Main points
- Owners of land plots with old-style state acts must check the availability of a cadastral number for full disposal of the land.
- The absence of a cadastral number may limit the possibility of selling or donating a land plot or structures on it.
Land with old documents / Photo Unsplash
Thousands of Ukrainians still use land plots based on old-style state acts issued back in the 1990s. Although such documents remain valid, this may not be enough to fully dispose of the land.
Old state acts remain in force
Lawyer Yuriy Barda, in a commentary for Channel 24, said that today, to confirm ownership of a land plot, an extract from the State Register of Real Property Rights is sufficient. At the same time, according to him, a significant number of citizens continue to use land plots on the basis of various title documents, in particular old-style state acts issued before the introduction of the system of state registration of land plots and real rights to them.
Yuri Barda
Lawyer at the law firm “Marusyak and Partners”
Although such acts remain valid, a paper form alone is not enough to dispose of property. In order to sell, donate, inherit, or lease a land plot, it must have a cadastral number and be entered in the State Land Cadastre.
According to the Law of Ukraine “On the State Land Cadastre”, the cadastral number of a land plot is an individual, non-repeating sequence of numbers and signs throughout the territory of Ukraine, which is assigned to a land plot during its state registration and is retained by it throughout its existence.
The lawyer notes that in this regard, it is advisable for owners of land plots, the ownership of which is confirmed by state acts, to check the availability of a cadastral number and, in case of its absence, to carry out the procedure for state registration of the land plot. Currently, it is possible to check the relevant information through the Central Registration Center or with the state registrar or notary.
Without a cadastral number, there are restrictions
Yuriy Barda reminds that to assign a cadastral number to the owner, it is necessary to contact a land management organization that has a certified land management engineer. Based on the technical documentation on land management regarding the establishment (restoration) of the boundaries of the land plot in nature, the state registration of the land plot in the State Land Cadastre is carried out and a cadastral number is assigned.
At the same time, it should be taken into account that land plots, the right of ownership or use of which arose before 2004, are considered formed regardless of the assignment of a cadastral number to them. Therefore, no one can be unlawfully deprived of the right to use a plot or restricted in its exercise,
– says the lawyer.
According to him, in 1992-2001, a state act for a land plot of pink/red color was in effect in Ukraine, which did not contain the cadastral number of the land plot . In addition to the lack of information on the cadastral number, pink acts could contain data on several land plots with different purposes – for example, for conducting a personal farm and for building and constructing a residential building.
Please note! With the adoption of the new Land Code of Ukraine and the introduction of the State Land Cadastre system, state acts of a new sample in green and blue colors (2002-2013) began to be issued, which already contained the cadastral number of the land plot.
Why do land conflicts arise?
Unlike the previous version of state acts, the new form of the state act no longer allowed the designation of several land plots at the same time, since each state act certified the right to only one specific land plot.
At the same time, the long-standing lack of proper establishment of land plot boundaries in nature and the imperfection of old land accounting procedures have led to a significant number of cases of overlapping land plots,
– notes Yuriy Barda.
He says that in practice this led to situations where local governments re-transferred ownership or use of land plots or parts thereof for which state acts had previously been issued to other persons, resulting in overlapping land plot boundaries.
The overlapping of land plots should be understood as a situation when, according to different title documents, the same part of the territory simultaneously falls within the boundaries of two or more land plots,
– added the lawyer.
Part six of Article 24 of the Law of Ukraine “On the State Land Cadastre” establishes that one of the grounds for refusing to conduct state registration of a land plot is the location within the boundaries of the land plot subject to registration of another land plot or its part.
Important! According to Barda, this means that in the absence of such a number, a person cannot fully dispose of his property, sell, donate a land plot, or even a house or other structure located on it.
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