How to check a plot of land before buying

A land inspection is a legal procedure to assess the legal status of a land plot before purchase. It includes checking the cadastre, purpose, and encumbrances.

Land plots can have different purposes, and before buying, it is worth making sure whether this land is suitable for the intended use that the buyer plans. Therefore, firstly, you should personally visit the plot and look at its actual condition, and secondly, come for a consultation with a lawyer from “DE-JURE” and order a check of the seller and the plot itself on available resources in order to eliminate possible risks. Among the online resources for checking a land plot, the following can be noted:

• Register of property rights;
• State land cadastre;
• Register of court decisions.

From the register of property rights of land plots, you can obtain an information certificate, which indicates the grounds for acquiring ownership of the land by the current owner, the presence or absence of arrests, encumbrances, etc. An extract from the state land cadastre describes the parameters of the land plot, in particular the presence or absence of buildings on its territory, the actual shape of the plot and the location of the land, as well as its intended purpose. Other data regarding the land can be obtained from these documents. The register of court decisions shows the presence or absence of legal disputes regarding a given land plot, as well as regarding the seller of the land. It does not always provide the necessary information, but is quite useful if you understand how it works.

Why check the land plot and the seller

A timely check of the land plot and its seller before buying is a guarantee of avoiding difficulties in the future. In particular, the risks of declaring the contract invalid or identifying encumbrances, easements and other rights of third parties to use or influence the procedure for your use (disposal) of the land. It is possible that the result you expect from purchasing the land plot will not come true and the cost of the purchased land will be overstated. For example, you can try to change the intended purpose of the land that does not correspond to the buyer’s plans, but this will require additional time, effort and money.

How does legal support differ from a notary inspection

Why do you need a lawyer to inspect a house before buying in Odessa, if the purchase and sale agreement is drawn up by a notary? Let’s figure it out. The duties of a notary include:

• verifying title documents;
• verifying information from the register of property rights and the land cadastre;
• verifying the authority of persons to purchase and sell land before certifying the transaction, and sometimes not only that.

However, protecting the rights and interests of the land buyer is not a priority for a notary. This task falls on the buyer and his lawyer. The notary is not obliged to point out the risks associated with the difficulties of using the land, taking into account the buyer’s plans. He does not have to know at all why you are buying this land plot and how you will use it. And a lawyer at a consultation on land law will first of all learn about the purpose of the purchase and will immediately form a list of questions to ask. So, if a pipeline with an established easement passes through the land plot, then it will be quite difficult to build a residential building on it. Therefore, the lawyer must inform about the list of actions that allow construction, in particular, in the given example, it is necessary to ensure the transfer of the pipeline and cancel the easement. Sometimes these actions will be more expensive than the cost of the land, and therefore its purchase will not make sense.

The notary can also check the register of court decisions, but if there are no direct indications of the illegality of the future transaction, then he will certify the contract. And the lawyer, depending on the nature of the dispute, will indicate potential risks that will arise in the future, and this may cause the buyer to refuse to purchase the land. If desired, you can order legal support during construction in order to be able to promptly resolve all issues that arise before and during construction work.

What is a cadastral number and how to check it

The cadastral number of a land plot is a sequence of numbers and characters that is individual and does not repeat throughout the territory of Ukraine. A land plot receives a cadastral number during its formation by a land surveyor, and it is stored with it throughout its existence.
Using the cadastral number, you can obtain information about the land plot in the register of property rights and the land cadastre. To check the correspondence of the cadastral number to the information specified in the title documents for the land, you should enter it on the Open Data of the Land Cadastre of Ukraine portal.

How to check information about ownership and rights to a land plot

The existence of ownership of a land plot is confirmed by legal documents that can be requested from the seller for examination. Verification of whether this information is true is carried out through state registers. Information about the owner of the plot is stored on the web portal of the State Geocadastre. From the requested certificate, you can also find out about the normative monetary valuation of the plot and restrictions on its use. In order to find this and any other information about the land plot, a cadastral number is required.

Why do you need an information certificate from the state register of real rights to real estate?

An information certificate from the state register of real rights to real estate can be ordered through the Diya portal. The certificate indicates the area of ​​the land, its cadastral number, the owner’s personal identification number and the grounds for acquiring ownership, as well as the registration of other rights to the land plot (lease, easement) and the presence of encumbrances (seizure, mortgage, prohibition of alienation). These rights and encumbrances may affect the buyer’s decision to purchase the land.

Why check a land plot by cadastral number in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions

Currently, land plots are no longer assigned a postal address during their formation and subsequent registration, and the cadastral number is a unique identifier. Therefore, when checking the presence of disputes in the court register regarding a certain land plot, it is best to enter the cadastral number in the search term.

