"Real Estate and Investments. Legal Regulation", the journal

Issue 1, 1999

How to Make "Unauthorized Construction" an Official One

Balabanova E.A., vice chairman of Perm regional registration chamber, state rights registrar

A lot of objects were involved in the turn-over of the real property when the economic reforms and processes of privatization began in our ountry. By The living accomodation bargains were subject to obligatory notarial certification and notaries were thoroughly checking of their legitimacy.

The other situation is observed on a uninhabited purpose market. The bargains are often made without checking of the documents reconfirming the property rights of the vendor. Moreover, frequently, the citizen or firm being holders of the real estate, had no documents neither about creation of object, nor about property rights transition. Unfortunately,there are a lot of objects like this: shops, garages, warehouses and also garden and country houses. For example, in Perm it is revealed 28.4 thousand garages (the total available amount is about 47.2 thousand), the documents on which are not made out duely.

To the large affliction of their holders, the law treats precisely such businesses situations. According to the art.222 of the Civil code of Russian Federation, those objects are qualified as "unauthorized construction" with the following consequences.

The holder can’t registrate his property rights and should demolish the construction at his own expense.

What should the holder of such object do for becoming a rightful owner: to sell, to demise or to do other things wiht his real estate?

First of all we shall discuss the main features of unauthorized constructions. The first one. The land lot wasn’t grant for making a construcion. The second one. It is the absence of the construction documents of operation lease.

First of all the holder should address to administration controlling the placing of the present object. If the use of the land lot does not contredict to the development of the occupied settlement and the administration doesn’t have any objections concerning the actual purpose, the plot can be granted to the landholder. So we solve the first problem.

The solution of the second problem. Any design organization can help in establishment of conformity of the object to the town-planning, and to building standards and rules. The inspection of object is perfected by the issue conclusion about operation suitability of construction, according to its purpose. Urban or regional architectural inspection of building supervision can control the inspection of such objects on the basis of the design organization reports to reconfirm a possibility of operation.

So we have an object of the real estate on a land plot allocated for it and meets th town-planning and building rules and standards. Having those characteristics, the object leaves the cathegory of unauthorized constructions, because it doesn’t correspond to the features of such constructions. Now the real estate holder hasn’t to go to the court for recognizing of the property right. Teh real estate object is practically legalized, and the holder can register the property right.

It is worht paying attention to the fact, that it’s favourable not only for the owner, but also for municipalities. The administration control concrete legal land lot users. Besides if the owner is a physical person the registered object are taxable. So the local government is interested in establishing of the order in the rage, which had a long years lack of attention.