A Q&A guide to corporate real estate law in the Russian Federation.
The Q&A gives a high level overview of corporate real estate market trends; real estate investment structures, including REITs; legislation; title and public registers of title; confidential information; state guarantee of title; tenure; sale of real estate; seller's liability; due diligence; warranties; cost; taxes and mitigation, including VAT and stamp duty/transfer tax; climate change targets; third party outsourcing; restrictions on foreign ownership or occupation; finance; leases; planning law and consents; and proposals for reform.
To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions, visit the Corporate Real Estate Country Q&A tool.
This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to corporate real estate law. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/realestate-mjg.
The main trends in the real estate market in the last 12 months have included:
The Russian economy is demonstrating impressive performance compared to, for example, the EU countries, with:
a low level of sovereign debt;
high gold and currency reserves;
low unemployment;
a comparatively low credit level of the economy;
high oil prices;
steadily falling inflation;
only moderate dependence on the outside market situation.
All these have resulted in a paradoxical situation with a marked rise in investment risk being observed on international markets, combined with the risks in Russia remaining at the same level. Investment yield in Russia is traditionally considerably greater than in, for example, Europe.
The general upturn in Russia started in 2010 and this stable trend continued developing in 2011 and 2012. The past year has been a record one in terms of investment in commercial real estate, with a sharp rise in the proportion of foreign investment in this segment of the economy, up to 35 to 40% compared to 2 to 4% in 2009 to 2011.
The most dynamic results have been demonstrated by retail. Against a backdrop of a relatively modest market for quality retail space, Russia joined the top five countries in Europe for investment in retail real estate. The vacancy rate in the retail segment is falling smoothly and has dropped to 3%. The biggest international retail operators are unveiling mid-term investment programmes and plans for further aggressive regional expansion.
Logistics projects frozen in the past are also attracting a lot of interest, especially considering the current average 3 to 5% vacancy rate for Class A warehouses, with retail networks consuming about one third of the warehouse space. There is already a shortage of quality warehousing and rentals have topped their 2008 peak.
The office real estate segment still demonstrates its traditional shortage of quality facilities, with vacant space gradually decreasing and rentals in the city centre rising by approximately 15%.
Following the drastic limitations on new development in Moscow, developers have focused on regional development projects. Besides retail, other extremely popular segments are development of residential construction and hotel, leisure, sports and entertainment facilities. The number of residential real estate transactions in Moscow has now topped pre-crisis figures.
Surprisingly, regional airport facilities and infrastructure renovation and reconstruction projects have come in for a very high level of investment interest, predominantly from local core investment groups. Finally, in the industrial segment, high investment activity has been demonstrated by automotive, pharma and construction materials corporations with their processing plant projects.
After the mayors of both Moscow and St Petersburg were replaced, virtually all development projects in these cities were subjected to careful reconsideration, resulting in almost one quarter of all development projects in Moscow being terminated. The authorities were assisted in this process by legislative amendments rapidly passed by Parliament to simplify the procedure for early termination of land leases and investment agreements in the event of land tenant default. Even so, the majority of terminated projects were only on paper. New priorities declared by Moscow City Hall are public roads and parking lots, public transport, hotels, the utility and social infrastructure. The same processes are being observed in St Petersburg, though on a smaller scale.
Other developments for Moscow include:
the area of Moscow has more than doubled through the addition of the south-western sector of the adjacent Moscow region;
initiation of work on developing the new town-planning concept for Greater Moscow;
the idea of completing all construction in the historical centre of the city within the next three years and then preserving it;
plans to reduce the initial lease term of land for development from the current 49 years to 5 to 6 years.
Last year, the Supreme Arbitration (Commercial) Court expressed a fundamental legal position that changed completely the interpretation of the investment agreement concept that was, until recently, extremely popular among developers: investment agreements are now treated by the Court merely as sale of future property subject to development, unless they are pure construction contracts or simple partnerships.
Positive amendments have been introduced into the Town Planning Code, permitting design documentation for construction to be assessed either by the state or private experts at the discretion of the applicant, except for specific/ hazardous facilities subject to state expert assessment exclusively.
