Land purchase and sale transaction

Comprehensive preparation and support of agreements on the purchase and sale of agricultural land plots

The opening of the land market in Ukraine is an event that has raised many questions for farmers and owners of land shares. What do you need to know before selling a plot? What documents should be prepared? What to pay attention to during the transaction?

On July 1, 2021, the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Conditions of Agricultural Land Transfer” (hereinafter – Law No. 552-IX), which opens the first stage of functioning of the agricultural land market, officially entered into force.

Until January 1, 2024, the key players in the land market will be exclusively natural persons, who will be able to freely dispose of and acquire ownership of previously moratorium land plots. For the proper functioning of the market, the legislator provided for a number of legal safeguards and conditions under which the buyer will not be able to freely purchase ownership of agricultural land under civil law contracts.

Basic steps in buying and selling land

The main steps for concluding an agreement for the purchase and sale of agricultural land:

1. First of all, the owner of the land plot must make sure that he has a cadastral number for it. It is indicated in the title documents for the land plot.

In the absence of a cadastral number, the owner must contact the land management documentation developer who has the right to conduct activities on the territory where the land plot is located.

2. The owner should check the registration of the land plot in the State Land Cadastre , as well as make sure of the registration of his ownership right to it in the State Register of Property Rights to Immovable Property . Since the notary will not certify the contract of alienation of agricultural land if there is no information about the land plot in these registers. In addition, it is necessary to check the correctness of all data contained in the registers and their compliance with the actual data of the plot on the terrain (geodesic coordinates, boundaries, absence of overlays). This will help avoid claims from the buyer and possible legal disputes in the future.

3. Provide sales information. The reason for the sale is most often the planned scheme of alienation of the plot from legal entities and individuals. This process occurs during the division of state-owned land into plots of 2 hectares, which are transferred to ownership free of charge, and then alienated.

Therefore, the owner must notify the community of the intention to sell the land plot as follows:

• contact farmers directly;
•  spread information through “word of mouth”;
•   place ads on various real estate marketplaces;
•   exhibit the lot on specialized platforms and land exchanges.

Documents for the purchase and sale of land

To sell agricultural land, you will need a package of documents:

• that confirm ownership of land (excerpt from the State Register of Real Property Rights, not immovable property, state act, certificate of ownership);
•     extract from the State Land Cadastre about assigning a cadastral number to the plot;
•     passports and identification numbers of the seller and buyer of the plot;
•     if the land plot belongs to joint ownership – the notarized consent of the wife or husband to sell the allotment;
•     an extract from the technical documentation on the normative monetary valuation of the land;
• report on expert monetary valuation of lands;
•         information confirming where the buyer has the funds to purchase the land.

Features of the agricultural land purchase agreement:

• non-cash form of payment. The buyer can pay for the purchased land only through a bank, as it is prohibited to use cash to purchase this type of real estate.
•     the procedure for determining the real estate price The seller cannot determine the value of agricultural land as he likes. To establish the market price of an agricultural allotment, an expert monetary valuation is required.

To do this, you can use the automatic assessment of the State Property Fund or hire the services of an appraiser.

The sale and purchase of agricultural land can only be carried out by citizens of our country. It is forbidden to sell agricultural plots to foreigners and members of terrorist organizations. Also, agreements on the purchase and sale of agricultural land cannot be signed with citizens of the aggressor state and a potential buyer, who is prohibited from concluding agreements on the acquisition of land ownership.

Lawyers of ICC Bondar will advise and develop an algorithm for the correct way of conducting an agreement for the purchase and sale of an agricultural plot of land. For detailed information, call or leave a request on our website