Main points
- Land plots in Ukraine can be exchanged for any movable or immovable property under the terms of an exchange agreement, which is subject to notarization and registration.
- The exchange of agricultural land is possible only within the same plot, provided that the monetary value is the same or close, without the need for the lessor's consent to the lease or sublease.
Land exchange / Photo Pixabay
Owners of land plots can dispose of their property as they wish – either sell it or exchange it, which is sometimes necessary for convenience of use. For this, the legislation provides for a procedure for exchanging plots.
How to exchange a plot of land?
The right to land is guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine, reports the Land Fund of Ukraine. It allows citizens to dispose of property at their discretion, use, lease, sell, and exchange it for other property.
The conclusion of real estate exchange contracts, the subject of which is a land plot, is no exception. It is also worth noting that under the terms of the exchange contract, the land plot may be transferred to another person for any other movable or immovable property owned by the other party to the contract.
The Land Code of Ukraine does not contain any prohibitions regarding the subject for which a land plot can be exchanged. Citizens and legal entities of Ukraine, as well as territorial communities and the state, may acquire ownership of land plots on the basis of exchange, rent, purchase and sale, donation, inheritance, life maintenance and other civil law agreements.
Important! Thus, the owner of the land plot can exchange it for anything, there are important components of such an exchange, which we will discuss later.
What do you need to know when exchanging plots?
In general, the specifics of the exchange of privately owned land plots are in most cases of a general civil law nature, but among others, it is worth focusing on agricultural plots, such as: for personal farming, for commercial agricultural production, and for farming (the latter are less common).
Owners and land users of agricultural lands are granted the right to exchange their land plots. Owners of land plots of all forms of ownership located in an array of agricultural lands can exchange such land plots. That is, only land plots located in one array can be exchanged. But such requirements apply only to agricultural land plots.
Owners and tenants of agricultural land located in the same area may exchange their rights of use for the period of the lease agreement by concluding lease agreements or sublease agreements. Such agreements shall be valid for the duration of the lease agreement. The right to lease shall be retained upon exchange until the expiration of the lease agreement. The consent of the lessor (owner) of the land to conclude a lease agreement or sublease is not required.
What else is worth remembering about land exchange?
The exchange of a land plot of state or municipal property located in an array for another plot located in the same array is carried out only if the normative monetary valuation of these plots is the same or if the difference between their valuations is no more than 10%. Therefore, it is not possible to exchange unequal land plots, otherwise such a transaction will be declared invalid.
Experts note that such restrictions are not accidental, since before the amendments to the current legislation were made, there were cases when land plots were deliberately divided in order to further increase the number of exchange units.
The rights to the land plot that became the subject of the exchange agreement are transferred to the other party immediately after the parties fulfill the terms of the agreement, which is subject to mandatory notarization with subsequent registration of information in the State Register of Rights to Real Estate and Their Encumbrances.
Important! After registering the right to the land plot acquired as a result of the exchange, the new owner can fully dispose of the acquired property.
Land tax in Ukraine: what threatens a person who has not paid for a share?
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Owners of land plots in Ukraine must pay land tax, which the regulatory authorities determine independently.
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Failure to pay the tax within 60 days of the date of service of the notice results in fines, but liability is waived if the authorities did not send the notice on time.