

If there is an opportunity to privatize a plot, then you need to initiate the process by preparing documents. Often you have to look for some papers or get them again.

The exact list may vary depending on the region, so before starting the process it is better to obtain detailed advice from the administration of the area where you live.

Peculiarities

In the issue of land privatization, one cannot avoid any nuances and subtleties.

Is it possible to privatize a share of a land plot?

It is allowed to privatize a share in a land plot , however, this procedure is accompanied by some nuances:

To do this, you need to allocate a share in kind in the home ownership. That is, thus ending shared ownership. A division agreement is concluded between all owners of the plot. The share registers the ownership of part of the building.
Next you need to resort to the land surveying procedure. The changes made should be reflected on the cadastral map.
Then the citizen must draw up an application for the provision of plots of property. After this, a decree is issued in his name, according to which the allocated share becomes his property.
The following is the general procedure for registering rights.

We have described in detail about the privatization of a land plot into joint ownership, for example, by residents under an apartment building, here.

No buildings

In accordance with the law, only that land plot without buildings that previously belonged to a citizen of the Russian Federation under a lease or perpetual use agreement can be privatized.

In essence, what will happen is not privatization, but re-registration. Only those land plots that were provided for the purpose of gardening, individual housing construction, subsidiary farming and gardening can participate in such a procedure.

Under the garage

The owner of the garage can also become the full owner of not only the building, but also the land underneath it . The privatization procedure will require going through three stages:

You need to get a certificate from the chairman of the garage cooperative, which indicates that the cooperative was registered with the local administration.
Then you need to go to the BTI along with a certificate in order to obtain a technical description of the land plot under the garage.
At the registration chamber you need to find out the necessary list of documents, create a package and again appear at the registration chamber to issue a certificate that will secure you as the owner of the land under the garage.

We wrote about the nuances of privatizing land under a garage in another article.

For rent

Legislation allows the privatization of plots that are leased . However, in this matter you need to rely on the date when the contract was concluded. If the land plot was leased before January 1, 2001, then privatization is possible. However, if the contract was executed after this date, then in this case registration of ownership rights can only be carried out for a fee.

Everything is explained by the adoption of the Land Code of the Russian Federation in 2001.

The procedure is divided into several stages:

A package of documents is being prepared.
Cadastral registration of the territory.
Applying to the administration or the Federal Property Management Agency.
Issuance of a permitting act for privatization.
Registration of the site in Rosreestr.

Read more about how to privatize leased land here.

Country house on its own

The legislation of the Russian Federation states that it is not necessary to privatize a dacha building, since it is located on a plot of land that is owned by a citizen.
Therefore, if you have already carried out procedures for privatizing land, then this is quite enough. However, if in the future it is planned to transfer the country house by inheritance, sell it, and carry out other transactions, then the privatization procedure must be carried out.

This process is quite simple and is carried out on a general basis. Read more about the privatization of a country house on your own land here.

The procedure for free privatization

The land privatization procedure consists of the following steps:

Collection and preparation of the necessary package of documents. This stage is usually the most labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Sending documents to the organization depending on the owner of the plot indicated in the extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate: territorial branch of the Federal Property Management Agency - if the land is in federal ownership; municipal administration - if the site belongs to the municipality.
Land surveying and cadastral registration of the site. This procedure is necessary only if the land was not previously registered properly. The applicant needs to call a cadastral engineer, who will clarify the boundaries of the site, assign an identification number to it, draw up its plan and passport. To register an object for cadastral registration, you must submit a corresponding application to Rosreestr.
Contacting the administration or the Federal Property Management Agency with an application for privatization.
Obtaining a decision on privatization or refusal. The decision to refuse privatization can be challenged in court.
Payment of state duty.
Registration of property rights in Rosreestr. The decision of the authorized body gives the citizen the right to apply to Rosreestr to enter information about the new owner into the state register.

The process of registering ownership of a land plot is quite lengthy and takes about 2 months from the date of submission of documents to the relevant authority.

