[BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN LATVIA]
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Union citizen and the document certifying knowledge of the official language (Latvian) at least at B level grade 2 ( namely, the person is able to communicate on everyday subjects and professional issues, to clearly phrase and justify his or her opinion, reads and understands texts of different content, is able to write the documents necessary for work (for example, statements, summaries, minutes, reports, deeds), as well as expanded texts regarding everyday life and professional topics, comprehends, and understands naturally paced spoken texts on different topics ). However, with the judgment in case No C ‑ 206/19 dated on 11 June 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union has recognized that the language knowledge requirement is discriminatory and cannot be applied to the citizens of the European Union Member States. Although the law has not been changed, the court's finding is respected in practice. If the language criteria shall be applied upon the request of the local government, the person shall make a presentation in Latvian explaining the intended usage of the land in agricultural activity. If the agricultural land is to be acquired by a legal entity - the usage of the land in agricultural activity shall be presented by the individual - the sole shareholder or individual shareholder jointly representing more than one half of the share capital of the company (in case of beneficiaries - presentation shall be made by those beneficiaries). For a person, who meets the criteria, to be able to acquire agricultural land, he or she shall first submit an application to the local government of the territory in which the relevant land is located, and after examination of the application and offering
to exercise the rights of first refusal to the registered lessee, if any, of the agricultural land and to the Land Fund of Latvia, the commission of the local government shall decide on giving its consent or refusal to acquisition of the agricultural land. In addition, one private individual or legal entity can acquire up to 2,000 ha of agricultural land. The local government has the right to determine the maximum area of agricultural land one private individual or legal entity can possess within their administrative area, but no more than 2,000 ha. Related parties can acquire up to 4,000 ha of agricultural land. V. Real estate registries There are two registries related to real estate in Latvia: The Land Registry and the National Real Estate Cadastre Information System (Cadastral Registry). The Land Registry is the main real estate registry and is kept by the respective Regional Court Land Registry Offices, each of them operating within a particular administrative territory. All rights (including ownership rights, all kinds of legal encumbrances, mortgages, restrictions, etc.) regarding real estate shall be registered with the Land Registry. Ownership rights of real estate shall be registered with the Land Registry and only a person, whose ownership rights have been registered with the Land Registry, shall be considered the owner of real estate, except when the ownership rights of the real estate are established by the law. Entries registered with the Land Registry have public credibility. Thus, not only the owner of the real estate is guaranteed credibility of its title registration, but also every third party is provided with valid
ILN Real Estate Group – Buying and Selling Real Estate Series
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