Deprivatization of an apartment in 2021: step-by-step instructions and sample application

Law on deprivatization of apartments

The issue was considered at a parliamentary session last year, when deputies listened to a report on the topic.
Pensioners and poor citizens are increasingly turning to local authorities with the issue of reverse privatization. People find it difficult to pay utility costs, which are equal to half of their low income. The project caused a lot of controversy and concerns about the infringement of the interests of citizens and the emergence of fraudulent schemes in the real estate market. At the meeting, the issue of the possibility of a massive return of housing to the former state owner was discussed. There were suggestions of abuses by the local government and the inability to control the results of citizens’ actions. The law should come into effect in 2021, but the draft has been sent for revision.

The citizen submits a certificate of ownership and enters into an agreement with the administration on the rental of social housing. After privatization, there will be no need to vacate the occupied living space. The responsible tenant and his family remain in the same place and their registration is retained. The rights of the family are regulated by the contract, the rights and obligations specified in it.

Basic rights of citizens after deprivatization:

• the lifelong right of all former owners to reside in this area;
• arrange a sublease after official approval from the municipality;
• You cannot dispose of the real estate, but you can register family members for the area.

The relationship between the administration and tenants is regulated by the Housing Code of the Russian Federation and the provisions of the housing department of the municipality.

To begin deprivatization, you will need to pay attention to obtaining the consent of all apartment owners. Consent is certified by a notary; the presence of one refusenik will not allow participation in the deprivatization of the object. After obtaining consent, you must consider:

• interests of children and incapacitated citizens, guardianship permission is required;
• deprivatization is beneficial to all residents and is carried out without pressure, voluntarily.

After resolving the initial issues, receiving notarial waivers and permissions from the guardianship, you can begin deprivatization.

1. Documents and certificates are collected, an application is written to the housing commission on the issue of deprivatization. As a rule, citizens are sent to court to resolve the dispute.
2. A claim is filed and a trial is opened, a positive decision is submitted to Rosreestr. The defendant is the municipality, the decision obliges the object to be accepted for balance within 2 months.
3. Officials are required to re-register the property in a unified register and conclude a social tenancy agreement with residents.

The process is considered a mandatory but formal procedure. Judicial practice on the return of property is positive for plaintiffs; refusal is issued in extreme and seriously justified situations.

The grounds for refusal may be:

• the presence of an illegal layout. The completed repair actions included in the list must be legalized, changes made to the cadastral passport;
• lack of consent of all property owners;
• having children will require significant explanation and effort;
• debt on utility bills;
• inheritance of one share will never allow deprivatization.

You can remove yourself from the status of owner only after privatization, and not other legal transactions.

You must first pay your debts and obtain a certificate of full payment of utility bills. You can go through the review quickly and without problems by contacting the housing commission. The trial will delay deprivatization for 2 months and will require monetary costs. The apartment must not be under arrest, not act as collateral in credit relations and not be a disputed property.

Contacting the municipality will clarify the specific situation and subsequent actions. The administration reluctantly agrees to return problematic housing, in emergency and dilapidated stock, to the balance sheet. Don’t be afraid of the lawsuit; the representative of the municipal service will not have any serious arguments for refusal. The tenant’s argument is the inability to pay the owner’s obligations and the reluctance to accumulate debts and pay arrears.

Apart from two ways: the administration and the court, there are no methods to abandon the government program and return the property to the legal owner. Difficulties are possible with specific features, since there are no legally prescribed rules.

Forced deprivatization is possible without the consent of the owner. The main reason may be procedural violations identified during privatization. The decision is made by the court, the plaintiff is an interested person whose interests were neglected during the primary procedure. For example, a notarized waiver of participation in the program was not provided.

The draft new law considers the possibility of forced deprivatization if a person is recognized as poor according to certain criteria. In such a situation, the state assumes responsibility for maintaining the property, and the tenant receives the right to lifelong use under the social rental option.

The return of real estate, the joint or sole owner of which is a child, is almost impossible. The state protects the interests of minors, the dispute is resolved exclusively in court. An official from the guardianship and trusteeship authority testifies at the trial and explains the permissive/prohibitive position of his authority. The plaintiff will have to prove that the child’s rights are not affected and he benefits from the upcoming operation.

It is impossible to transfer part of a property to a state fund; only a complete transfer is permissible. If we are talking about a room in a communal apartment, then the owner can dispose of it without agreement with the owners of other rooms. Having a personal certificate of ownership, you can apply to the municipality with a request to deprivatize the room. It is not provided for by law to privatize or return a separate share to the state.

