Registration of ownership of a land plot is a procedure necessary for the official legal assignment of ownership, disposal and use of a plot of land to a specific person (individual or legal entity). Ownership rights allow you to fully dispose of a land plot: sell it, exchange it, bequeath it, donate it, provide it as collateral, and also reduce the risk of its seizure from the owner to satisfy state or municipal needs. Duly registered ownership of a plot of land, in accordance with Art. 281 clause 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, provides a guarantee of return to the owner of the market value of the site, and also helps to increase its probable sale value.
The legislative basis for formalizing land ownership relations is:
- Constitution of the Russian Federation;
- Civil Code of the Russian Federation;
- Land Code of the Russian Federation;
- Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “On Federal Natural Resources” dated December 16, 1993
- Federal Law “On the delimitation of state ownership of land” dated July 17, 2001
- Federal Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on the Issue of Registration in a Simplified Procedure of Citizens’ Rights to Certain Real Estate Objects”, unofficially called the “dacha amnesty” law;
- natural resource and environmental legislation of the Russian Federation, etc.
How can you acquire ownership of a piece of land?
Regulatory documents provide for a number of grounds for the emergence of rights to own, use and dispose of a land plot.
These include:
- Transfer by inheritance by will or law.
- Receiving as a gift.
- Allocation of municipal or state lands.
- Privatization process.
- Purchase and sale, including the acquisition of a plot of land from the administration of a locality.
- Transfer of ownership of a plot if it is leased, permanent use without expiration date, etc.
IMPORTANT !!! Regardless of how the set of powers arises, the obligation immediately arises to register the land with Rosreestr.
If the house is two-flat, then the land plot under it is registered as the shared ownership of the apartment owners. But land ownership is always formalized after registration of ownership of a share of a house, and not just an apartment. If ownership of an apartment has been registered, you need to apply for determination of shares in the real estate. And only then register the land plot.
A simplified option for registering land ownership
The following lands fall under the simplified procedure for registering land plots:
- Allotments transferred for indefinite use.
- Transferred for gardening and dacha farming.
- For the construction of residential and non-residential buildings.
- For individual construction.
- Lands inherited for life.
But there are some conditions: the plot must be transferred before October 30, 2001, the plot must be used only for farming or individual housing construction.
What are the grounds for registering the rights of a land owner?
The owner's rights to a land plot are registered by Rosreestr on the basis of:
- acts of authorities at different levels on the allocation of land;
- certificates of inheritance;
- decisions of judicial authorities that have entered into legal force;
- land management documents: map-plan of the territory, boundary plan, survey report, technical plan;
- plan for placing a land plot on a public cadastral map;
- other documents providing for the emergence of property relations;
- decision on permission to create an embankment or other man-made land plot on a lake or river.
How long will it take to register rights to a land plot?
Depending on where the documents are submitted for registration, the periods for their registration will vary.
- If the application is submitted to the territorial division of Rosreestr, then it must be considered within 7 working days.
- If the application is submitted in 2021 through the MFC, then the period is longer - 9 working days. This is due to the need to send documents between government organizations.
- If ownership arises on the basis of a decision of a judicial authority, then the period for registration is shorter - 5 working days.
- The need to carry out cadastral registration simultaneously with the registration of the rights of the land owner extends the review period in the MFC to 12 working days, and in the division of the Registration Chamber - up to 10.
- To register property rights transferred by agreement or by inheritance, less time is required: 3 working days for Rosreestr departments and 5 for MFC.
IMPORTANT !!! Due to the large number of documents submitted, registration authorities do not always complete the process on time.
But if the delay is excessive, then you can contact the data or higher authorities with a corresponding complaint.
Where can documents be submitted for registration?
As in most cases, there are three options for submitting documents: via the Internet, sending by mail and personal visit.
- Documents are submitted electronically through the following Internet portals:
- "Government Services"
- Companies House website.
Requirements for electronic documents will be discussed below.