The statutory term for registering mortgages in the Realty Registry has been reduced to 5 business days for residential and 15 business days for other property. Finally, conveyancing of an effective building permit to a purchaser of a land plot under development has been greatly simplified. Finally, the list has been approved of frontier areas where foreigners are not allowed to hold freehold title to land.
The most commonly used structures for real estate investment are property companies constituted as special purpose vehicles (SPVs), equity acquisitions and direct investment in development projects.
The concept of a shared construction, which was introduced seven years ago, has not become common, at least not in the corporate property sector. This concept provides investors with a high level of statutory security and is a modification of a co-investment agreement commonly used in the recent past. However, it differs from the co-investment agreement because it:
Is heavily regulated.
Is subject to recording with the Realty Registry.
Requires considerably more formal requirements and reporting to supervising authorities by developers concerned.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are available on the market, but are not commonly used. They became even less popular after they became subject to property tax in 2010.
During the last 18 months, investment in real estate has transferred from global institutional investors to local banks, local investors and end users.
Institutional and private investors share the corporate real estate market with a ratio of about 3:7.
Private investors are generally more active than institutional investors in the following real estate markets:
Residential.
Leisure (hotels).
Industrial.
Retail.
Real estate legislation is formed from a system of standardised laws which regulate different subject areas (civil, land, and town planning), including the following federal laws:
Constitution of 1993.
Civil Code 1994, as later amended.
Land Code 2001, as later amended.
Town Planning Code 2004.
Federal Law On State Registration of Real Estate Rights and Transactions of 21 July 1997.
Federal Law of 24 July 2007 (No. 221-FZ) On State Cadastre of Immovable Property.
In addition, land law and privatisation law belong to the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the regions. Therefore, regional land legislation must also be carefully taken in consideration when dealing with regional projects. This chapter does not cover specific regional laws and focuses on federal regulation only.
The following constitutes real estate:
Land parcels or plots.
Buildings.
Facilities on the land, for example:
pipelines;
electricity and communication cables;
railroads and motor roads.
Developments under construction (in certain circumstances).
Subsoil sectors.
Sea vessels.
Aircrafts.
Space vessels.
Title to buildings and land (even when owned together) is always registered separately in the Realty Registry (see box, Real estate organisations).
The Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography manages the Realty Register, which to a certain extent, is publicly available (see Question 7). The registry issues certificates of title which evidence title to real estate. The Realty Register contains legal information on titles and other real estate rights. The State Supreme Court recently declared that relying solely on the Realty Registry records does not create the status of a bona fide purchaser. The title entries recorded in it require thorough professional legal due diligence of the property covering more than three years (the general statute of limitations) before the transaction, to minimise risk (see Question 8).
The Realty Register was only established in 1998 and does not contain exhaustive information on all Russian real estate. Titles to real estate that appeared before 1998 are formally valid and enforceable without registration in the Realty Register. However, title must be registered before entering into a transaction concerning the real estate.
Information in the Realty Register includes:
A brief description of the real estate.
Details of titleholders.
Existing and terminated titles.
Transactions subject to mandatory registration.
Property encumbrances and limitations, such as:
leases;
mortgages;
easements;
reservation for state needs;
disputes and claims;
contracts;
acts and resolutions issued by authorities;
court rulings.
Other information, such as:
acquisition of the property for state or municipal needs;
unauthorised re-constructions.
The Real Property Cadastre is a separate registry that contains technical information on land and real estate. The Real Property Cadastre formation is expected to be finalised by 2012.
Only limited information concerning the following is publicly available:
The property.
Encumbrances.
The name of the registered owner.
Other information can only be disclosed to the:
Current owner.
Tax authorities.
Courts.
Law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
State registration of title is the only evidence of registered rights. Registered real estate rights can only be challenged through legal proceedings. However, an entry in the Realty Register is not always a sufficient guarantee of title.
The State Supreme Court recently declared that relying solely on the Realty Registry records does not create the status of a bona fide purchaser (Sec. 38 of the Joint Ruling of the Supreme Court and Supreme Arbitration Court dated 29 April 2010 # 10/22). Careful legal due diligence concerning real estate is highly recommended before acquisition. The Realty Register should therefore be treated merely as an information portal. The title entries recorded in it require thorough professional legal due diligence of the property covering more than at least three years (the general statute of limitations) before the transaction, to minimise risk.