Before filing a claim with the municipality in court, it is recommended to carry out pre-trial work. The settlement administration must have a housing commission, which is responsible for privatization issues. The petition is submitted in writing and is given 30 days to wait for a response. Once permission is received, the procedure must be continued; the refusal can be appealed in court.

The pre-trial appeal and the administration's response are attached to the claim, explaining the circumstances of the case to the judge. If there are no limiting reasons for refusing deprivatization, then the applicant receives a decision after the end of the process. This legal act is submitted to the housing department, and on the basis of which the property acquires state status.

You can go to court if a dispute exists between shared owners of an apartment. The refusal of one of the residents to deprivatize can also be appealed in court if there are grounds for filing a claim. In case of disagreement with the court ruling, the disputants can appeal to a higher court. You can file an appeal before the decision comes into force, that is, within a month after the final meeting.

The right to retransfer housing is established by Federal Law No. 1541-1, in Article 9.1, which is also the main legislative act regulating privatization.

After it is completed, the former owner will no longer have the right to alienate the property, and even to rent it out, permission from the municipality will be required. He will only have the right to reside in accordance with the agreement he has concluded.

Considering the above consequences, the procedure as a whole is rarely justified, because the gain is relatively small, and in the future plans may change and, for example, you will need to sell an apartment - but this opportunity will no longer exist. Therefore, before applying, you should think carefully about all these factors, and carry out deprivatization only with one hundred percent confidence in its benefits and necessity.

We invite you to read: The right to communicate with the child’s grandparents, brothers, sisters and other relatives

Attention

Now in Russia they can be used by:

• tenants during the resettlement of dilapidated and emergency apartments;
• law enforcement officials;
• military personnel;
• former orphans.

• Improving living conditions. When demolishing dilapidated and unsafe buildings, according to the law, the tenant is provided with living space, the area of ​​which is determined based on the number of residents registered in it at a rate of 12÷18 m2 per person.

However, a pensioner, a social housing tenant, lives in peace; it will not be possible to take away social housing from swindlers.

• Inheritance issues.

A sample statement of claim to declare privatization illegal is here. Consequences The privatization process may be declared invalid if violations are discovered during its implementation.

Important

If the court satisfies the plaintiff's demands, all legal consequences of the transaction will be canceled. Residential property is returned to the municipality or state, and citizens have the opportunity to rent housing.

It should be noted that the court will only take into account the basis on which the claims are based. If there are several reasons, all of them must be stated in the application.

Attention

To make a qualified decision, you will need to collect significant evidence and obtain serious legal support. Often the plaintiffs are citizens who have discovered gaps in the process and demand that it be cancelled.

Info

In this case, it is possible for this person to file a lawsuit in court demanding that his refusal be declared invalid, since it was made due to a mistake. Here is presented judicial practice on recognizing the illegal privatization of an apartment.

About the pros and cons

Speaking about the strengths and weaknesses of the annulment of the owner’s rights to his home, it is worth considering them, first of all, from the position of the former owner.

• the process of re-privatization of this housing will become a non-issue;
• the apartment is no longer owned; accordingly, the tenant living in it will not be able to sell it, mortgage it, donate it or bequeath it;
• There may be difficulties with renting out housing, since there are certain restrictions for social real estate.

Reprivatization of housing is a procedure for returning ownership of it to the state.

This activity has many restrictions and nuances, as well as negative aspects directly for the former owner of the property.

Despite the fact that, at first glance, giving up your own property seems strange, deprivatization also has advantages:

1. Most often, apartments located in dilapidated buildings are handed over to the authorities, thus gaining the opportunity to get new housing.
2. If the house is old and neglected, the costs of maintaining your living space often become prohibitive. In such a case, refusing it leads to freedom from financial expenses.
3. Having become a tenant, a citizen is not responsible for the maintenance of the local area.
4. Tax exemption is also one of the undeniable advantages of deprivatization.
5. The lack of your own housing makes it possible to participate in various social programs to obtain it.
6. In the event of an emergency (fire, flooding, etc.), the state will compensate for the damage to housing under social rent.

Despite so many advantages, the deprivatization procedure also has significant disadvantages.

1. Inability to manage living space.

Conditions for deprivatization of an apartment in 2021

Deprivatization of a residential property refers to the process when the state again becomes the owner of the property.

