How Can an ATO Participant Obtain a Land Plot?

Minister of Justice Pavlo Petrenko answers questions from citizens.

What land plots are defenders of the homeland entitled to?

Combatants and persons equated to them are entitled to priority allocation of land plots for ownership or use for individual residential construction, gardening, and vegetable gardening (for vegetable gardening, the land is allocated for use).  Within the limits of the free privatization (transfer) program, land plots are transferred into ownership in the following sizes:

1. for gardening—no more than 0.12 hectares;
2. for personal farming—no more than 2.0 hectares;
3. for the construction and maintenance of a residential building in villages—no more than 0.25 hectares; in towns—no more than 0.15 hectares; in cities—no more than 0.10 hectares.

Where should you apply to obtain a land plot?

ATO participants must submit an application to the executive authority or local government body responsible for transferring land plots into ownership or use:

• village, town, or city councils (if the matter concerns land owned by the relevant local communities);
• regional and district councils transfer land plots into ownership or use from the relevant lands of joint ownership of territorial communities for all purposes;
• district state administrations within their territory transfer land plots from state-owned lands into ownership or use within the boundaries of villages, towns, and cities of district significance for all purposes (outside populated areas, they do not transfer land plots for vegetable gardening, horticulture, small-scale farming, and the construction of individual residential homes);
• regional state administrations within their territory transfer land plots from state-owned lands into ownership or use within cities of regional significance and outside populated areas, as well as land plots that are not part of a specific district, or in cases where a district state administration has not been established, for all purposes;
• the Main Directorate of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre in the region (if the matter concerns state-owned land plots for horticulture or personal peasant farming).

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine makes decisions regarding the transfer (allocation) of state-owned land, in particular arable land, perennial plantations for non-agricultural purposes, forests for non-forestry purposes, as well as land plots designated for nature conservation, health, and recreational purposes, and land of special value.

What does the application look like?

The application specifies the intended use of the land plot and its approximate dimensions (within the established limits).

The following must be attached to the application:

1. graphic materials indicating the desired location of the land plot (for example, an extract from the cadastral map);
2. a copy of the passport and a copy of the identification number;
3. a document certifying participation in the ATO (certificate, statement).

Officials are prohibited from requesting additional materials or documents.

A decision to grant permission to develop a land management project or to issue a reasoned denial must be made within one month.

What can serve as grounds for denial? 

Only non-compliance of the property’s location with the requirements of laws, regulatory acts adopted in accordance with them, master plans of settlements, and other urban planning documentation, land management plans, technical and economic justifications for the use and protection of land in administrative-territorial units, and land management projects for the reorganization of settlement territories, approved in accordance with the established procedure.

How does the land allocation process work?

If an authorized body decides to grant permission to develop a land management project for the allocation of a land plot, you must commission a land management organization to prepare such a project.

Only a person holding a land management engineer certificate may perform the work. The land plot allocation project is developed based on a contract concluded with the client. The deadline for completing the work may not exceed 6 months. 

The project must be approved by the territorial office of the State Geocadastre. If the land plot is located within a populated area, or if a construction project is planned on the plot, approval must be obtained from the urban planning and architecture department of the local state administration or local council.

A land management project for the allocation of a land plot, depending on its intended use, value, and location may also be subject to approval by: the environmental protection department of the regional, Kyiv, or Sevastopol city state administration; the central executive authority responsible for implementing state policy in the field of cultural heritage protection, or the relevant structural unit of the regional, Kyiv, or Sevastopol city state administration responsible for cultural heritage protection; the central executive authority responsible for implementing state policy in the field of forestry; the central executive authority responsible for implementing state policy in the field of water resources management.

Processing time: within 10 business days from the date of receipt of the draft (a two-week period from the date of receipt of the approved land management project regarding the allocation of a land plot (and, if a mandatory state expert review of the land management documentation is required by law, after receiving a positive conclusion from such a review).

Grounds for refusal: only non-compliance of its provisions with the requirements of laws and regulatory acts adopted in accordance with them, land management documentation, or urban planning documentation.

How do you register a land plot in the State Land Cadastre?

You must apply to the territorial office of the State Geocadastre at the location of the land plot and submit the following documents:

1. an application for entry of information into the State Land Cadastre;
2. the original land management documentation serving as the basis for the formation of the land plot (an approved land management project and, if necessary, a positive expert opinion);
3. land management documentation serving as the basis for the formation of the land plot, in the form of an electronic document.

The processing time for such an application is 14 days. Entry of information into the State Land Cadastre is carried out free of charge.

How is a land management project approved?

The decision to grant a land parcel under a land management project regarding its allocation serves as approval of the land management project for the allocation of the land parcel.

Is it necessary to register the right to a land plot in the State Register of Real Rights to Real Property of the Ministry of Justice?

Yes, it is required. To do so, you must apply to an entity authorized to conduct state registration of real rights to real estate, specifically the executive body of a village, settlement, or city council, or the local state administration, including through administrative service centers. State registration of real rights to land is also carried out by legal entities accredited by the Ministry of Justice and by notaries.

Required documents: 

1. an application in the prescribed form, prepared by the state registrar;
2. an identity document;
3. a certified copy of the decision on the transfer of the land plot into ownership or for use free of charge;
4. an extract from the State Land Cadastre regarding the land plot (submitted if the document submitted for state registration does not contain information about its cadastral number, as well as if, upon accessing the State Land Cadastre, the state registrar determines that there is no information about the relevant land plot);
5. a document confirming payment of the fee for state registration of ownership of real property—in the amount of 0.1 times the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons.

Where can I go for detailed advice?

Hotline of the Main Directorate of the State Geocadastre in Odesa Oblast: (048) 757-86-50
Hours of operation: Monday–Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. (lunch break from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.).