A complete guide to registering property rights in Ukraine

The question of real estate registration is extremely important. State registration of rights allows one to be the owner of immovable property in the legal field, which is necessary for entering into contracts and performing other legal acts.

In this article, we will talk about what the legislator considers as real estate, which rights regarding this type of property require registration, who are the subjects and grounds for registration, as well as the administrative fee.

Let's start with the main point, namely the legislative definition of immovable property. According to the Civil Code of Ukraine (CCU), immovable property includes land plots and objects located on the land plot, the removal of which is impossible without their depreciation and change of purpose (Article 181 of the CCU): residential buildings, residential and non-residential premises, their parts, apartments, and others.

State registration of rights to immovable property is the official recognition and confirmation by the state of the acquisition, modification, or termination of proprietary rights to immovable property by entering the relevant information into the State Register of Proprietary Rights to Immovable Property (Article 2 of the Law No. 1952-IV, hereinafter referred to as the Law).

So, which proprietary rights to immovable property require registration?

• Ownership rights and trust property rights as a means of securing the performance of obligations regarding immovable property, an object of unfinished construction, trust property rights as a means of securing the performance of obligations regarding a future immovable property object.
• Special proprietary rights to an object of unfinished construction, future immovable property object.
• Proprietary rights to immovable property derived from ownership rights, namely: the right of use (servitude, emphyteusis), the right to build on a land plot (superficies).
• And other proprietary rights provided for in Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Law.

Once we have determined the object and type of rights associated with it, let's move on to the subjects of registration (who specifically deals with this matter?):

Once we have determined the object and the type of rights involved, we move on to the registration subjects (who specifically handles this matter?):

• Notary;
• State registrar of property rights;
• Executive bodies of rural, urban, and city councils, Kyiv, Sevastopol city, district, district in the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol state administrations.

Depending on whether it is secondary or primary real estate, the basis for registering rights to the object varies. Let's consider the grounds for registration of secondary real estate, as stipulated by the legislation:

• Agreements that confirm your right to property (purchase and sale agreement, contract of subcontracting, trust ownership agreement, etc.);
• Certificates that confirm ownership rights (certificate of ownership for a share in common property, inheritance certificate, certificate of acquiring property through public auctions, etc.);
• Court decisions regarding the acquisition, alteration, or termination of property rights to real estate, unfinished construction projects, future real estate objects;
• Court resolutions approving (recognizing) a settlement agreement;
• Will that establishes an easement on real estate;
• Other grounds specified in Article 27 of Law No. 1952-IV.

When it comes to primary real estate, it is important to note that state registration plays a vital role. According to Article 331, Part 3 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, prior registration of this property is considered as proof of ownership, even if it already appears as a completed building.

The legislator has divided the registration procedure for unfinished construction objects into two categories: those registered for the first time and others.

If it is the first registration, pay attention to the following list of documents:

• Application for state registration of rights.
• Land document.
• Building passport.
• Right to carry out construction work.
• Technical passport.
• Absence of any fact indicating a halt in construction work due to violations of urban planning legislation.
• Absence of any fact indicating acceptance into operation of the completed construction object.
• Construction acceptance and transfer certificate, if applicable.
• Documents confirming the completion of work on the construction site (e.g., certificates of completed work).

If the registration is for an object that already has ownership rights or special property rights, changes are automatically made through the software of the State Register of Rights:

• Object characteristics are updated based on the information from the Unified State Electronic System in the field of construction.
• The type of property right is changed (from special property right to ownership).
• State registration of encumbrances on real estate in favor of the construction client is carried out (only in the case of an indivisible object).

When registering any object, do not forget to provide your passport and identification code or statutory documents if you are a legal entity.

Finally, the administrative fee for registering property rights correlates with the timeframe, and for the standard period of 5 working days, the fees are as follows:

• Ownership rights (including trust property as a means of securing obligations) - 270 UAH.
• Special property right for an unfinished construction object - 270 UAH.
• Special property right for a future real estate object - 335 UAH.
• Trust property rights for an unfinished construction object or future real estate object - 30 UAH.
• Other derivative property rights derived from ownership - 130 UAH.
• Registration resulting from notarial actions - 270 UAH.