Ownership rights and heirs of a cooperative apartment

The inheritance process is a type of legal relationship that arises during the transfer of the personal property of a deceased citizen into the ownership of his heirs. Art. 1112 ch. 61 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines the composition of inheritance as “things, other property”, the owner of which must be an adult and capable citizen.

Registration of a share when inheriting a cooperative apartment also goes through the inheritance procedure and is somewhat different from standard operations associated with receiving property. For the inheritance of a cooperative apartment, there is a special legal algorithm that determines the procedure for the future owner.

Is it possible to register an inheritance for a share in an apartment?

The construction of a residential building can be carried out by a cooperative, whose members have the right to claim housing, since they own a share. A share is a part of cooperative property, reflecting the individual share of participation of each member in the cooperative (Article 1 N 193-FZ). This share consists of an initial contribution that each member of the cooperative makes upon joining. The contribution is accepted in the form of cash, land plots and other property that has an appropriate monetary value.

The contributed share becomes a form of ownership of the cooperative participant and gives the right to claim housing. To formalize this right, the participant must fully pay the cost of the apartment, after which he can legally formalize ownership.

After the death of the testator, the share, like other property, can be transferred to the heir, in some cases simultaneously with the right to join the cooperative. The right to join a cooperative, according to Article 8 No. 190-FZ “On Credit Cooperation,” is determined by its charter.

Are heirs required to join a cooperative?

Membership in any association is voluntary. No one can force citizens to join a cooperative.

But there are some nuances. It all depends on whether the testator managed to pay the cost of housing and register ownership.

The obligation to join a cooperative arises in the following cases:

1. The shareholder did not have time to pay the full cost of the apartment. The applicant will have to apply to join the housing cooperative, and after being accepted into the association, make payments. Otherwise, the recipient is deprived of the right to inherit the apartment.
2. If the shareholder has paid the full cost of the apartment, but has not registered ownership of it, then the recipient will have to become a member of the association. The apartment is the property of the cooperative. Only members of the housing cooperative can live in it.

Important! If the cost of housing has been paid in full and the testator has completed all the paperwork, then it is not necessary to become a member of the cooperative.

Who has a priority right to membership in the housing cooperative? Priority is given to the spouse of the testator. The only condition is that she must have the right to a share.

If the spouse did not participate in payments or refused membership in the housing cooperative, then the preemptive right passes to the heir who lived with the deceased subject. If the priority applicants refuse or are absent, then the right to membership in the association passes to the heir who lived separately from the deceased citizen.

What types of cooperatives are there?

Article 1 of the Federal Law “On Production Cooperatives” defines the concept of a production cooperative as a voluntary association of citizens for organizing economic activities using the personal labor participation of its members. Production cooperatives are commercial organizations that involve direct personal participation in the activities of the organization. Their subject of activity is production, trade, provision of services and other areas of a commercial nature.

Article 1 of the Law “On Consumer Cooperation” indicates that a consumer cooperative is created to satisfy the material or other needs of its members. They are not obliged to take part in the work, although cooperative payments are distributed among them in accordance with the degree of participation in economic activity.

Consumer cooperatives are divided into several types:

• Agricultural - there are farming, gardening, etc.
• Housing - formed for the construction or purchase of housing, there are garages, country houses.
• Credit - work is organized through making cash contributions to the general treasury with the expectation of the possibility of receiving financial assistance after some time.

Rights of heirs to a share in the apartment

In accordance with Art. 124 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, a cooperative participant receives residential premises in the houses of a housing cooperative on the basis of a general decision of the members of the cooperative. However, until the share payment for the received housing is fully paid, a member of the cooperative cannot register ownership of it.

After the death of the owner, cooperative real estate can be inherited like any other, but this process has some peculiarities. Thus, inheritance of a cooperative apartment is possible if ownership of the property was registered during life. It arises only after the share has been fully paid, which is determined by Art. 30 Federal Law “On Housing Savings Cooperatives”. Until this moment, the owner can live in the allocated area, but is not able to dispose of it, that is, donate, sell, or inherit it.

The right of ownership forms the right of inheritance, which arises when share contributions are fully paid to the consumer cooperative that owns the apartment. This provision is also spelled out in Art. 218, part 4 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Question answer

Question: The title to the cooperative apartment was not registered. After the death of a member of the cooperative, the notary refused to issue a certificate of inheritance to the applicants. What do we have to do?