Title insurance exists but is more common in the residential real estate market.
Real estate can either be:
Publicly owned by the:
Federation;
regions;
municipalities.
Public ownership of land plots can also be non-delimited, which means that there is no specified owner of the public land. Municipalities can generally dispose of non-delimited public lands.
Privately owned by individuals and companies. Private property can also belong to two or more persons or companies (common ownership).
Rights that exist in addition to title ownership include:
Rights under:
leases;
easements;
mortgages.
The right of inheritable possession of a land plot for life (for individuals only) over publicly owned lands. Land plots with these titles are historical possessions and are not currently granted by the state.
The right of continuous (indefinite) use of land plots over publicly owned lands. Land plots with these titles are historical possessions and are currently granted only to a limited group of public enterprises and state agencies.
The right of economic jurisdiction over property held by state-owned enterprises and organisations. (Generally, the state is the property owner.)
The right of operational management held by state-owned enterprises and organisations. (Generally, the state is the property owner.)
Corporate real estate is usually marketed by:
Owners.
Professional real estate brokers.
Commercial negotiations take place between the parties to a potential transaction, which usually involve lawyers and brokers.
A letter of intent or memorandum of understanding is generally executed to begin with. For a development under construction, a preliminary sale agreement, lease or other agreement is signed. On fulfilment of the conditions precedent stipulated in these documents, a sale (or lease) contract is executed.
The parties or their representatives execute the sale contract in simple written form as one document. Notarisation of a sale contract is not compulsory and only takes place if both parties agree. The notary's fee is negotiable and varies between 0.5% and 1.5% of the transaction price. The parties agree who pays the notary fee. Notarisation of corporate real estate sale contracts is very rare in practice.
A sale contract generally becomes legally binding on execution by the parties (except for residential property sale contracts, that become legally binding on their recording with the Realty Registry). The following documents must be registered in the Realty Register to become legally binding:
Long-term leases (longer than one year).
Mortgages.
Easements.
Shared construction contracts.
Conveyance of ownership title through a sale contract must be registered in the Realty Registry to be enforceable. There is no time limit on when registration must take place.
Title transfers when the relevant entry is made in the Realty Register. This generally takes up to 30 days from submission of the application for registration.
The seller should disclose to a buyer everything he knows about the property's:
Defects.
Encumbrances.
Limitations, such as:
power or underground infrastructure protection zones;
sanitary protection zones of neighbouring facilities;
water protection zones;
development limitations imposed by, for example, airfields, motor roads and historical heritage protected buildings or places.
The buyer accepts the property "as is", unless the seller fails to disclose issues that he had actual knowledge of. In this case, the buyer can claim:
A proportionate purchase price reduction.
That the property is replaced (if possible).
Remedy of the defects in the property within a reasonable time at the seller's cost (if possible).
Compensation for the buyer's expenditure arising from work to remove the defects.
Termination of the sale deal, followed by mutual restitution. This involves putting the parties back in the situation they would have been in if the transaction had not been entered into.
If the property seriously violates real estate quality requirements, the buyer can refuse to fulfil the sale contract and demand the return of the purchase price. Serious violations include the discovery of:
Irreparable defects.
Defects that cannot be corrected without unreasonable expenditure of time and/or money.
Defects that appear repeatedly or reappear after correction.
Other serious defects.
The buyer can require the seller to be joined to court proceedings, if a third party sues the buyer and demands the transfer of the property to that third party, on grounds that arose before the sale contract was concluded. Failure by the buyer to involve the seller in litigation releases the seller from liability to the buyer, if the seller can prove that if it had taken part in the case, it could have prevented the property being transferred from the buyer to the third party.
If the seller gives full disclosure and the buyer fails or refuses to accept the property, the seller can:
Demand that the buyer accepts the property.
Withdraw from the agreement.
Due diligence usually takes place after signing a letter of intent or a non-disclosure agreement. Real estate due diligence usually involves examination of:
The title of the seller and its validity.
Background issues, such as transactions, privatisation, disputes and permits.
Encumbrances and limitations.
Infrastructure and the supply of utilities.
Other legal risks.
