The Verkhovna Rada registered a draft bill №6199-1, designed to resolve some of the problematic issues regarding the land market, namely - notarization of the purchase and sale agreement of agricultural land plots. According to the UAC adviser on land issues Victoria Kipriianova a number of provisions of the draft bill are positive for the agricultural land market.

1. Determining the area of ​​land that is jointly owned by the spouses

According to the current legislation, in order to check whether the buyer of agricultural land has not exceeded the limit of 100 hectares, the notary must verify his previous marriages when certifying the agreement on the purchase of agricultural land. He has to clarify whether there was another land that such a couple bought 10-20 years ago and nowadays has this land on the right of joint ownership. After all, in this case, the land is distributed 50/50 percent.

“The draft bill 6199-1 proposes to stipulate that the entire land of the spouses will not be included in the common area, but only the land owned by one of the spouses. For example, the wife's land will not be included in the husband's property and vice versa. That means, it will be taken into account only the area that is officially registered for him or her. This is a very positive change and we support it," Victoria Kipriianova said.

2. Notaries will not check the buyers of some agricultural plots for compliance with restrictions on land ownership of up to 100 hectares

The norm applies to:

• land plots with an area of ​​up to 0.25 hectares, with a purpose for horticulture;
• land plots with an area of ​​up to 1 hectare, with a purpose for personal farming (PF), which are located within the settlement.

According to Victoria Kipriianova, when certifying contracts for the purchase of agricultural land, regardless of what kind of land it is, the notary has to conduct a huge number of inspections, which take a lot of time. Accordingly, the services of a notary become much more expensive. However, there are agricultural lands that are quite small, such as land plots for horticulture. According to the law, an area of ​​no more than 12 sotkas is transferred for such purposes. Or, for example, a piece of garden near the house was privatized under PF (this is a fairly common practice). Accordingly, the value of such land is disproportionate to the cost of the notary’s services. Therefore, from the very beginning of the introduction of the of agricultural land turnover, a proposal to make a certain exception to the rules due to which this complex notary inspection will not be conducted, and as a result - it will simplify the procedure and, accordingly, reduce the cost of services.

"This is also a very positive rule, which will greatly facilitate the work of notaries, and the process of buying and selling certain types of agricultural land. According to the draft bill, the inspection of the acquirer of land will not be carried out in the case of acquisition of agricultural land for horticulture, up to 0.25 hectares, and for personal farming, up to 1 hectare, which is located within the settlements. However, if the land for PF is located outside the settlements, the inspection will be carried out according to the standard procedure. At the same time, the land purchaser personally has to declare and guarantee that he meets the requirements of the law and does not own more than 100 hectares of land at that time,” the lawyer explained.

3. Ability to pay in cash when buying agricultural land

Currently, the law stipulates that all payments related to the sale of agricultural land must be made with bank transfer. At the same time, the draft bill 6199-1 provides for the possibility to pay in cash when purchasing the mentioned plots: up to 0.25 ha for horticulture and up to 1 ha for PF within settlements.

4. Regulation of the procedure for redemption of lands of the state and communal ownership

Currently, there is a discrepancy between the Land Code of Ukraine, in particular, paragraph 6 of note. 1 of the transitional provisions and the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers on the procedure for installments while buying the lands of the state and communal ownership, which led to the fact that the purchase of such land was simply blocked.

"If the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers states that the installment provides for the first payment of 50% of the amount, then nothing is mentioned in the Land Code at all about the installment plan. The draft law №6199-1 proposes to provide in the Land Code the possibility of installments in equal payments for 10 years without requiring 50% of the first payment, " Victoria Kipriianova said.

In addition, the draft bill details some issues regarding the implementation of the preferential right to purchase agricultural land. For example, that the waiver of the subjects of the preferential right must be made in the form of a notarized statement, and the preferential right can be transferred for a certain period.

It will be recalled that experts of an advisory center “Smart Country” (which was created with the help of the UAC) have prepared a draft law №6222, which will correct the main shortcomings of bringing the shipper to administrative responsibility in the field of dimensional and cargo control.