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[BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN UKRAINE]
KEY FACTS OF REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS UNDER UKRAINIAN LAW
І. Types and specifics of real estate in Ukraine The main types of real estate in Ukraine are the following:
II. Ownership title to real estate There are the following types of real estate ownership:
plots of land;
State ownership Certain real estate objects are owned by the state of Ukraine (land for nuclear energy and the space system; military land; the land under state railways, objects of state ownership of air and pipeline transport; property of state authorities, state reserves, state entities, etc.). The state exercises its ownership right through the relevant public authorities (Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, State Property Fund of Ukraine, state administrations, etc.). As a general rule, state real estate which is not forbidden for sale shall be sold on a competitive basis (auctions). Municipal ownership Under the law, certain real estate objects are owned by local communities (e.g., all land within settlements, except for private and state-owned plots of land). As in the situation with state-owned real estate, municipal property (which is not forbidden for sale as well) is generally sold by municipal authorities on a competitive basis (auctions). Private ownership Real estate objects can be owned by individuals and legal entities on the basis of private ownership, which can be individual or co-ownership (when property is owned by two or more persons (co-owners)). The co-ownership can be either shared (when each co-owner has a determined share in co-ownership) or joint (when the co- owners’ shares in co -ownership are not
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• other objects located on the plot of land that cannot be removed without their depreciation and change of their designation, such as buildings (residential and others), constructions, as well as their separate parts, apartments, premises (residential and non-residential). The regime of real estate property may be extended by law to aircraft and ships, inland waterway vessels, and objects in space, as well as other property, the rights to which are subject to state registration. For a long time, in Ukraine, a plot of land and a real estate object located on such plot of land (building, construction, etc.) were considered as two independent real estate objects. Thus, in practice, there are historical situations when a plot of land and a real estate object located on such plot of land are owned (or used on another title) by different persons and based on different titles (e.g., a person can own a building and lease the underlying plot of land which is initially owned by the state). However, in recent years, the Ukrainian legislation headed at implementation in practice of the principle of "unanimous legal destiny of the plot of land and the real estate object located on it". Such principle shall ensure that in the case of acquisition of the real estate object (a residential building (except for an apartment building), other building or construction), object of unfinished construction located on a plot of land, into ownership, the right to the underlying plot of land shall in most cases be transferred simultaneously to the acquirer.
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ILN Real Estate Group – Buying and Selling Real Estate Series
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