The inclusion of agricultural land plots within the boundaries of a populated area with the simultaneous establishment or change of the type of permitted use for individual housing construction is possible.

Transfer of land from one category to another

The characteristics of land plots and the parameters of their types of use may change over time, and a situation may also arise that using a land plot for its intended purpose is impossible or unprofitable, and this often concerns “agricultural” lands. In accordance with the current legislation, land for “agricultural” purposes, used not for its intended purpose, and also not in accordance with the type of permitted use, can be seized from the owner to return into circulation unused arable land plots that could produce crops. Since 2020, the procedure for confiscation of land plots has been simplified by law if they are not used or used in violation of the law. To avoid such cases, the interested person should transfer the land plot to another category.

The procedure for transferring land is regulated by the Federal Law on the transfer of a category of land to another category. The procedure for transferring a land plot to another category is not simple, it has a number of features, and without some experience it can take a lot of time, and given the complexity of the process and the imperfection of the legislation, without the help of specialists in this field, it can be extremely difficult to resolve an issue of this kind.

All lands in the Russian Federation are divided into the following categories:

agricultural land – land plots used for agricultural needs.
lands of settlements are areas on which construction and development of settlements is carried out.
industrial lands are land plots that are located outside the boundaries of populated areas and are intended or used to support the activities of organizations and (or) the operation of industrial facilities, as well as for the placement of production, administrative buildings, structures, structures and facilities serving them.
lands of specially protected territories and objects are lands withdrawn from public use that have special environmental, scientific, historical, cultural, aesthetic, recreational, health and other valuable significance.
forest fund lands are land occupied by forests and land predetermined for the restoration of forest plantations.
water fund lands - lands covered by surface water - reservoirs, rivers, lakes and land along the coastline, as well as lands occupied by hydraulic engineering and other structures located on water bodies.
Reserve land is land that is under state or municipal jurisdiction.

The process of transferring a land plot to another category begins with a petition, which must be submitted by an interested person, in which the current category, the desired one, the cadastral number of the land plot, and the justification for changing the existing category to the desired one must be indicated. Also, along with the application, the necessary package of documents for the transferred land plot is submitted. Consideration of a petition to transfer a land plot from one category to another may be refused in two cases: if the petition was submitted by an inappropriate person or the relevant documents are not attached to the petition. It should be noted that the legal holders of land plots are considered not only the owners, but also those persons who use the land plot, including tenants. Persons entitled to apply for a transfer may be legal entities, individuals and individual entrepreneurs.

It is also important to note that the transfer of agricultural land to any other category is prohibited if such a land plot falls into the category of “especially valuable” land. The transfer of agricultural land to another category is necessary not only in cases where the owner intends to use this plot for other purposes, but can also be considered as a preventive measure in order to protect oneself from the legal seizure of agricultural land in in accordance with the Federal Law “On the turnover of agricultural land” dated July 24, 2002 N 101-FZ.

It should also be noted that the transfer of agricultural land to another category inevitably entails a multiple increase in the capitalization of this asset, but, in turn, increases the tax base.

In other cases, in accordance with the law on the transfer of land to another category, the issue of changing the category will be resolved:

in relation to the transfer of agricultural land to another category, by state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation,
if the owner of the land plot is the state, then the decision will be made only by the Government of the Russian Federation,
in all other cases, the decision to change the category is made by the federal executive body authorized by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Also, in addition to the transfer of agricultural land to another category, the following questions are also complex:

on the transfer of lands of settlements to other categories and vice versa;
on the transfer of water fund lands to another category and vice versa;
on the transfer of forest fund lands to another category and vice versa;
on the transfer of settlement lands to another category and vice versa;
on the transfer of industrial land to another category and vice versa;
on the transfer of reserve lands to another category and vice versa;

But nevertheless, if all actions are performed correctly and the correct procedure for transferring land to another category is followed, then the chances of successfully transferring land plots from one category to another are significantly high!

Before a decision is made to transfer a land plot from one category to another, it will be necessary to decide on the purposes of its further use. This will be a decisive factor in choosing the appropriate category and type of permitted use.

The cost is quite individual and depends on many factors. The exact amount for the provision of such a service can be determined by Nobel Law Firm only after specialists have carried out a preliminary analysis of the complexity of the work ahead and its volume. You can also find out the initial cost of transferring land to another category on our website in the “Prices” section or by calling us by phone.

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that after transferring a land plot from one category to another, its cadastral value will change, which will affect the amount of property tax.

If the cadastral value is overestimated, then the tax will be correspondingly overestimated. The cadastral value results can be challenged both in court and in pre-trial proceedings.

Considering the complexity of the process and the imperfection of legislation, it is very difficult to resolve the issue without the help of specialists in this field.

Our company will be happy to help
you at all stages, from changing the category to recalculating property tax to the Federal Tax Service!
You can find out the cost of our services in the Prices section

The process of changing the category of land: step-by-step instructions

A complete list of documentation is contained in Article 2 of Federal Law 172:

Passport or other identification document of the applicant.
An extract confirming the registration of an individual entrepreneur or legal entity (if necessary).
Extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate. If the owner (user) does not have a paper copy with a seal, a request for receipt will be sent by the executive authorities.
Documents confirming the acquisition of ownership of land (sale and purchase agreement, certificate of inheritance, etc.) or consent from the owner if the site is operated under the right of use.
Conclusion of the environmental assessment.