Answer: If the share has been paid in full, you must request all supporting documents from the housing construction cooperative. Next, a lawsuit is filed in court to recognize the heir's right of ownership. Subsequently, registration of real estate will be carried out on the basis of a court decision.

Question: After the death of a woman, a cooperative apartment remained. The share payment has been made, but the documents for the property have not been received. The woman was survived by 2 daughters, one of whom lived with the deceased, and a granddaughter. Who will the documents be issued to?

Answer: In accordance with Art. 131 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the daughter who lived with the deceased has a preemptive right to be accepted as a member of the Housing Committee. Both daughters can claim equal shares of the share. The second daughter can become a member of the cooperative if the first daughter refuses this opportunity. If both heiresses do not wish to join the housing complex, the granddaughter can do so by pre-paying the share contribution. An heiress who has not become a member of the Housing Committee may demand payment of an amount commensurate with her share of the inheritance.

The payment period is determined by agreement of the parties or in court, but not later than 1 year from the date of death of the testator.

How is a cooperative apartment divided between heirs?

Chapter 62 and Chapter 63 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation determine that there are two types of inheritance, which are also typical for cooperative real estate: by law and by will. Art. 1111 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation indicates that inheritance by law occurs in cases where there is no will. When dividing an inherited apartment, the first thing to check is the presence of the owner’s will document.

According to the law, inheritance recipients are formed depending on the degree of closeness with the deceased. Art. 1142-1144 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation determine that parents, spouses, and children are considered heirs of the first priority. Next come brothers, sisters, grandparents, and then uncles and aunts. The inherited property within which the share is considered is divided into equal shares between the heirs of the first priority.

Disabled parents, disabled spouses and disabled children are required to receive a share, regardless of the method of transferring the inheritance (Article 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

If there are no first-line applicants, the transfer of inheritance passes to another circle of relatives who are on the second-line lists. Under a will, the rights and order of successors are determined by a document drawn up by the owner of the property during his lifetime. The will describes the circle of persons who can claim to receive the testator's property.

Moreover, if the share payment for the apartment was not fully paid, but funds were received by the housing cooperative, the heirs of the cooperative apartment receive monetary compensation. The procedure for this process is determined by the charter of the cooperative, which is established in Art. 14 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Consumer Cooperation”.

In addition, the spouse of the deceased acquires a special position in this case. If he or she has participated in payments since joining the cooperative, then it becomes possible to claim half of the cooperative real estate. Only the remaining portion will be divided among the remaining heirs. If the spouse participated in the payments, but part of them was paid before the marriage, he can claim half of the money contributed. Also, according to Art. 131 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, he is assigned the pre-emptive right to join the cooperative.

Who has the right to inherit a cooperative apartment

The legal procedure for inheriting living space without a will provides for a sequence of 8 degrees. The successor of each next queue can claim his share in the absence of previous queues. Housing is distributed equally among relatives of the same level. First-tier applicants include:

• surviving spouses;
• children (natural and adopted);
• parents;
• grandchildren in case of death of children.

Second and third in order are other relatives in the absence of first-line heirs.

If a will is drawn up, the property is distributed according to the will of the testator; he has the right to indicate not all recipients of the inheritance.

If the owner of the home has died and the cost of the apartment has been fully paid, then the heir needs to obtain a certificate of inheritance from a notary and register ownership of the property in accordance with it. In case of debt to the cooperative, the inherited amount includes the repaid part of the contributions, but the housing becomes the property of the cooperative. The heir loses the ability to fully dispose of the property. When a share is contributed in shares, for example by a married couple, each part is inherited individually.

If relatives of the testator live in premises for which the deceased has not fully paid, the family continues to have the right to reside in the apartment. The condition for receiving the inheritance will be membership in the cooperative in accordance with Chapter. 12 Housing Code of the Russian Federation. If you inherit a fully paid-for living space, you can register your ownership rights yourself.

When purchasing premises in a registered marriage and jointly paying share contributions, the surviving spouse is the heir to half of the apartment. The remaining share is distributed among other applicants. If the share contribution is paid before marriage and continues payments during the marriage, the remaining life partner can claim half of the amount paid, but not the second part of the apartment.

