The procedure for allocating land shares became a topic for discussion at Coffee with Experts, an event held by the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in the Zaporizhzhia oblast.

“The land issue is always relevant. Even now, the residents of the municipalities are concerned about the allocation of land plots, land shares and the provision of land for rent,” said Tetiana Bordiuh, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in the Zaporizhzhia oblast.

U-LEAD’s spatial planning and natural resource management experts, Oleksandr Hnitetskyi and Oleksandr Prydatko, briefed the participants on the main laws and regulations regarding the allocation of land shares in kind (on the ground). They also clarified the peculiarities of these processes under martial law and explained the procedure for state registration of property rights.

According to Oleksandr Hnitetskyi, land issues should be handled systematically and at any time.

“In the conditions of the full-scale war, the procedure for allocating land shares has been neglected for a while. Decisions were made incorrectly, plots were not allocated but transferred. Statutory restrictions imposed during martial law forced us to address these issues. Note that a new tax (minimum tax liability) will be in effect from 2023, so the number of people who want to form plots and register lease contracts will increase,” the expert said.

During the event, experts focused on decision-making by local councils. They also proposed an algorithm.

“The process of allocation of land shares requires coordinated actions of various interested parties such as the local council, cadastral registrars of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (State GeoCadastre), registrars of property rights. We attempted to find a middle ground that would allow municipalities to avoid violating the law and facilitate citizens in exercising their right. However, this issue still needs additional consultations to develop a simple algorithm that is understandable to everyone,” said Oleksandr Prydatko.

The expert also explained how to act during the allocation of reserve lands:

“We believe that technical documentation of the land plot should be prepared based on its inventory. There should be two decisions: obtaining permission to develop land management documentation, i.e. its preparation and approval, and making a decision on the allocation of a land share in kind,” he said.

Experts emphasised that the process of transferring a land plot (land share) is not a transfer to private ownership or free privatisation but the allocation of a land share in kind.