Private Ownership On Earth In the Moscow Region: The Problem of an Unknown Category.

The Moscow region is one of the most expensive and, accordingly, attractive regions for investment in the Russian Federation. A wide range of investors, both private and corporate, are striving to acquire land plots here. The objectives are very different: from individual housing construction to the creation of large industrial and agro-enterprises. However, acquiring ownership of land in the suburbs, only a few are fully aware of the range of problems that may arise from owners after the transaction. The overwhelming majority of new owners, due to ignorance or lack of understanding of the legal framework governing land legal relations, are in a very difficult situation. It would seem that the new owner may have problems if the legal component of the transaction is impeccable, and you have received all the documents legally.

As practice shows, "pitfalls" on the way of the owner arise after a while, already with the development and even active use of the land. One of such problems, which is most often addressed to our legal bureau, is the difficulty in establishing the category of land, in the title documents for the purchased or acquired land.

In accordance with the Federal Law "On the transfer of land and land from one category to another", in the event that the category of land is not specified in the documents of the state real estate cadastre, title documents for the land plot or documents certifying land rights, a regulatory legal act of the body Local self-government to assign a land plot to a certain category of land, depending on the purpose for which it was provided. Based on this rule, you, as the owner of a land plot, need to apply to the local government with a request for establishing a category of land, as the land of settlements. The administration in the overwhelming majority of cases gives the owner a written refusal with a demand to provide documents that are virtually impossible to prepare if there is no category on your land plot. Subsequently, after long proceedings, inquiries and visits to various instances, it is usually found out that the land plot owned by you on the right of ownership has a category, but this is the category of "forest land". How did this happen?

In the early 90s of the 20th century, local authorities (village councils, councils of people's deputies, etc.) allocated land plots to citizens from the lands of the forest fund, bypassing the procedures for the withdrawal of these lands from this category. Thus, it turned out that the plots went into private ownership, passed cadastral registration, but on the plates of the Federal Forestry Agency are located in the territory of the forest fund, that is, in federal ownership. It turns out that you are guilty without guilt and can not dispose of the property as you want: for example, you do not have the right to cut down trees on this site without receiving a felling sheet. Moreover, even if you do not have to eliminate trees when building on your land, problems arise with supervisory authorities of state authorities (for example, in the field of architecture, nature management and others) that you need to contact for obtaining construction documentation. As a result, you face a desperate situation - local authorities refuse to issue the documents necessary for construction, refuse to "accept" the constructed structure and refuse to register the land management business.

You apply to the court with an action against the administration, but the decision of the court is usually not in your favor, due to the fact that the local administration does not have the authority to independently withdraw the land from the forest fund category.

A vicious circle is being taught, from which, as it seems to you, there is no way out.

But there are no desperate situations in such matters. You have two options for solving the problem:

1. Initiate the transfer of a land plot from the forest fund category to the category of land in settlements. To do this, it is necessary to submit a corresponding petition to the local authorities, having held public hearings. However, in this case you will have to rely on the competence and decency of local officials who, in turn, should apply to the regional authorities for the need for such a transfer. This option, in 80% of the cases dead-end, since local governments rarely initiate such a transfer to higher authorities.

2. Delineate your land from the forest fund lands. This procedure involves appealing to the judicial authorities. However, before submitting a statement of claim to the court, it is necessary to observe the pre-judicial order of appeals to a number of state authorities. This way is the most rational and gives a positive result in the overwhelming majority of cases.

However, it is always necessary to remember that it is not everyone's own ability that can make such a difficult journey from the claim to the court before obtaining a "coveted decision" in your favor. Here you need qualified help from a specialist in this field of law. Otherwise, you will inevitably have to stock up with solid resources of health, time and money.

S.A. Tolkachev,

Lawyer is a leading specialist in the field of land and housing law

Law Office "Lawyer"