Documents for inheriting a cooperative share

Registration of inheritance of a cooperative apartment occurs through an application to a notary. To do this you need to provide the following documents:

• Passport.
• Grounds for receiving inheritance. In the absence of a will, you need to prepare documents confirming family relationships: birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc.
• Death certificate of the owner.
• Extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.
• Agreement of the deceased owner to join the cooperative.
• Certificate of payment of share.
• Cadastral passport of the object.

If the deceased has made a will, the property specified there goes to the persons named in the document. These can be either relatives or other unrelated recipients. In the absence of a will, the cooperative apartment is inherited by close relatives, who need to confirm their position by presenting the relevant documents on kinship.

Applications for accepting an inheritance and issuing a certificate of inheritance can be found here.

Applications for accepting an inheritance and issuing a certificate of the right to inheritance under a will can be found here.

Inheritance of cooperative real estate

Inheriting real estate is a complex topic. The inheritance procedure, the circle of legal successors laying claim to such objects, and the deadlines within which the heirs must meet are determined by law.

In short, applicants must declare inheritance rights within six months. The legislator established this rule to identify all prospective applicants.

Legal successors receive ownership of property in accordance with the law, or on the basis of a will executed by the testator during his lifetime. The circle of legitimate applicants includes 7 lines, which includes close and not so close relatives. We talked more about how inheritance by law occurs in this article.

After six months, potential heirs are required to visit a notary’s office, fill out an application, and submit the necessary documents. After this, they will be issued a certificate of inheritance rights.

Please note: to register the property, the legal successor must provide documents confirming the relationship with the deceased. If the property is accepted on the basis of a will, there is no need to prove a relationship.

We explained in the article “Who has the right to inheritance by law?” which line of heirs this or that relative belongs to.

Often, the actual acceptance of the inheritance occurs - if a relative, for example, is registered and lives in the inherited apartment. To issue an inheritance certificate, it is necessary to prove the fact of acceptance in court - evidence in this case can be certificates from the housing office, receipts for utilities, explanations from neighbors, checks, contracts, etc.

How to inherit a cooperative apartment?

Art. 1153 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation determines that the registration of an inheritance must occur within six months from the date of death of the testator. Heirs of a cooperative apartment must obtain a certificate of inheritance.

The registration process is as follows:

1. Obtaining a death certificate by contacting the registry office.
2. Contacting a notary. The heir must choose a notary office at the last place of residence of the deceased. In the absence of information about it, Art. 1115 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation determines the need to contact a notary who is in charge of the area where the property is located.
3. Transfer of a will confirming the ability to claim an inheritance.
4. Drawing up an application.
5. Collection of the main package of documents.
6. Payment of state duty.
7. Obtaining a certificate of inheritance.
8. Registration of real estate in Rosreestr.

How to register an apartment share by inheritance without a will?

When registering an inheritance according to the law, that is, without a will, the procedure for the heirs of the cooperative apartment will be as follows:

1. Obtain a death certificate.
2. Contact a notary at the place of residence of the deceased or at the location of the property if the last place of residence is unknown.
3. Provide the necessary documents for registration of inheritance, including certificates confirming the fact of relationship with the deceased. These may include a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or adoption certificate.
4. Submit an application to initiate the opening of a case, along with other documents.
5. Receive a certificate of inheritance 6 months after the death of the testator.
6. You can register property in Rosreestr, this can be done through the MFC.

Inheritance process

The period for entering into inheritance is 6 months. During this period it is necessary to have time:

• submit an application for inheritance;
• provide documents: death certificate, identity cards, will (if any), confirmation of kinship, certificate of payment of the share (if payments have been made), legal documents for real estate, certificate of assessment of the value of property, receipt of payment of state duty (for spouse, parents, children, brothers, sisters - 0.3% of the value of the property, but within 100 thousand rubles, for others - 0.6% within 1 million rubles);
• obtain a certificate of inheritance.

Afterwards, the property must be registered with Rosreestr.

The heirs are given the opportunity to renounce their share of the property or divide the apartment by agreement.