To deprivatize a residential property, citizens must:

1. 
   Submit an application for the residential premises to be deprivatized;

2. Deprivatized real estate cannot act as collateral;
3. Pay all existing debts for utilities;
4. Housing can be deprivatized only if there are no obligations in relation to the apartment to other interested citizens.

The advantages of this process:

1. The deprivatization procedure allows citizens living in an apartment not to pay for repairs to the local area;
2. Residents of state apartments are exempt from paying property taxes;
3. A limited number of people can live in a privatized property.

The only disadvantage of the privatized area is that if the house is in disrepair, the family will not be able to get new housing.

There are several options for deprivatization of a residential property:

1. Voluntary consent of the property owner;
2. Based on a court decision.

Deprivatization of housing law

Without being the owner, you cannot perform any legal actions with the apartment (sell, exchange, donate, etc.).

Deprivatization can be started for various reasons; there are positive and negative sides.

Advantages of deprivatization:

• you will not be required to pay an annual property tax. Recently, the tax has been levied based on the cadastral value, which results in a significant amount. Compared to previous assessments, taxation requires the repayment of thousands of rubles. Cadastral data can only be challenged in court, which is resorted to in extreme cases;
• no need to pay for major repairs or maintenance of common house premises;
• in case of unforeseen situations, fire or flood, the municipality must provide living space;
• By occupying social housing, you can qualify for improved living conditions.

Legal protection for single occupants is important. Privatized housing can become a bait for scammers, scammers will not be able to encroach on the social area, and nothing threatens the lives of pensioners.

Disadvantages of deprivatization:

• you cannot become participants in the privatization program a second time;
• no legal real estate transactions are required;
• Coordination with municipal services will be required when subleasing living space;
• Social housing cannot become collateral in credit procedures.

Having become the owner, each citizen personally assesses the situation and weighs the reasons for returning the object to the state.

Rules and nuances of deprivatization of an apartment

Regardless of the purpose for which the decision was made to carry out such a procedure as the deprivatization of an apartment, what exactly it is and how to carry it out correctly, a lawyer can answer.

It is important to obtain preliminary legal advice in the presence of non-standard situations, each of which has its own specific solution.

1. The presence of minor residents among those registered in the deprivatized apartment. In this case, the transfer of housing into the ownership of the local municipality is possible only with the permission of the local guardianship authorities.
2. Shared ownership of real estate has some features regarding deprivatization, which can be refused if there is no permission for this action from at least one of the other shareholders. Otherwise, the algorithm for transferring rights to real estate remains the same.
3. The concept of deprivatization of housing bypassing the owner does not exist. In any case, such a transaction is declared invalid by law and is considered a criminal violation of the rights of the apartment owner. The property is returned to the hands of the owner who has title to it.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with: Registration of the purchase of an apartment: documents, stages and procedure for completing the transaction

Housing that has been assigned the status of emergency dilapidated housing is not subject to deprivatization. It is prohibited to register additional residents in emergency living space. There are many controversial issues regarding departmental real estate, and legal disputes between the administration, department and people last for years. For example, if the living space is located in a military camp, then the question arises about the illegality of the previous privatization.

Often an obstacle is illegal redevelopment, which will first have to be legalized. An administrative fine is paid and the legality of the retroactive redevelopment is decided in court. It is difficult to resolve the issue if there are children among the owners or one owner refuses to participate in the deprivatization of the common living space.

Currently, when a more convenient and simpler voluntary procedure for the return of housing to the municipality is available, judicial deprivatization usually occurs only if there are some violations in the legal agreement on the privatization of the relevant residential premises.

The privatization agreement is declared invalid by the judge on grounds arising from the requirements of the Russian Civil Code (Articles 168-171, 176-179). Such violations, for example, may include the lack of the right of a certain person to participate in privatization.

Another common basis for the deprivatization of housing in the Russian Federation through the courts is the completion of a civil law transaction with this housing under the influence of a misconception, which is essential for understanding the meaning of the transaction (Article 178 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

It is possible to challenge contracts in court if there is a proven influence on a party to the transaction through violence, deception or threat.

The judicial method of deprivatization takes much more time and, accordingly, the efforts of the interested party than the voluntary procedure for returning the premises to municipal property, since the plaintiff needs to prove that the privatization agreement was concluded in violation of civil law.

In addition, in practice, in similar cases, the courts have made opposite decisions, so there is still no guarantee of deprivatization of an apartment in court, despite the extensive judicial practice.

The process of transferring living space involves the submission of an appropriate application by the owner of the property. At the same time, the deprivatization procedure may have some nuances depending on the characteristics of a particular case.