In addition to a review of the Realty Register, it is also advisable to check the status of real estate with the:
Real Property Cadastre, which contains technical data and a description of the real property. This Cadastre is currently in the process of absorbing the Land Cadastre and the Technical Inventory Bureau files and records. As a result, the Land Cadastre and the Technical Inventory Bureau will be dissolved in the next few years.
Land Cadastre, which contains technical data and information on land plots such as information relating to:
permitted use or zoning;
boundaries description;
site dimensions;
infrastructure that crosses or affects the land plot;
limitation zones (see Question 11, Seller's obligations).
The Land Cadastre is currently in the process of merging with the Real Property Cadastre (see above).
Technical Inventory Bureau, which contains technical data and information on buildings and facilities such as their:
dimensions;
size;
height;
location on the site;
infrastructure.
The Bureau is currently in the process of merging into the Real Property Cadastre (see above).
City or town development plan (if any) (see Question 40).
The seller typically guarantees to the buyer that:
The real estate is free of third party rights that the buyer does not know about.
The real estate has not been seized or pledged as security.
There are no limitations, encumbrances, disputes, or current court claims relating to usage rights.
All corporate approvals and procedures are observed.
All obligations of the previous property owners have been properly fulfilled and the requirements of anti-trust legislation (if applicable) have been adhered to.
Public utility contracts have been entered into and are in effect, which enable the use of the property for the designated purpose.
An owner or occupier is not generally liable for pre-ownership or pre-occupation matters (for example, environmental matters), provided he can prove that they occurred before his ownership or occupation.
An occupier is not generally liable under a lease if liability occurred before he occupied the property. The party breaching the lease generally remains liable for the breach, even if an owner or occupier changes later on, unless the lease states otherwise.
The seller has liabilities in relation to the information it discloses to the buyer before sale (see Question 11).
Those rules also apply to environmental liability, provided the new owner can prove that contamination took place before the property was transferred to the new owner.
The Realty Register charges a state registration fee of about RUB15,000 (as at 1 September 2012, US$1 was about RUB32) to register a title conveyance of every item of real estate. The buyer generally pays this fee (though the parties can decide otherwise).
The buyer's costs include the fees of his:
Broker.
Surveyor.
Legal adviser.
The seller's costs include the fees of his:
Broker.
Surveyor.
Legal adviser.
Transactions involving the sale of corporate real estate are generally subject to VAT at the rate of 18%. VAT and the purchase price are payable by the buyer to the seller, who transfers the VAT to the state.
The sale of land plots is exempt from VAT.
No stamp duty or transfer tax is payable on the sale and purchase of real estate.
The Realty Registry registration fee does not depend on deal value and is about RUB15,000 for each item of real estate.
Notarisation of sale contracts is not compulsory (see Question 10, Sale contract).
A corporate acquisition is commonly used to mitigate tax liability. The sale of the shares of an SPV that owns real estate is VAT exempt. The capital gain derived from the sale of the SPV shares is not subject to corporate income tax provided that the seller has been holding the SPV shares for more than five years (this rule only applies to shares purchased after 1 January 2011).
However, the Russian courts may apply the doctrine of business purpose, which in certain cases minimises the mitigation of real estate tax liability using corporate acquisitions.
The Energy Saving Law was recently adopted in 2010. However, there are not many provisions specific to corporate real estate. The key matters relating to corporate real estate are:
According to Russian law minimum energy efficiency criteria should be introduced by the Ministry of Regional Development, but this has not happened yet. Once these criteria are introduced, all newly constructed facilities (including corporate real estate) as well as reconstructed facilities must comply with them. These criteria should include targets on electricity energy consumption, heating consumption, water supply consumption (including cold and hot water) and ventilation volumes.
These minimum energy efficiency criteria will also introduce requirements applicable to architectural, technological, engineering and construction solutions, which may impact energy efficiency. These requirements will have to be reflected in facilities' project designs, prepared after the requirements enter into force.
Russian law is as yet silent on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.
Owners of office premises, warehouse facilities and hotels generally employ professional companies or use outsourcing arrangements for property management. However, industrial properties are generally managed by owners themselves.
For real estate disposals, outsourcing consultants are usually involved, such as:
Brokers.
Auditors.
Lawyers.
Civil engineers.
Environmental experts.