Each of the owners will be able to sell, donate, or bequeath their share if the co-owners do not mind. The latter have a pre-emptive right to acquire a share. They have a month to make a decision.

How to register an apartment share by inheritance if there is a will?

If there is a will, everyone named in the document can apply for an apartment share. Art. 125 of the RF Housing Code determines that a share can belong to one or more citizens. Registration occurs in the following order:

1. Obtaining a death certificate of the testator.
2. Visit to a notary with a passport, death certificate and will.
3. Filling out an application for acceptance of inheritance under a will.
4. Collection of documents.
5. Waiting for 6 months.
6. Obtaining a certificate of inheritance.
7. Registration of property in Rosreestr through the MFC.

Inheritance of a cooperative apartment if contributions are not paid

If payments for a cooperative apartment during the life of the deceased were not fully made, there are two options for the development of events:

• The housing is transferred to the cooperative. Early payments made are transferred to the heirs of the deceased. This happens if the heirs did not live with the testator on the territory of the cooperative apartment.
• Housing is registered as the property of citizens. This is possible in cases where close relatives who become heirs lived together with the testator, thanks to which they can now continue to use the cooperative apartment. To register your home ownership, you must join the cooperative and continue making payments.

If the share was paid out earlier, the heir may not join the cooperative in order to receive ownership of the property.

If the shares have not been paid in full

In this case, the heirs must first pay everything, and only then receive ownership of the inheritance. The procedure is as follows:

1. Apply to join the cooperative.
2. Join the housing cooperative and pay the remaining amount.
3. Receive a certificate from the housing cooperative stating that all material obligations have been paid.
4. Submit documents to Rosreestr and register ownership.

But the heirs may not join the cooperative. In this case, the housing cooperative will have to return the entire amount paid to the heirs, and the apartment will remain on its balance sheet.

Inheritance of a cooperative apartment if the share is paid

From a legal point of view, a cooperative apartment in which a share has been paid is practically no different from ordinary real estate. Its registration also occurs in accordance with the will or is determined by law in the absence of a will document.

If a member of the cooperative paid his dues, but died before receiving a document confirming ownership, the cooperative apartment is still registered with him. In such situations, the certificate is received by the heir, who must first prove that the share has been fully paid.

If the successor lived with the testator in the same apartment and continues to use it, the property is defined as actually accepted.

Right of inheritance

The main distinguishing feature when inheriting a cooperative type of housing - an apartment is that the inheritance procedure can gain legal force and come into effect at the moment when not all members of the cooperative have made 100% share contributions.

In this case, the heirs will not be able to receive the inheritance, since this property will be considered the property of the cooperative, that is, production property. And what will be inherited is not the cooperative apartment itself, but the unpaid share.

The procedure for inheriting an unpaid cooperative apartment is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the charter on the cooperative, and the heir only has the right to use this property, but does not have the right to own the apartment. In the event that the share is paid by the time the permission to register the inheritance is opened, the data is changed, and he receives this right, regardless of his place of residence.

It must be taken into account that if spouses become heirs, then they must contribute the share in equal parts, since only in this case the cooperative property will become common.

The procedure for registering the inheritance of a paid-out cooperative apartment is the same as for a regular apartment. Registration of the right to your property is carried out in accordance with the law or by fulfilling the terms of the will.

It is also necessary to wait six months for the property to be inherited. Then the usual procedure:

• contacting a notary;
• provision of relevant documents;
• obtaining a certificate.

There is a receipt of actually accepted property, subject to the residence and registration of the heir in the cooperative apartment.

If there are no problems with the share and everything is in order with the documents, then in order for the inheritance to be properly formalized, you need to contact professionals - lawyers. They will provide the necessary full consultation regarding problems related to ownership of cooperative housing.

Terms and cost of registration

The process of inheriting a cooperative apartment is similar to accepting ordinary property left after the death of a relative. Art. 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation determines that a period of 6 months is given for accepting an inheritance, calculated from the date of death of the owner of the property. If the successor applies later than the deadline, the notary cannot accept his application. At the same time, the case of opening an inheritance itself is opened on the day when the death of the owner was recorded. Within the specified time, the successor must do the following:

• Contact a notary to submit an application.
• Collect documents required to register property.
• Obtain a certificate of inheritance.