If the apartment was built in a housing cooperative, acquired under a real estate purchase and sale agreement, received as an inheritance or under a gift agreement, transfer such housing into the ownership of the municipality, i.e. deprivatization cannot be carried out.

Due to the fact that the procedural side of deprivatization was not reflected in the law on the privatization of housing stock in the Russian Federation, it is necessary to refer to the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. From the analysis of the provisions on privatization, which are enshrined in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the process of deprivatization resembles the process of privatization, completed in reverse order.

Since a privatization agreement was concluded for the privatization of an apartment, the procedure for deprivatization is nothing more than the termination of the relevant agreement.

A number of legal scholars say that deprivatization can be carried out in two ways: by terminating the contract and transferring the apartment into ownership (Article 450 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) or declaring such an agreement invalid (Article 166 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). In both cases, the residential premises are returned to state or municipal ownership.

Tolstoy Yu.K. rightly indicates that termination of the contract can be discussed when the contract (in whole or in part) has not yet been fulfilled. If the contract is fully executed by the time of subsequent deprivatization, then there is nothing to terminate. It is not always possible to use such a tool as declaring a contract invalid.

To do this, there must be grounds provided for by law, which does not include an error in motives. The solution is to give the citizen the right to conclude an agreement on the deprivatization of housing, which would provide that the citizen remains to live in the same premises as a tenant.

Pospelov O.V. believes that the right to privatize housing is restored only if the privatization agreement is declared invalid for any reason of nullity. If the housing privatization transaction is null and void, the privatization agreement does not entail legal consequences, except for those related to its invalidity, and is invalid from the moment of its completion, i.e.

it should be assumed that citizens have not acquired the right of private ownership of housing and have not exercised their right to privatize housing. In the case of a court declaring a voidable privatization agreement invalid, only two-way restitution takes place: the apartment, which is privately owned by citizens, is returned to the state or municipal housing stock;

citizens acquire the right to use the specified apartment under the terms of the rental agreement. Thus, under voidable privatization agreements, the right of citizens to privatize housing is not restored. At the same time O.V. Pospelov points out the inadmissibility of using the term re-privatization of housing.

1) recognition of the agreement on the transfer of ownership of residential premises in the manner of privatization as invalid;

2) deprivatization of housing.

The recognition of an agreement on the transfer of ownership of residential premises in the manner of privatization as invalid is provided for in paragraph 6 of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated August 24, 1993. 8 On some issues of application by courts of the Law of the Russian Federation On the privatization of housing stock in the Russian Federation.

If a dispute arises regarding the legality of the agreement for the transfer of residential premises, this agreement, as well as the certificate of ownership, at the request of interested parties, may be declared invalid by the court on the grounds established by civil law for declaring the transaction invalid.

It is in this case that the law says nothing about the possible preservation of the right to privatization. It follows that if the privatization agreement is declared invalid, the right to re-privatization is lost. This is due to the fact that one of the signs of privatization, which is enshrined in the law, is the principle of one-time privatization. In article 9.1.

The law on privatization states that after deprivatization, a citizen has the right to a new conclusion of an agreement on the privatization of residential premises in a state or municipal fund. Based on the above, we can conclude that the invalidation of an agreement on the transfer of ownership of residential premises through privatization is not a type of deprivatization and it is not permissible to mix these provisions.

We invite you to read: Recusal of a judge in civil proceedings: grounds and sample application

1) deprivatization by agreement of the parties;

2) deprivatization through judicial procedure.

The consequence of termination of the contract is the termination of the obligations of the parties from the moment the corresponding agreement is concluded in writing (Clause 1, Article 452 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), and in the case of judicial termination, from the moment the court decision enters into legal force (Article 453 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The situation under consideration assumes that the citizen actually and legally exercised the right to a one-time privatization, and then for some reason resigned his powers as the owner, terminating the transfer agreement.

In the event of deprivatization of housing by judicial recognition of the transfer agreement as invalid on the grounds provided for by the current legislation (Article 168179 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), the general rule on the consequences of invalidity of the transaction is applied (Article 167 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). According to this rule, a transaction declared invalid is considered invalid from the moment it was completed and does not entail legal consequences.

In this case, the reason for invalidity does not matter (for example, the transaction does not comply with the law, was made by an incompetent person, etc.). The occurrence of these consequences means that privatization was carried out de facto, but de jure it did not exist, just as there was no exercise by a citizen of the right to free ownership of residential premises.