Documentation

To obtain land ownership, a citizen will need to prepare and provide a certain package of documents twice:

to obtain permission for privatization from the authorized body;
for registration of property rights - in Rosreestr

The following documents must be provided to the first instance:

passport;
power of attorney (if a representative acts on behalf of the citizen);
application for permission to privatize the site;
a document confirming the right to use the land (for example, a certificate of perpetual use rights, a lease agreement, an order for the allocation of a plot);
an application requesting to terminate the right to free use of the site (if it was received for use on this basis);
consent of the spouse, certified by a notary;
cadastral passport, extract from the Unified State Register or a document confirming the absence of a cadastral number for the plot;
a document confirming the applicant’s relationship to the category of citizens entitled to participate in privatization.

When accepting documents, a specialist from the authorized body draws up an inventory of them and issues the applicant a receipt of their acceptance. An exhaustive list of documents will depend on the grounds for the application and the purpose of the land used by the citizen. A 30-day period is provided for checking the papers and making a decision.

To register property rights you will need:

passport;
application for registration of rights;
permission from the authorized body for privatization;
receipt of payment of state duty.

Statement

After preparing the documents, along with the application, they are submitted to the administration at the location of the site or to the branch of the Federal Property Management Agency.

The application form is not specified, but it must contain the following information:

name of the authority to which the application is sent;
Full name, address and contact telephone number of the citizen;
a request for registration of ownership of a land plot, information about it (location, category of plot, type of use, presence of objects on it);
regulatory justification for the request;
date and signature of the applicant.

The application can be printed, handwritten, or filled out using a template issued by the authorized body. The main thing is that the information contained in it is correct and reliable.

Based on the results of consideration of the application, a decision is made. A positive decision is the basis for registering ownership of the plot.

Cadastral registration

This stage of land registration must be completed by those citizens whose use of a plot of land has uncertain boundaries or requires clarification. To determine or clarify boundaries, land surveying is carried out. This procedure is carried out by a cadastral engineer, with whom it is necessary to conclude an agreement. The costs of paying for his services are borne by the applicant.

Based on the document issued by the engineer (site plan), you must contact Rosreestr to register the land for cadastral registration.

Price

The exact amount of expenses that the applicant will have to bear at all stages of the privatization procedure will depend on many factors:

is land surveying and cadastral registration required;
what documents need to be prepared (some certificates are issued for a fee);
Does a citizen need to use the services of a lawyer and a notary?

The cost of services of various specialists depends on the region, as well as the size of the site.

An approximate list of costs would be as follows:

services of a cadastral engineer – from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles;
notary services – from 1000 to 3000 rubles;
The state duty for registering property rights is 350 rubles (Article 333.33 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If any documents are lost, obtaining duplicates may incur additional costs.

Which categories are not subject to the procedure?

The current legislation does not allow the privatization of all land plots . What is the exception?

For example, such plots include lands that are part of protected natural sites, forest or water resources, territories that are assigned for federal or municipal needs, lands within the coastal strip, lands in natural parks and reserves, and so on. Find out which categories of land are not subject to privatization in this article.

SNT

SNT lands are often privatized by citizens. Ownership of land in SNT gives participants the right to engage in agricultural activities.

And the presence of legally formalized rights to an allotment gives a citizen the basis to dispose of the plot at his own discretion. However, in some cases privatization may be refused.

This happens if the allotment was excluded from circulation. A ban was imposed on privatization . The state plans to use this plot for other purposes.

The procedure for privatizing a land plot in a gardening partnership is described in detail in another publication.

Agricultural

Agricultural land includes land, areas that are occupied by communications, roads, green spaces, water bodies, buildings, and so on.
Privatization of such a plot is a transfer of the right to ownership into private ownership. It is possible to privatize only those agricultural lands that are currently in state or municipal ownership. Both individuals and legal entities can participate in the privatization procedure .

A refusal to privatize agricultural land can be obtained in a situation where a citizen wants to acquire a plot that is of particular importance. For example, there are buildings on it that supply those around with communications, water, and so on.

Find out more information on how to register ownership of agricultural plots here.

Lack of title papers

A situation is possible when there is a land plot that a citizen uses, but there are no title documents for it - they were lost or were not properly registered at all. How to be in this case? There are two ways to proceed here:

Try to restore missing documentation . To do this, you can request copies of them from municipal or state archives. If the originals are stored there, you can continue to act administratively.
Achieve judicial recognition of the right to privatize the site . This will require an application to the court justifying the reasons why the land should be made available to the applicant and attaching evidence supporting his position.