Independent appraisers.
Generally, foreign nationals have the same scope of rights, guarantees and security as local companies and individuals. The following federal law restrictions apply to foreign nationals:
They do not have the right to own land plots alongside national borders. The exact list of the territories affected by this restriction was adopted by the President of Russia in January 2011.
They cannot own agricultural land plots. This restriction also applies to Russian companies in which over 50% of the authorised capital belongs to foreigners.
They cannot conclude transactions establishing control over businesses of strategic importance for national defence and security, for example military and nuclear, telecoms and aerospace businesses, without the prior consent of the federal government.
Changes in the ownership of a company generally do not affect the holdings of real estate, unless foreign ownership is involved (see Question 22). Change of control of a company is often used to acquire effective control over real estate. However, in this situation, the buyer acquires not only the company's assets but also its liabilities.
Legislation provides an exhaustive list of cases where ownership rights can be terminated without the owner's consent. For example, a land plot with real estate on it can be seized for public needs, including:
Allocation of facilities of federal or regional:
transport;
railways;
information and communication.
Fulfilment of international treaties.
Property can be seized from the owner based on a court resolution for state or municipal needs, under specific procedural requirements.
In these cases, the purchase price is the market price estimated by an independent appraiser.
Legislation does not impose any specific municipal tax on the occupation of business premises.
A regional property tax (that does not apply to land plots) is fixed by regions. It cannot exceed 2.2% of the property's book value.
Land plots are subject to land tax established by the municipal authorities. The tax rate cannot exceed 1.5% of the land plot's cadastral value, which in turn is established by the regional authorities.
Acquisition of large real estate portfolios or companies holding real estate is generally financed by:
Syndicated lending.
Initial public offerings (IPOs).
Secondary public offerings (SPOs).
Secured lending is commonly used to finance business by bankers and institutional investors.
Sale and leasebacks are mainly used in the market for warehouses and retail property. The tax authorities have created negative case law concerning the tax consequences of using these structures, which has made them unpopular. This particularly applies where there appears to be no evident business purpose for the deal.
The most common form of security granted over real estate to raise finance is a property mortgage. A property mortgage must be signed by the parties and registered in the Realty Registry to be valid and enforceable.
Mortgage-backed securitisations are recognised by law. However, they are not commonly used due to the undeveloped local securities market.
The lease provisions of privately owned corporate real estate are generally freely negotiable.
However, specific rules and limitations apply to publicly owned (state and municipal) property (see Question 33).
A lease must be in writing and signed by both parties. Depending on the particular situation, execution of a lease may also require:
Corporate approval by the landlord's shareholders as a large scale deal.
Prior approval of a mortgage holder, in case of mortgaged property.
Recording of the lease with the Realty Registry (for leases longer than one year).
Rent payments are generally divided into the following three components:
Base rent price, that is, the landlord's remuneration.
Operating expenses (OPEX), such as:
management;
lift maintenance;
cleaning of public areas;
visitor reception services.
Payment for utilities consumed by the tenant including electricity, water and gas.
There are no restrictions on corporate real estate property rent levels. Rent review frequency is fixed in the lease but cannot be more often than once a year.
Base rent rates and OPEX are usually established in US dollars per square metre per annum and are payable quarterly, in Russian roubles.
Rent payments under leases are subject to VAT at 18%. Under specific conditions, rentals for office premises leased by representative offices of foreign companies may be VAT exempt.
The length of the lease term for private commercial real estate is not limited, and generally varies from five to 15 years. There is a statutory maximum lease term of 49 years for farm land. In practice, this 49 year term is the maximum for all publicly-owned land
If contractually agreed, on expiry of the lease term (and having properly fulfilled its obligations), the tenant has the pre-emptive right over others to conclude a lease for a new term. The tenant must provide the landlord with written notice of its intention to sign a new lease within the period indicated in the lease, or if no period is indicated, within a reasonable time before the lease's expiry.
However, if at the end of the lease term, the property owner decides to no longer lease out the property, the pre-emptive right of the tenant does not apply. If the landlord refuses to sign a lease for a new term with the tenant on these grounds, but within one year of expiry of the lease, signs a lease with another tenant, the original tenant can claim in court either:
Assignment of the executed lease agreement to itself.