Step-by-step instruction

The biggest difficulty that awaits an owner who decides to give up property is the lack of a unified regulatory framework. Since this procedure is regulated by local authorities, each region may have its own nuances.

The general procedure is as follows:

• preparation of the necessary documentation package;
• contacting the local administration;
• registration and signing of the deprivatization agreement;
• conclusion of a social rental agreement.

Where to contact

To begin the procedure, you need to submit an application to the Housing Department of the local administration. This is done at the owner’s registered address.

Statement

A sample application to be submitted to the municipality can be found in the building itself. It is best to follow the given example in the administration, because each region may have its own nuances in drawing up the document.

Deprivatize housing bypassing the owner

According to the law, only the owner can renounce the ownership of an apartment owned by the owners. When real estate is registered as shared ownership, all owners of the residential property must give consent to deprivatization.

If the apartment was transferred into state ownership without the consent of the owners, then such an agreement is considered invalid. And in this case, the owners will receive their apartment back on the same basis.

Is it possible to deprivatize an apartment without the consent of the owner?

• Deprivatization is the forced return of an apartment to state ownership by a court decision. That is, the contract is invalidated on the basis of a violation of the law or the procedure itself.
• The reasons for deprivatization are very diverse - the reluctance of the new owner of the apartment to perform the functions of maintaining the housing, infringement of the rights of one of the owners. Deprivatization is also relevant for apartment owners in emergency housing. By returning their property to the state, they receive hope of moving into new housing. The apartment returned to the state no longer belongs to the owner. He will not be able to carry out any legal actions with her: sell, bequeath, exchange.

General information The voluntary transfer of housing back into municipal ownership is called deprivatization. It can be done at any time at the personal request of the owner. If the agreement on the transfer of ownership of housing was concluded with violations, then forced deprivatization of the apartment is carried out.

Grounds An agreement may be declared invalid if the person did not have the right to participate in such a transaction. It should be noted that citizens who have carried out privatization once cannot carry it out again. Civil Code: “Members of the owner’s family living in residential premises belonging to him have the right to use this premises under the conditions provided for by housing legislation.”

Is the consent of these persons required for deprivatization? I think not. After all, deprivatization is an act of disposing of one’s property, available only to the owner, but not to persons who have other real rights to this property. This issue is resolved differently in Art. 31 of the draft Housing Code of the Russian Federation, which in such cases requires the consent of all adult members of his family living together with the owner.

• residential premises should be privatized;
• they must be the owner’s only permanent place of residence;
• they must be free from any obligations and encumbrances.

The opportunity to deprivatize an apartment on a free basis for an individual exists only until 03/01/2016 (according to clause 1, part 2, article 2 of Law No. 189-FZ as amended by Law dated 02.28.2015 No. 19-FZ).

• The deprivatization of apartments in military camps is prohibited. However, determining whether departmental housing will be privatized or not can be quite difficult. Litigations on this issue sometimes last for years.
• Unauthorized redevelopment carried out after privatization is fraught with additional and considerable costs: preparation of a technical plan, cadastral passport, payment of duties.
• Children registered in the apartment can also make deprivatization impossible. To do this, it is necessary to obtain permission from the guardianship authorities, which is given only if the child is looking for new housing that meets all standards. The same rule applies to disabled people.
• The process of deprivatization of residential premises is quite complex, since it is necessary to take into account the rights of all owners.

will provide legal assistance in the deprivatization of an apartment or other real estate, help draw up the necessary package of documents, deal with the process of deprivatization of an apartment through the court, and provide high-quality advice to its clients.

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How to legally deprivatize a house or apartment

Is it possible to return real estate back to the state and how to deprivatize an apartment?

It is possible to return residential or non-residential premises to state ownership if they were received into personal ownership through privatization. Purchased, inherited, or donated living space is not subject to alienation or return.

The alienation process is carried out if it is the only place for permanent residence of the family. If the premises are empty or rented, and you live and are registered in another place, then the above action will be denied.

The property must not be encumbered, that is:

1. Only the direct owner is registered.
2. The bank is not collateral for the loan.
3. Not registered for demolition.

These factors are regulated by Article 9.1. Russian Federation under code number 1541-1 “On the privatization of housing funds of the Russian Federation”. The desire to return housing back to state ownership arises due to high costs for repair and construction work or some other reasons.

Removing faults in privatized apartments, houses, and non-residential premises falls on the shoulders of one or more owners. Deprivatization eliminates all material costs for repair and construction work, eliminates the need to pay money for the maintenance of the building, near the building area, and taxes on real estate.