If the court decision has been made, further privatization of the land plot can be carried out on its basis. In addition, if there are no documents for the land, you can try to re-issue them. To do this, you can, for example, draw up a lease or similar agreement, under which the applicant will receive the right to use this site. Then you can act in the manner established by the RF Land Code and the Privatization Law.

Is it possible to sell land without title?

The lack of land ownership indicates that the privatization procedure was not carried out. This means that a citizen does not have full rights that would allow transactions with real estate, in this case, transactions with land.

Therefore, it will not be possible to sell land without privatization , since a citizen does not have the rights to carry out such a procedure. The land plot is still in state or municipal ownership.

But the state or municipality has the right to sell this land plot to a citizen, thus carrying out a paid privatization procedure, as a result of which the person will become the owner.

Privatization of land plots is a complex procedure that is carried out in several stages. It contains many nuances that you may encounter during implementation. But careful study of the legislation, as well as step-by-step adherence to the plans, will bear fruit; soon you will become the owner of your own land plot.

Extract from Rosreestr and procedure for its registration

The following are submitted to the territorial branch of Rosreestr or MFC:

applicant's passport;
a statement of the established form indicating the necessary information;
receipt of payment of state duty.

You must appear for your statement on the specified date.

An extract from the Unified State Register can be issued to any interested person, however, if it contains more complete information, only the owner or his authorized representative can apply for it if he has the appropriate document.

Required documents

After determining the possibility of privatization, the following documents must be prepared:

Copy of the passport;
Document on the right to use land;
Certificate of a father of many children (mother of many children);
Certificate of presence of buildings on the site;
Cadastral documents (if available).

The document on the right to use land may include a certificate of the right of perpetual use or lifelong inheritable possession, as well as a lease agreement or an agreement on the provision of land from the authorities.

Defining boundaries

In the absence of documented boundaries, the person applying for privatization must, at his own expense, organize cadastral work on the site to determine the boundaries.

To do this, you need to contact a geodetic company or a private cadastral engineer to order and carry out boundary work. The work is carried out by a visiting cadastral specialist from a geodetic company.

If the plot is located surrounded by neighboring plots, then it is necessary to obtain the signatures of the neighbors that they agree with the boundaries determined in the process of boundary work by the cadastral specialist.

After completing the work to determine the boundaries, the client of the geodetic company is issued a survey document indicating the coordinates of the boundaries, which is subject to registration with the BTI in order to receive a cadastral passport.

Refusal to privatize

After reviewing the application and the documents attached to it, local authorities may decide to refuse privatization. In this case, the applicant has the right to defend his interests in court. To do this, you need to prepare a statement of claim, which outlines the essence of the problem. Documents are submitted to the district court at the location of the land.

Along with the claim, a package of papers is submitted confirming the applicant’s right to go to court. The procedure is complex and can take several months, so it is better to entrust the preparation of a claim and representation of interests in court to a specialized lawyer.

The choice between privatization and rent

When talking about renting a land plot, it is often equated with privatization itself, and this is a mistake. First of all, you can register a lease whose use lasts more than 1 year. This procedure involves the same documents as the usual one, but it is not a purchase and sale agreement that is provided, but a land lease agreement.

The peculiarities of a lease include the fact that it greatly limits the owner’s actions and powers on a separate plot of land; moreover, he needs to regularly pay rent and strictly adhere to the lease agreement. If the land is purchased on an ongoing basis, he is actually and legally its owner, and has the right to deal with it based on his own considerations within the framework of current legislation. Thus, having prepared all the necessary documents and made a one-time payment for privatization, the owner bears full responsibility for the site and the property on it.

It is clear that renting will become more profitable for those citizens who do not intend to stay in a given area for a long time or who do not want to register real estate for themselves for some reason. In other cases, it will be more convenient to privatize the land once and not return to this issue.

The topic of real estate always remains trembling and requires special attention. And although the privatization process is often not without bureaucratic difficulties and a significant investment of time, becoming the owner of real estate is a guarantee of confidence in the future and a prosperous family future.