On September 1, 2022, the Law of the Republic of Belarus of July 18, 2022 No. 195-Z "On Amendments to Codes" came into force, establishing a preferential procedure for acquiring land plots into private ownership by citizens of the Republic of Belarus, the validity of which is limited to a 5-year period from the date of entry into force of this Law.
In particular, land plots used by land users as of September 1, 2022, can be transferred into private ownership by citizens of the Republic of Belarus within 5 years from the specified date, applying a coefficient:
0.8 – in the territory of regional centers, the city of Minsk
0.5 – in other territories.
Acquisition of land plots into private ownership will provide an opportunity to use them as a source of material well-being, contributing to the development of citizens' entrepreneurship and the involvement of land plots in market relations.
The cost of a land plot transferred into private ownership is determined based on its cadastral value, which reflects the value (usefulness) of the land plot. And only within 5 years can land plots be acquired into private ownership at the cadastral value, with the application of coefficients that reduce its amount.
For example,
The cadastral value of a land plot of 0.1268 hectares, provided for the construction and maintenance of a residential building in the Vitebsk region, is 1990 rubles 76 kopecks. With the application of a coefficient of 0.5, it will be 995 rubles 38 kopecks.
The right of private ownership of land is protected by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, and the acquisition of a plot into private ownership provides a number of advantages, the main of which are the following:
A land plot owned by private property can be the subject of various transactions such as sale, exchange, gift, annuity, lease, mortgage, and can be inherited, including by heirs who are not citizens of the Republic of Belarus.
For example, in the case of placing a capital construction on a land plot in private ownership, it becomes the subject of a sale and purchase agreement along with the capital construction, while the value of the land plot is determined separately from the value of the capital construction and cannot be lower than its cadastral value.
In the total value of the subject of the sale and purchase agreement, the value of the land plot can be 90%, while the value of the capital construction is only 10%. And the acquisition of a land plot in private ownership for collective gardening in a gardening cooperative will allow its disposal and sale along with the planted crops in the absence of a dacha house on the plot.
Land plots in private ownership can be leased for the same purposes for which they were granted, and the rent will serve as an additional source of income for the lessor – the owner of the land plot. Land plots located in cooperatives, granted for collective gardening, are in particular demand during the summer period, which can be leased for various terms to individuals who wish to try their hand at collective gardening and growing agricultural products, but do not have the opportunity to purchase a dacha house and a plot.
Land plots in private ownership can be the subject of a mortgage as security for obligations under a loan agreement, including one concluded with a bank.
Being the subject of a rent agreement, a land plot allows to meet the needs of the rent recipient – the landowner in food, clothing, housing, medical care and certain cash payments, thereby solving the social security problems of people in need of assistance.
Legislation ensures the protection of private property rights to a land plot, providing for an exclusively judicial procedure for the termination of private property rights to a land plot in case of violation by the owner of legislation on land protection and use.
Applications for the provision of land plots in private ownership should be submitted to the local executive committees at the location of the land plot.
Consultation on the cadastral value of a land plot for calculating the land use fee payable can be obtained from the land management structural unit of the local executive committee. For land plots registered in the real estate register, rights to it and transactions with it, information on cadastral value can be obtained from the Register of Land Values, Land Plots of the State Land Cadastre, which contains information obtained during:
- carrying out cadastral valuation of lands, land plots of settlements, horticultural associations and dacha cooperatives, lands, land plots located outside settlements, horticultural associations and dacha cooperatives;
- carrying out cadastral valuation of agricultural lands, land plots allocated to agricultural organizations, including peasant (farmer) farms, and other organizations for conducting agricultural activities, including peasant (farmer) farming, as well as for conducting subsidiary farming.