Compensation for the damage incurred.
With the landlord's prior consent, the tenant can generally:
Sublet the property to a subtenant (liability to the landlord under the lease remains with the tenant). The duration of a sublease cannot exceed the duration of the head lease.
Assign the lease to a new tenant (liability to the landlord under the lease passes over to the new tenant).
Pledge lease rights as collateral, and contribute them to a company's authorised capital.
The property owner is free to sell or mortgage the leased property without the tenant's consent. The sale or mortgage of the leased property does not negatively affect the tenant, that is, the lease remains unchanged.
Sharing premises is common and is generally arranged through a sublease, that is, a tenant subleases part of the leased premises to other companies in the same corporate group. A sublease requires the landlord's prior consent unless consent to sublet to companies in the same corporate group has been granted in the lease. Because these inter-company subleases are generally a pure formality, premises are sublet on the same terms and conditions as the head lease. Although the terms are negotiable, to avoid potential negative tax implications, the rent payable under the sublease is generally no less than the head lease rent.
Unless agreed otherwise the owner or landlord carries out extensive or major repairs to the leased property at its own expense. The landlord must:
Maintain the property in working order.
Carry out ongoing repairs at its own expense.
Cover expenses related to the upkeep of the property.
The tenant is responsible for minor refurbishments and the fitting-out of the premises, unless agreed otherwise.
Insurance is not mandatory for leased premises. However, at its own expense and in its own interests, the landlord or owner insures the property against damage or destruction. At its own expense, the tenant can insure his personal property at the leased real estate. In addition, the landlord often insists that the tenant takes out third-party civil liability insurance in connection with the use of the leased property.
Unless agreed otherwise a court can prematurely terminate the lease on the landlord's demand when the tenant:
Uses the property in serious violation or commits repeated violations of:
the lease;
the intended use of the premises.
Causes serious deterioration of the property's condition.
Fails, more than twice in consecutive months, to pay rent within the time stated in the lease.
Unless agreed otherwise a court can prematurely terminate a lease on the tenant's demand when:
The landlord:
fails to place the property at the tenant's disposal;
creates obstacles to the use of the property under the terms of the lease or the intended use of the property.
The leased property has inherent defects that both:
impede the use of the property and were not revealed to the tenant by the landlord at the time of signing of the lease;
were previously unknown to the tenant and were unable to be uncovered at the time of inspection of the premises and verification of its good working order.
The landlord fails to carry out extensive repairs to the rented property in the time established by the lease, or if there is no contractually agreed time frame, within a reasonable time.
Due to circumstances beyond the control of the tenant, the property turns out to be in a condition unfit for use.
The parties can contractually agree other conditions under which the lease can be terminated prematurely. This includes a tenant's right to early unilateral termination of a lease without grounds, by giving written notice to the landlord. Depending on the parties agreement early termination of a lease can take place either in court or out of court (by written notification).
There are no special rules in the legislation about the consequences of the tenant's insolvency (except liquidation). Liquidation of a tenant is a statutory ground for early termination of the lease. Depending on the parties' agreement a tenant's insolvency can be a ground for early termination of the lease. The landlord's financial interests may be partially protected by:
A security deposit retained by the landlord.
A contractually agreed right to prematurely terminate the lease without a court order, for delayed payment of rent due to the tenant's insolvency.
Various government authorities are responsible for the enforcement of town planning regulations, including the:
Federal Supervisory Service for Nature Protection.
Federal Supervisory Service for Consumer Protection and Human Welfare.
Federal Ministry for Regional Development.
The municipalities have considerable town-planning powers.
The Federal Town Planning Code specifies the following elements of a planning or zoning activity:
Territorial planning. This defines the function of territories on territorial planning charts.
Zoning for urban development, that is, the zoning of territories of municipalities to determine territorial zones and create town planning regulations.
The layout of territories, that is, separating elements of the planned structure, such as blocks, micro-districts and other elements to establish the boundaries of land plots, on which extensive construction projects and infrastructure are intended to be built.
The design, construction and reconstruction of real estate, from engineering surveys to the commissioning or operation permit.
To begin development, a developer must obtain a town-planning plan for the land plot to develop the design (see Question 42).