The latter document is not required for every category of real estate, but under the conditions determined by federal laws.

Depending on the ownership of the plot of land, the application should be submitted to the land and property department of the regional government or local government.

An accepted application is considered within 2 months (by city and municipal authorities) or 3 months (by the regional government or the Government of the Russian Federation). Notification of transfer (refusal to transfer) of a land plot to another category is sent to the applicant within 2 weeks from the date of the decision.

If the result is positive, the land and property department draws up an act on transferring the land to the declared category. There is no need to re-register other land documentation.

A copy of the act is sent from the local (regional) administration to the territorial department of the Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography (Rosreestr department) within ten days from the date of approval of the decision. Changes are made to the Unified State Register on the basis of this act (Article 5 of Federal Law 172).

After registration, the owner of the plot can begin to use the plot in accordance with the new legal status of the land.

The applicant may be refused at the stage of submitting the application. Reasons for this may be that the person does not have the right to submit a petition, as well as incorrect or incomplete execution of the required attached documents. To re-apply, you must eliminate all the shortcomings indicated in the refusal documents.

An official refusal to transfer a plot of land to another category is made on the grounds listed in Art. 4 Federal Law 172:

restriction (prohibition) on transfer to another category imposed by current legislation;
the declared category contradicts the intended purpose of the allotment;
The environmental state examination has identified the negative consequences of the upcoming transfer.

Another reason why a transfer cannot be made is if the cadastral value of the declared territory is too high (more than 50% relative to the average value for the region). In any of these cases, the applicant will be returned the full package of documents within 30 working days from the date of submission of the application, notifying him of the reason for the refusal.

The applicant can challenge the decision through the court and, if the court decides positively, send a new petition. The appeal procedure is as follows:

Obtain the act from the property and land department.
Draw up and submit a statement of claim to declare the drafted act illegal. Attach documents to the application:

a photocopy of the issued act;
a copy of the application and accompanying documents;
documentation confirming the illegitimacy of the refusal or permission to transfer;
receipt of payment of state duty;
other documents related to the trial.

Having received notice of the place and date of the hearing, appear in court at the appointed time.
If the court satisfied the requirements of the statement of claim, obtain a copy of the court decision from the office.
Submit a second petition, attaching the court decision to the package of documents.

The owner of a dacha plot, citizen P., filed a statement of claim in court with a request to declare illegal the act of refusal to transfer the plot from agricultural land to the ZNM category. Citizen P. justified his claim by the fact that in connection with the expansion of the residential microdistrict planned for 2020 - 2019, the decision of the meeting of the district Duma of the Starodvorsky municipal district No. 321-r approved the master plan for the urban settlement of Veseloe, Starodvorsky district, according to which his dacha was included within the city limits n. Merry.

On July 1, 2020, citizen P. sent a petition to the administration of the Starodvorsky district to include his plot in the territory of the Veseloe settlement and transfer the dacha land from the ZSHN category to ZNP for individual housing construction (IZHS).

We invite you to read Retrenchment at work: employee actions in 2020

The administration of the Starodvorsky district made a decision to refuse to include the site within the boundaries of the Veseloye settlement due to the fact that construction of a residential complex has not yet begun, due to which the boundaries of the village are expanding.

Having considered the presented materials, the court came to the conclusion that the act of refusal issued in response to the petition of citizen P. was unfounded. In accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 7 of Federal Law 172, the expansion of the territory of an urban settlement, fixed by urban planning, is a legitimate reason for the transfer of dacha ZSHN to the declared category of ZNP

On the basis of this, the court made a decision to invalidate the act of the administration of the Starodvorsky district, and also recognized citizen P.’s right to include the land belonging to him in the town of Veseloye, Starodvorsky district, and the right to transfer the declared allotment from the ZSKHN category to the ZNP.

Transfer of land category for state needs

The transfer of agricultural land to state-owned industrial land is usually carried out when there is a change of government. This process is called nationalization and is associated with the termination of the right of private ownership of agricultural plots and the nationalization of the requisitioned mass. It is better to resolve any land legal disputes with the help of a professional in these matters.

The transfer of lands of settlements to industrial lands of the state category is possible if:

this is necessary for the implementation of international treaties;
there will be construction and reconstruction of federal or regional facilities of increased importance (defense, energy, etc.), and without withdrawal these works are simply not possible;
There is another justification for the transfer of a land plot from one category of land to another, supported by the relevant provisions of the law.

Temporary requisition is possible in emergency situations and by court decision. Controversial issues are resolved strictly in court; any emergency situations are classified as emergencies. All points are also spelled out in the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Ways to resolve issues related to the transfer of agricultural land

Many owners of land plots with territories classified as agricultural are seeking to transfer their plots to the industrial section. Experienced lawyers of the relevant companies have extensive experience in preparing the necessary documents. Their responsibilities include providing qualified assistance to plot owners in the following activities:

accelerated passage of approval stages;
collecting, as well as passing through all authorities the entire set of papers;
minimizing the costs of our clients.