Each heir can sell a share, donate it, or bequeath it if the other co-owners agree.

The cost of registering the inheritance of a cooperative apartment is determined by Art. 333.24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, indicating the following amounts of state duty:

• For close relatives, which include children, spouses, parents, brothers and sisters - 0.3% of the cadastral value of the property. In this case, the state duty cannot exceed 100,000 rubles.
• For other successors - 0.6% of the value of the property. In this case, the amount does not exceed 1,000,000 rubles.

Art. 333.38 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation indicates that there are special categories of citizens who are exempt from paying state duty. These include:

• Citizens living together with the testator until his death.
• Heirs of employees who died while fulfilling government obligations.
• Heirs of victims of political repression.
• Minors or incompetent.

Registration of an apartment share through the court

Sometimes registering an inheritance of a cooperative apartment may be associated with legal problems, the solution of which can only be achieved through the court. A common reason for this practice is property disputes arising between the successors of the testator. This can happen if several family members apply for an apartment at once.

There are two ways to resolve property disputes:

• Redemption of all shares by one heir with the consent of the remaining owners.
• Sale of property and distribution of the received amount according to the share of each successor.

In the absence of a settlement agreement, the legal successors need to prepare a claim for division of property.

Heirs can also go to court due to other circumstances. For example, this is the only way to restore the ability to file an inheritance application if the deadline is missed. A positive verdict against a successor is issued only if there are exceptional circumstances that prevented him from contacting a notary in a timely manner.

Registration of an apartment share through the court occurs in the following order:

1. Attending court and writing a statement of claim.
2. Collection of documents. Depending on the reason, it should include documents such as an application to summon witnesses to court, a certificate from a notary refusing to issue a certificate of inheritance, a certificate confirming the valid reason why the successor missed the deadline allotted by law.
3. Consideration of the application in court.
4. Registration of property rights by court decision.

Registration of inheritance rights to an apartment share

To register inheritance rights, you need a profile document confirming the fact of a change in the legal status of a citizen. Such a document becomes a certificate of the right to inheritance, which is issued if the deadlines for the legal registration of the inheritance and the availability of contributions to the cooperative apartment are met in a timely manner.

If the share includes real estate, it must be registered using a title document. With this, you need to contact Rosreestr through the MFC, transferring the property from one owner to another.

How can the heir of a cooperative apartment join a cooperative?

Membership in a cooperative is a voluntary right of every citizen. However, if the share has not been paid in full, and the apartment is owned by the housing cooperative, joining the association becomes a mandatory condition for the successors’ continued residence in the apartment. Citizens who are not members of the association cannot live in a cooperative apartment.

Art. 15 Federal Law dated December 8, 1995 N 193-FZ indicates that joining a cooperative begins with submitting an application requesting admission. It is approved by the supervisory board, after which the citizen is given a membership book, which contains basic information about him, including the grounds for joining the cooperative. Art. 1177 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation determines that if the inheritance of a cooperative apartment goes to one successor, the cooperative cannot refuse him to join the production association.

What is a cooperative apartment

Today, housing cooperatives do not exist. They were supplanted by DDU and mortgages. But, since not much time has passed since the times of the Soviet Union, inheritance issues with cooperative apartments are not uncommon.

Housing cooperatives were associations where people who wanted to buy an apartment pooled their money and hired a developer. The area of ​​the apartment was determined by the size of the share - the larger it is, the more living space was allocated when the house was put into operation.

It was possible to register ownership of a cooperative apartment only after the house was put into operation. And the construction could drag on for years, or it could not be completed at all - several of these unfinished buildings can still be found in every city.

The lack of ownership of the apartment until the house is completed is a significant disadvantage. With the same DDU that is in force now, the buyer has ownership as soon as the agreement is registered with Rosreestr. This means his rights as a buyer are protected.

Payment to the heir of shares and cooperative payments

In order to inherit a share, the heir must join the cooperative. Otherwise, he can count on compensation, the amount of which corresponds to the value of the share. If the successor of the testator cannot or refuses to join the cooperative, he is entitled to payments accumulated up to the current moment (Article - Law “On Consumer Cooperation”).

Methods for organizing payments are determined by the charter of the cooperative. The share can be paid either in cash or in kind.