Before starting construction works, a building permit must generally be obtained from the municipal authorities.
The operation of a building requires an operating permit, which is generally issued by a municipality. An operation permit is required, among other things, to record title to the constructed building in the Realty Register.
To begin development, a developer must obtain a town-planning plan for the land plot to develop the design (this is different from a building permit or operating permit (see Question 41). The town-planning plan is subject to approval from local architecture and urban development authorities.
Third parties that are negatively affected can:
Object to the state and municipal supervisory authorities.
Begin court proceedings.
Public hearings take place in the early stages of town planning, during urban development zoning and the laying out of territories (see Question 40). Public hearings are not required for the design process under the town-planning legislation. However during development of the design documentation, an assessment is made of the environmental impact and, as a rule, public hearings are needed within the scope of this.
It generally takes about two to six months to:
Conduct engineering surveys.
Establish the technical conditions necessary to connect to public utilities and infrastructure.
Obtain the town-planning plan for a land plot.
Obtain a decision and authorisation from the relevant state authorities (for instance, due to location close to an airfield, or a historical site).
The design is produced based on these surveys, technical conditions and the town-planning plan. A building permit is issued shortly after the design successfully passes expert examination (that is, appraisal and assessment). Since April 2012 non-state examination of design documentation can be used for obtaining building permit as well.
An act (or failure to act) by a state or municipal authority that violates a developer's rights can be appealed through court proceedings.
The multitude of conceptual amendments to the Civil Code recently submitted for consideration by the State Duma (the lower chamber of the Federal Parliament) will inevitably also affect the real estate and development sphere. These include significant amendments to rights to land plots for construction, the construction permission process, the rights to real estate facilities under construction and many other novelties. If the legislative process goes ahead as planned, the article here next year will obviously be devoted 90% to the capacious legislative changes.
A substantial reform of the land and town-planning legislation is currently being considered as well. The proposed changes include limiting opportunities to obtain title to public land other than via a public tender. A few exceptions are, however, anticipated: these are allocation of land for social, cultural, etc. facilities by decision of the President or the Federal Government; the owner of a registered facility located on a land plot being able to obtain the title thereto; provision of land to “replace” a land plot withdrawn by the state for public needs, etc.
The lawmakers are discussing the possibility of construction design documents that have passed EU examination being used in Russia without local examination, thus avoiding duplication of the procedure.
There are debates in the governmental and legal community about a new real property tax, which should replace the land tax, individuals' real property tax and companies' property tax. However, this reform is not reasonably expected before 2015.
In 2013 a vast majority of municipalities shall be covered by territorial planning and zoning rules. Thus, acquisition of lands and permitting procedures are expected to become more transparent and less time-consuming.
Finally, amendment of the laws regulating PPPs is under discussion in order to increase the investment appeal of PPP projects in Russia.
Main activities. The Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography manages the Realty Register, and is responsible for recording real estate titles.
Main activities. The Real Property Cadastre agency is responsible for the official collection, maintenance and provision of immovable property information in Russia. Its activities include:
Forming and measuring land parcels.
Running and maintaining the cadastre.
Undertaking cadastral evaluation.
Description. The Official Internet Portal of Legal information constitutes a part of the state legal information system which functioning is ensured by the Federal Security Service. The website contains federal laws, acts of the Chambers of the Federal Assembly, as well as legal acts of the Federal Government, other state authorities, regional laws and municipal legal acts. The language is Russian only. There are no websites in Russia where official English-language translations are available.
W http://english.garant.ru (www.practicallaw.com/9-522-1105)
Description. Link to a commercial service with selected laws translated into English available (unofficial translation).
W http://arbitr.ru (www.practicallaw.com/7-522-1106)
Description. The official site of the Supreme Commercial Court with key rulings and precedents. Partially available also in English and French.
T +7 495 287 44 44
F +7 495 287 44 45
E vitaly.mozharowski@gblplaw.com
W www.gblplaw.com
Qualified. Russia, 1997
Areas of practice. Real estate and construction.
Recent transactions
T +7 495 287 44 44
F +7 495 287 44 45
E maksim.popov@gblplaw.com
W www.gblplaw.com
Qualified. Russia, 1997
Areas of practice. Real estate and construction.
Recent transactions