- The next option is sending by Russian Post. An inventory of the enclosed documents, a declaration of the value of the registered letter and a notification of delivery are required.
- Personal visit to the territorial division of Rosreestr or MFC.
It is not necessary to visit the exact branch of the registration authorities that is located at the location of the site. The owner has the right to choose the unit where it is more convenient for him to go. A list of registration authorities and their addresses is available on the official portal of the cadastral service. The owner chooses where to apply, to the MFC or the Rosreestr branch.
Services for state registration of rights of ownership, use and disposal of land are paid. Citizens will pay a fee of 2,000 rubles, and legal entities - 22,000.
When is a power of attorney required to register ownership of a land plot?
As we described above, an authorized person can apply to a government agency to obtain a plot of land. That is, a power of attorney will be required when another person applies instead of you. It can be drawn up at any notary office according to the established template; certification by a notary is required.
If there are no such specialists in your area, then you need to contact the leadership of the locality, which has such powers.
You can download a sample power of attorney from the link.
What documents must be submitted for registration?
In order to register ownership, you need to bring (or send) the following package of documents:
The application for registration of rights itself;
Document confirming the identity of the landowner;
Land management documents:
- boundary plan;
- map-plan of the territory;
- inspection report;
- technical plan;
- cadastral passport;
Copies of documents on the basis of which ownership rights arose:
- agreement on the purchase and sale (or donation) of land;
- certificate of inheritance;
- acts of municipal and state bodies;
- decisions of judicial authorities, etc.;
Receipt for payment of fees for government services;
It is unacceptable for registration authorities to require additional documents if the submitted ones comply with the requirements of regulations.
What are the filing requirements for registration?
To carry out registration, the documents must contain comprehensive information about the land plot. All signatures and seals must be present. Documents requiring notarization will not be accepted without a notary visa. It is not allowed to write in abbreviated form the surname, first name and patronymic, address of an individual, as well as the name and address of a legal entity.
The application for registration of ownership of a land plot is written in one copy and remains in the registry file.
IMPORTANT !!! Agreements for the sale or donation of land are submitted to the MFC or Rosreestr in the form of originals, not copies. Even notarized copies will not work. One of the copies is returned to the applicant, and the other remains in Rosreestr.
Therefore, when concluding the above agreements, it must be taken into account that one of the originals of the agreement will be placed in the registry file. Therefore, you need to draw up and sign at least 3 copies of the gift or sale agreement (and preferably 4).
Other documents are submitted in the form of a copy and an original (for comparison). The original is returned to the landowner after registration of ownership of the land plot.
Acts of local or state authorities are presented in the form of a copy in one copy.
The land management documents listed above (with the exception of the cadastral passport) are submitted in electronic format. The files must contain an enhanced qualified electronic signature of the person who compiled them, the cadastral engineer.
IMPORTANT !!! All online applications regarding a land plot must be certified by an electronic signature.
Note! Electronic versions of documents for registration accounting are submitted in two forms: PDF or XML files. If this requirement is violated, they will not be accepted. Scanned documents must be completely readable. Regardless of the number of sheets, one file is generated.
The entire package of documentation is certified by an electronic signature (a type - enhanced qualified) of the owner of the real estate.
How to register land: legislative framework
Russian land legislation has come a rather difficult path since the recognition of the existence of private property. When deciding how to properly register land plots as property, one must be guided by the norms of the relevant code. Federal Law No. 136, Land Code, was adopted in 2001.
Chapter III deals with land ownership. In particular, Article 15 deals with private land property of legal entities and individuals and the grounds for its acquisition. In Art. 27 indicates which land plots:
- cannot be transferred to private ownership;
- are allowed into circulation on a limited basis.
Since 1998, the problem of state registration of real estate and maintaining the federal database has been assigned to Rosreestr. Its activities are regulated by relevant law.
