Checking the land plot before buying

Legal land due diligence is the analysis of documents and registration information regarding a land plot to identify risks, disputes, or restrictions on use.

Before buying a land plot, you need to make sure that its intended purpose corresponds to the buyer’s plans (for example, it is unlikely that it will be possible to obtain permission to build a residential complex on agricultural land), as well as meet with a lawyer and order a site inspection using available resources. This will be a guarantee of avoiding unforeseen difficulties in the future.

According to Ivan Topor, head of the real estate and construction practice of the company “DE-JURE”, lawyer, candidate of legal sciences, when buying a land plot, the buyer must obtain from the seller confirmation that he has title documents for the land, as well as the absence of rights to it from other persons, including lease rights. If there is a tenant, he must consent to the sale of the plot, and the buyer will have the same obligations towards him as his predecessor. In addition, it is necessary to find out whether the seller is married and whether any measures of forced debt collection have been applied to him, so that this does not prevent the conclusion of the purchase and sale agreement.

In addition, the lawyer checks the land plot for the presence of encumbrances: seizure, easement (the right of the owner, user of the land plot or another person to limited paid or free use of someone else’s land plot), lease, etc. They do not prevent the signing of the agreement, but may prevent the buyer from using the land as he plans.