How to register an apartment by inheritance as property

The legal side of accepting an inheritance for housing

First, let's figure out when relatives have a right to property belonging to the deceased.

In accordance with Article 1152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the property of the deceased belongs to the heir from the moment the inheritance is opened, regardless of the actual acceptance of the apartment and regardless of the registration of the right in the authorized body by the legal successor. That is, the emergence of the right to real estate for an heir according to the law is not associated with state registration.

However, the right to use and own an apartment does not entail the right to dispose of property. It is still impossible to alienate real estate in favor of another person without waiting six months after the death of the testator and without bringing the documents into compliance.

If the successor, having bypassed receiving a certificate of title to the property of the deceased, makes any transaction with the property earlier than the period allotted by law has passed, he will be refused registration actions.

On the one hand, the law says that the right is formed from the moment the inheritance is opened and does not depend on the fact of registration or issuance of a certificate. And the refusal of the registration authority seems unlawful. But on the other hand, registrars are not authorized to determine the legality of ownership of property to a particular person and, without having documents that establish the rights to the apartment, they cannot transfer the right. After all, the person who declared his right may not be the only heir.

What you need to know about entering into an inheritance:

You must indicate your desire to receive an inheritance within 6 months from the date of death of a relative (Article 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
If this deadline is missed for a good reason, you can restore your rights through the court.
If the heir is an unborn child, the deadline for completing the paperwork with the notary is postponed until the birth of the baby; the documents are signed by the parents or guardians of the latter.
Relatives of the deceased who are not first-degree heirs can claim their rights if the closest heirs do not show themselves within six months. Another 3 months are allotted for this.

Inheritance of an apartment by law

This method of inheritance is relevant when there is no testamentary “command” of the owner of the living space in the event of death. In the absence of the owner's will, the rules of law come into force, which determine the circle of persons who have the right to the property of the testator.

The following video will tell you about the difference between inheriting an apartment by law and by will:

You will learn further about what rules for inheriting a privatized apartment exist.

Existing rules

The Civil Code provides for eight orders of persons who are the legal successors of the deceased. The right of inheritance according to the law belongs to persons who are related to the testator and form a single family with him.

The first priority of successors according to the law are the children, spouse, and parents of the deceased.
Relatives from subsequent “chains” have the right to a privatized apartment only in the absence of persons from previous queues. Therefore, if there are “priority” successors, then persons from lower “chains” do not have rights to inheritance.

The law provides for persons who are not related to their predecessor, but are part of the same family with him. These citizens are named in the law as dependents of the testator. To recognize them as such and their rights to inheritance, it is necessary that citizens be disabled on the day of the death of the testator, live together with him and receive maintenance from him. The law defines such persons as:

men over 60 years of age;
women - after 55 years;
persons with a disability group;
children under 16 years of age;
persons studying in an educational institution who have not reached the age of majority.

Inheritance by right of representation appears to the relatives of the legal successor in the event of death before the opening of the inheritance case or at the same time as the testator.

In life, it often happens that the process of privatization in relation to living space has not yet been completed (ownership rights have not arisen, but documents have been submitted), and the citizen has died. In such a situation, the right of inheritance to this living space arises from the legal successors in accordance with the law. In the event of a lawsuit, the courts protect the rights of future successors, since the predecessor expressed his will to privatize housing.

There are some nuances to inheriting privatized living space.

If several citizens participated in the privatization process, and all of them are indicated in the agreement, then the successor’s right to inherit the apartment arises only in relation to the specific share of his predecessor.
If you miss the period for entering into an inheritance, it is possible to resume it. There are two options for this: peacefully (when friendly relations have been established between relatives and they have no claims regarding the inheritance of a part) and in court (when other legal successors do not agree and there is a dispute, it is necessary to provide arguments with justification in the claim and in the proceedings , for which the heir missed the deadline).

The procedure for inheriting a privatized apartment according to the law will be discussed below.

The procedure for registering living space

To receive privatized housing as an inheritance, you must go through 4 stages, for which the law allocates 6 months:

Collection of documentation about the death of the testator and the presence of family ties between him (birth certificate, court order, marriage certificate and other papers confirming relationship).
Stage of opening an inheritance case (application to an employee of the Tax Code).
Completing the necessary paperwork with a notary and obtaining an inheritance document.
State registration of the rights of the new owner in the registering organization.

