Main points
- The conclusion and amendments to a land lease agreement are regulated by law, require written form and state registration.
- Changes to the contract can only be made by mutual consent of the parties and come into force after state registration.
Conclusion of the contract and changes / Photo Unsplash
Land leasing in Ukraine has clear legal rules that are important for both owners and tenants to follow. Mistakes in the contract or changes to it can lead to loss of rights or litigation.
How to properly conclude a land lease agreement?
Lawyer Vitaliy Sokurenko, in a commentary for Channel 24, said that the conclusion and amendment of a land lease agreement in Ukraine is regulated by the Civil and Land Codes, as well as the Law of Ukraine “On Land Lease”. All amendments, like the agreement itself, must be made in writing and registered in the State Register of Property Rights.
Vitaly Sokurenko
Lawyer LEGAL STRATEGY
According to Article 13 of the Law of Ukraine “On Land Lease”, a land lease agreement is an agreement under which the lessor is obliged to transfer a land plot to the lessee for a fee for possession and use for a certain period, and the lessee is obliged to use the land plot in accordance with the terms of the agreement and the requirements of land legislation.
According to the lawyer, the form of the contract must be in writing. Notarization is mandatory only at the request of one of the parties or in cases provided for by the contract. Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On Land Lease” defines the essential conditions of the lease agreement, the absence of which may lead to its recognition as not concluded.
The key conditions of such a lease should include the lease object (cadastral number, location, area), the date of conclusion and term of validity, as well as the rent, indicating its size, indexation, method and terms of payments, payment terms, review procedure and liability for non-payment. By agreement of the parties, conditions regarding sublease, use of the plot, restoration of fertility may be included.
– notes Vitaliy Sokurenko.
The lease term of agricultural land plots for commercial agricultural production, farming, and personal peasant farming cannot be less than 7 years and cannot exceed 50 years.
Important! The right to lease a land plot is subject to state registration and arises from the moment of its registration in the State Register of Property Rights (SRPR), and not from the moment of signing the contract.
How to make changes to the contract?
As for making changes, according to Vitaliy Sokurenko, they are regulated by Article 30 of the Law “On Land Lease”. According to which, a change in the conditions occurs by mutual consent of the parties. In the event of failure to reach such consent, the dispute regarding the change in the terms of the contract is resolved in court. Unilateral change in the terms is not allowed, unless otherwise provided by law or contract.
A change to the contract is made in the same form as the contract itself, unless otherwise provided by law or the contract itself. That is, if you have a written lease agreement, then the changes are made in writing, in the form of an additional agreement or a new contract in the proper form.
The corresponding amendments to the lease agreement shall enter into force only after their state registration in the State Register of Real Estate, and if the agreement is amended in court, then from the date of entry into force of the court decision on amending the agreement, unless another period is established in this decision, with subsequent state registration,
– says the lawyer.
Please note! The specialist also notes that in the event of the death of the land owner or the sale of the plot, the lease agreement, as a rule, continues to be valid, and the tenant remains the user of the land plot on the same terms. A change of owner is not a reason for terminating the agreement, unless otherwise provided for in the agreement itself. The new owner must notify the user of the acquisition of ownership, and the tenant must reissue payments to a new person. The agreement continues to be valid until its expiration.
Can an heir use the land and not register it?
-
Heirs cannot legally use the land without registering the inheritance, as ownership does not transfer automatically.
-
Registration of inheritance includes submitting an application to a notary, obtaining a certificate of the right to inheritance, and registering ownership in the State Register of Real Rights.