Upon acquisition of a plot, the problem of how to register a land plot by right of ownership is solved by adhering to the standards established by Federal Law No. 218, in force since 2021. It provides reasons:
Dear readers!
Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique. If you want to find out how to solve your specific problem, please contact the online consultant form on the right →
It's fast and free!
Or call us by phone (24/7):
If you want to find out how to solve your particular problem, call us by phone. It's fast and free!
+7 Moscow,
Moscow region
+7 Saint Petersburg,
Leningrad region
+7 Regions
(free call for all regions of Russia)
- register the land (in Article 14);
- return the application and documents (Article 25), suspend registration (Article 26) and refuse it (Article 27).
What requirements must the application and documents submitted for cadastral registration and state registration of a land plot meet are indicated in Art. 21.
Is it possible to register ownership in the absence of title documents?
If there are no title documents, for example, a citizen uses an abandoned plot, then it is impossible to register ownership. First, you will need to privatize the land plot, either buy it from the local administration, or register it as property in court.
The right of ownership is formalized in court on the basis of acquisitive prescription, i.e. open, continuous and bona fide ownership for 15 years. The court decision on the emergence of ownership rights on the basis of acquisitive prescription will be the title document for registering the land plot.
Free land ownership
To receive land for free, you must meet one of the following categories:
- Young families. The marriage must be officially registered. Availability of Russian citizenship. There should be no other plot of land in use, and the housing should be less than 15 square meters. m. per person.
- Large families (more than 3 children). Status assigned to social. services. Children must be under 18 years of age or attending full-time higher education.
- Heroes of Labor. In urban areas = up to 800 sq. m. In towns, villages, hamlets = up to 2500 sq. m. m.
- Specialists of a narrow focus, contract military personnel, families with children who lost their breadwinner during hostilities.
- WWII veterans. They are allocated 20 acres in urban areas or 40 acres in rural areas.
- Disabled people are provided with land plots free of charge in gardening cooperatives.
- People who have been using land for a long time, but not privatized. The so-called dacha amnesty. This rule applies to owners of plots in a gardening partnership based on old accounting books.
Deputies establish certain categories of citizens who can be provided with a plot of land free of charge for personal use.
How to apply:
- Submit an application and indicate the reasons for issuing a free plot of land (the categories are listed above).
- Collect a package of documents, depending on which category you belong to. Large families, disabled people, veterans, etc.
- Land surveying and other geodetic activities.
- Receiving a finished site plan from specialists.
- Send an application to the local administration. You will have to wait about a month for a response; there are a lot of people who want to receive free land, so such applications are not processed quickly.
There is another method of obtaining land for free: find an unoccupied plot on a public urban planning map. Take a photo of it and coordinate the decision with the local administration. After this, start collecting documents and wait for the official result of the submitted application. As a rule, the answer comes within ten days.
Programs for obtaining free land:
- Plot for building your own housing in Crimea.
- A hectare of land (figurative wording) in the Far Eastern Federal District.
To obtain land in Crimea, you must live there for more than 5 years and have a special status.
For example, have some benefits, work in the field of education, medicine or culture. After submitting the relevant documents, the State can allocate free land in the cities of the peninsula up to 8 acres. In villages up to 25 hectares. In the Far East, land is first provided under a lease agreement for a period of 5 years, then it can be registered as property. But before registration, it is necessary to obtain an opinion from a special commission.
What are the grounds for leaving the application and submitted documents without consideration?
The MFC or a division of the Registration Chamber returns documents to the applicant without consideration in the following cases:
- if paper documents contain unspecified corrections, deletions, additions and erasures;
- if electronic documents are sent in a different format than established by regulations;
- if information in documents filled in in pencil is partially erased or otherwise damaged, making it unreadable;
- if the application is not made by the landowner or his attorney who has a properly executed power of attorney;
- if the state duty has not been paid (even if there is a receipt, but the money has not been received);
- if the application is not signed (with a regular or electronic signature).
It is almost impossible to challenge such a refusal.