What you need to find out about the seller before buying a land plot

When buying a land plot, you need to get confirmation from the seller that he has rights to the land (title documents), as well as the absence of rights to it from other persons, including lease rights. In addition, you need to find out whether the seller is married and whether he has been subject to compulsory debt collection measures, so that this does not prevent the conclusion of the purchase and sale agreement. A lawyer from “DE-JURE” can help you check the documents when buying a land plot.

What is an encumbrance and can this problem be solved?

The encumbrances imposed on a land plot include arrests, easements, mortgages, concluded lease agreements, etc. Moreover, some of these encumbrances allow the conclusion of an agreement on the sale of land, and some require their prior removal or cancellation.

The arrest of a land plot is possible for various reasons, and before concluding an agreement, it is necessary to find out about its reason. If the arrest is imposed within the framework of enforcement proceedings, then the requirements imposed by state bodies should be met in order to remove it. And if the arrest is imposed within the framework of criminal proceedings or a court dispute within the framework of civil or commercial proceedings, then its removal may be significantly delayed in time and is associated with circumstances beyond the seller’s control.

The right of a land easement is the right of the owner, user of a land plot or other interested person to limited paid or free use of someone else’s land plot (plots). For example, an easement is established when laying communications or if this land plot is the only route for exit/exit from a neighboring land plot. In this case, the right of easement to pass/travel through the land plot is established for the neighbor. The easement does not prevent the conclusion of a land purchase agreement, but it is necessary to understand that the obligations that it establishes for the previous owner will also be imposed on the new owner of the land plot. Easements can be canceled, but it all depends on the cost and complexity of the actions that need to be taken for this.

A mortgage involves the transfer of land as a guarantee for debt payment, and it can be withdrawn on terms agreed with the creditor.
Lease of land implies that you, as the new owner, assume all rights and obligations under the lease agreement concluded by your predecessor. Before purchasing land, you must obtain the consent of the tenant, since he has the preemptive right to purchase the plot. If this situation does not suit the buyer, before concluding a purchase and sale agreement, the owner can be required to terminate the lease agreement.

There are also other circumstances that affect the order of land use that are not included in the listed encumbrances, but are provided for by the norms of current legislation. For example, the presence of real estate in the neighborhood, their height and proximity provide restrictions on the order of development of your land plot, in particular, restrictions on the height of the real estate object and special requirements for the distance at which your real estate object should be located relative to the neighbor’s. There is a protection zone near the cemetery, in which there are restrictions on the order of development. Restrictions are also established by local urban planning documentation, in particular the general plan of the settlement. Checking the encumbrances when buying a land plot is part of the legal support of the contract.

What you need to know about the intended purpose of land plots and the problems associated with it

The intended purpose of a land plot is specified in the technical documentation and determines how exactly this land can be used. This must be taken into account by a potential buyer. After all, if he plans to build a hotel on agricultural land or a residential building in an industrial zone, this contradicts the intended purpose of the land. Then the urban planning authorities will not approve construction work, and the regulatory authorities may impose a fine and demand demolition. The lands of Ukraine are divided into the following categories by their main intended purpose:

• agricultural lands;
• residential and public development lands;
• lands of nature reserves and other nature conservation purposes;
• lands of health-improving purposes;
• lands of recreational purposes;
• lands of historical and cultural purposes;
• lands of forestry purposes;
• lands of the water fund;
• lands of industry, transport, electronic communications, energy, defense and other purposes.

Yes, the purpose of the land plot can be changed, but this is an additional expenditure of time, effort and money, which is not always worth the result.

Purchase of a land plot by a legal entity

According to current legislation, a land plot can be purchased by both an individual and a legal entity. However, at the same time, a number of legal entities are prohibited from purchasing agricultural land – in particular, if the participants, shareholders or ultimate beneficiaries of the legal entity are foreigners. All restrictions are described in more detail in Article 130 of the Land Code of Ukraine.

Audit of a land lease agreement for legal entities

As a rule, an audit is understood as checking an agreement that has already been drawn up, and lawyers at “DE-JURE” provide this service. But more common is the support of a lease agreement or purchase and sale of a land plot, when a lawyer checks the terms of sale and the seller in order to ensure the security of the agreement and compliance with the client’s interests, taking into account his plans for the land plot.

Does the seller need to verify the buyer when selling a land plot?

The buyer’s verification is required to verify the existence of rights to purchase the land, as this involves the risks of cancellation or invalidation of the relevant agreement. Also, in the case of concluding an agreement with installment payments, the buyer’s solvency and the presence of legal disputes or enforcement proceedings are checked.