State Registration Of Property Rights To Land Plots Has Been Improved

Baker&McKenzie, Kyiv, Ukraine
Fri, March 27, 2015

On 25 March 2015 Law of Ukraine No. 247-VIII "On Amendments to Certain Laws of UkraineRegarding Specifying the Authorities of Notaries and Peculiarities ofRegistration of Derivative Property Rights to Agricultural Land Plots"(the "Law") became effective. The Law, among other things, (i)opens access to the State Land Cadaster (the "Cadaster") fornotaries, (іі) contributes to the increase of information content of the StateRegister of Property Rights to Real Estate (the "Register"),and (ііі) simplifies the registration of property rights to agricultural land.

Notaries will be granted access to the Cadaster

The Law authorizes notaries to access information from theCadaster when performing a notarization or registration actions with regard toland plots. Prior to the Law, Ukrainian legislation allowed notaries access tothe Cadaster, which, however, was hindered by technical problems and anincomplete regulatory framework.

The procedure for notaries to access the Cadaster must bedeveloped by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Moreover, the Law obliges theCabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to arrange for technical access of notaries tothe Cadaster within three months.

Transfer of information to the Register

The Law provides for the automatic transfer of records from theState Land Register on property rights to land plots, their encumbrances,holders of the rights and title documents thereto to the Register. As a result,transferred rights will be deemed registered in the Register. Such informationtransfer is expected to be completed by July 2016.

Registration of property rights to agricultural land

The registration of a derivative right to agricultural land(lease, servitudes, emphyteusis etc.) is performed simultaneously with theregistration of the ownership right thereto if:

-         theownership right to a land plot was duly formalized before 1 January 2013, and

-         theownership right to a land plot is not registered in the Register.

The application for such registration may be submitted by a landowner, an acquirer of right (including the tenant) or their authorized persons.Accordingly, the acquirer of derivative right is able to personally submit anapplication to the state registrar on the registration of property right aswell as derivative right to the above land. Moreover, an acquirer of derivativeright (e.g. tenant) is not obliged to submit title documents to the land plotif such land plot is registered in the Cadaster (until the transfer ofinformation from the State Land Register to the Register, as mentioned above).

In addition, the Law authorizes a notary to perform stateregistration of derivative rights to agricultural land even withoutnotarization of the agreement giving rise to such rights.

Conclusion

The changes introduced by the Law should simplify state registrationof property rights to land plots. The proper implementation of the Law will bepossible only after relevant legislation is brought into accordance with theLaw and the necessary technical support is ensured.

Additional notes

ThisLEGAL ALERT is issued to inform Baker & McKenzie clients and otherinterested parties of legal developments that may affect or otherwise be ofinterest to them. The comments above do not constitute legal or other adviceand should not be regarded as a substitute for specific advice in individualcases.