A lawyer will tell you more about the procedure for accepting inheritance of an apartment according to the law in the following video:

Next we will talk about registering a privatized apartment as an inheritance under a will.

Which notary should I contact to prepare documents?

The day of death is considered the date of opening of the inheritance case. You can visit a notary to declare your rights from the date of death on any day. As a rule, the specialist is determined by the place of registration of the deceased. If you don't know which notary you should contact, contact your city's notary office. You can also come to any notary office for advice, where you should be given information about the address for accepting the inheritance.

Documents for registration of ownership of an apartment upon inheritance

In order for a notary to confirm your right to property with a certificate, you will need to prepare a number of documents:

Death certificate (registry office).
Heir's passport.
Papers indicating family ties with the deceased (not needed for a will).
Legal documents of the testator for housing. Prepare both title and title documents. The first includes a certificate of ownership or an extract from the Unified State Register, or an extract from the Unified State Register, issued by Rosreestr. The second includes the grounds on which the deceased’s right is registered: for example, a purchase and sale agreement, donation, rent, registration certificate, social tenancy agreement.
Registration certificate for the apartment prepared by BTI.
Information about the registration of the deceased and about persons living in the same apartment (certificate from the Federal Migration Service, extract from the house register).
Refusal of property by other heirs (if any).
Statement of absence of utility debts.
Extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate about the cadastral value as of the date of death (ordered at the request of any person in Rosreestr through the MFC, there is no state duty).

Download the application for issuance of a certificate of inheritance (sample)

Procedure for preparing documents through a notary

Interaction with a notary consists of several stages:

The first visit to a specialist is in the first six months after the death of a relative. You will need to write a statement of desire to enter into inheritance rights. Take a list of documents required to obtain a certificate of inheritance.
Collection of papers specified in the list.
After the 6-month period, a visit to a notary along with the documents. The authorized person gets acquainted with them and, if necessary, asks them to bring any paper.
Obtaining an inheritance certificate.

The notary can either hand over the certificate to you so that you go to register the right at the MFC, or he can submit the application for the transfer of the right to Rosreestr in the manner of interdepartmental interaction.

The main stages of processing documents through the court:

Filing a claim or application to a court. Documents must be submitted along with the claim. The registration certificate will need to be updated. The application is submitted to the court at the location of the object. Legal cases require the participation of professional lawyers. Depending on the reason for the appeal, statements of claim will differ: a dispute with other heirs or recognition of the right to inheritance.
During the hearing, a decision will be made. If it is positive, the heir can apply through the MFC to acquire ownership rights. The court decision acts as a basis document, the same as a notary’s certificate.

Note! In court, it is better to order several copies of the decision, since it is the papers with the blue stamp “Correct copy” that are submitted to the authorized authorities. The original is kept in court, all other copies are already copies.

What you need to know about apartment registration: timing and other features of the procedure

There is basic knowledge, based on which the heir can figure out what to do. So, when an apartment is inherited, what do you need to know?

The state gives 6 months from the date of death to submit the necessary documents to a notary. Some situations also provide for later registration of ownership of real estate by inheritance, however, for this you will have to contact the judicial authorities. Find out what to do if you haven’t inherited within 6 months.
If the legal heir does not have the opportunity to prepare documents (for example, he lives in another city, is sick, etc.), then he can entrust this to his loved one. To do this, he will need to write a power of attorney. Moreover, if the authorized person subsequently raises any doubts, the power of attorney can be revoked at any moment and continue to deal with the matter independently or entrust it to another person. Read more about how to enter into an inheritance if you live in another city here.
You should contact the notary who holds the will for the property. If there was no will, then the question of which notary to enter into the inheritance becomes the prerogative of the future owner (owners) of the property. In this case, it is necessary that the selected notary carry out his activities where the testator lived.
It is not necessary to provide the notary with all documents at once. First, you need to “declare” yourself so that the corresponding inheritance case is opened at the notary’s office. Within six months, the necessary documents can be submitted.

Sometimes heirs come to the notary without having any documents for the inherited property. Based on the results of such a visit, the notary informs you what is needed to inherit an apartment and also indicates the necessary documents.

First, you need to “declare” your right to inheritance.

Having a problem? Call a lawyer:

Moscow and Moscow region (toll-free call) St. Petersburg and Leningrad region