How to quickly legalize an extension to a private or apartment building

What is an extension

Order of the Ministry of Land Construction of the Russian Federation dated 08/04/1998 N 37 (as amended on 09/04/2000) designates an extension as a part of a building located outside the contour of its main external walls.

It is auxiliary to the building and has one (or more) common main wall with it. As a rule, extensions have an internal connection with the main building. These include:

attached kitchens;
residential extensions;
canopy;
vestibules;
verandas, etc.

It is important to understand that Russian legislation, namely: clause 14 of Article 1 of the Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the reconstruction of capital construction projects is a change in the parameters of a capital construction project, its parts (height, number of floors, area, volume), including the superstructure , reconstruction, expansion of a capital construction project, as well as replacement and (or) restoration of load-bearing building structures of a capital construction project, with the exception of the replacement of individual elements of such structures with similar or other elements that improve the performance of such structures and (or) restoration of these elements.

Thus, the construction of an extension is a reconstruction of the building, due to the fact that it affects the load-bearing and/or enclosing structures of the building to which it is attached, increasing the area and/or height of the house.

Legalization of a capital extension before the start of construction

You can go through the exact wording for a long time, but any major extension, even if it is a non-residential premises, but with a common wall with the house, is a reconstruction and must be approved before the start of construction, and not after.

Appolo10FORUMHOUSE Member

...I recommend that you first consider the legal side of the issue. To carry out a “reconstruction” (extension), you need to make a project and obtain a “reconstruction permit” from the local authorities. If you don’t do this, you will end up with “squatter construction”; the state is fighting this phenomenon, and every year it’s getting stronger…

And although the permit for individual housing construction was first abolished and then replaced with notification/approval, changing the places of the terms does not change the amount - notification of the planned reconstruction is a mandatory, not a recommended stage.

Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 51.1. Notification of the planned construction or reconstruction of an individual construction project or residential building (valid from 08/04/2018, Federal Law No. 340)

"1. For the purpose of construction or reconstruction of an individual housing construction project or a garden house, the developer submits on paper through a personal appeal to the federal executive body authorized to issue construction permits, the executive body of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation or the local government body, including through a multifunctional center, or sends to the specified authorities by mail with acknowledgment of receipt or a single portal of state and municipal services a notice of the planned construction or reconstruction of an individual housing construction project or a garden house (hereinafter also referred to as the notice of planned construction) ... ".

As practice shows, today it is also possible to submit a notification remotely through the personal account of the Public Services portal. The form is filled out electronically and submitted in the appropriate section.

The notification form is standard and approved by executive authorities; when filling out, you will need to enter the following information.

Full name, place of residence of the applicant, as well as details of the passport (or other identification document).
Cadastral number of the plot (if any), its address or description of location.
On what basis did the right to the plot arise?
If there is shared ownership, information about other owners is also listed.
About the type of permitted use of the site (UR).
On the type of permitted use of a capital construction project (CCA), residential or garden house.
The purpose of submitting the notification (there is only one form, but it indicates not construction, but reconstruction).
About the parameters of the planned extension, including setbacks from the boundaries of the site.
A graphic representation of the location of the planned extension on the site (indicating the dimensions and distances to the boundaries).
That in the future the extension will not be made into a separate capital construction facility (that is, the house will not be divided into independent parts).
Postal address and email (if available) for feedback.
The method in which the applicant wants to receive a response.

Documents for the land are attached to the notification if it has not yet been registered in the Unified State Register of Real Estate. If the house is located within the boundaries of a historical settlement, you will need to attach a text description of the facades and a graphic image. Within seven working days (twenty for historical settlements) from the receipt of the notification, local authorities must conduct an inspection and either approve the reconstruction or refuse approval. Upon receipt of consent, construction can begin, at the end of which a commission from local authorities will have to accept the object and issue a conclusion on compliance. In reality, it is usually enough to notify local authorities about the completion of reconstruction, provide a technical plan and state registration fees. And the municipalities themselves will submit an application for registration to Rosreestr within the same seven days.

In the second case, you will have to obtain consent through the court. If you do without notification and build at your own peril and risk, you can end up with a self-construction with all that it entails, and this is a minimum of bringing it into compliance, and a maximum of demolition.

IMHO FORUMHOUSE member

Any “redistribution that leads to an increase in area” is reconstruction. In the end, you will have to “legalize” not the extension, but the entire house again in changed coordinates. But without completing the “notify and agree” quest, you run the risk of squatting.

If the extension does not in any way affect the rights of neighbors or the neighbors are among those with whom it is possible to come to an agreement, then it is quite possible to live with such unauthorized construction for decades. But it will not be possible to sell, donate or bequeath an illegally reconstructed house. Yes, the powers that be are planning to extend the dacha amnesty, but it will be about houses that have already been built or reconstructed. And not about extensions being built in real time, bypassing current legislation.

Fine for illegal extensions in 2021

If you erected an extension without permission without approval from the administration and without notifying Rosreestr about changes in the parameters of the house, then this fact will be considered a violation.

Such non-compliance with urban planning and administrative legislation entails certain consequences.

Citizens who carry out illegal additions to a private house bear administrative responsibility. Property owners for so-called unauthorized construction or reconstruction are liable in accordance with Article 9.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, as well as clause 2.222 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes that the violation must be eliminated by demolishing the unauthorized extension or returning the property to its original condition . The perpetrators will be required to carry out this work at their own expense.

Also in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses, paragraph 1. Article 9.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Reconstruction of a residential building without obtaining permission from the authorities shall entail a fine in the amount of 2,000 to 5,000 rubles.

How to avoid problems with the legalization of an unauthorized extension?

The court may refuse to recognize an unauthorized building; accordingly, then the owner will not acquire ownership rights to it, and the building must be demolished, and at the expense of the developer himself. The owner will also pay a fine. At the same time, the court comes to a similar opinion in situations where the new extension is unsafe or violates someone’s legal rights. Another reason for refusal may be simply poorly prepared documentation. Therefore, when starting to prepare documents for the court, pay attention to the following points:

for the completeness of the package of documents with permits from various regulatory and resource supply organizations;
availability of all documents on property rights;
try to eliminate all possible violations of architectural standards and sanitary rules, if any were committed during the construction of the extension;
use materials during construction that meet safety requirements and are certified.

Legalization of an extension to a house on SNT lands

If the house to which an extension is planned is located on the lands of gardening non-profit partnerships, then registration in 2020-2021 can be carried out in a simplified manner, without obtaining permission from local authorities. This option is possible for the period of the Dacha Amnesty-2, which is valid until March 1, 2021.

So, you turn to a specialist such as a cadastral engineer, who surveys the property and prepares a technical plan for the reconstruction of the house. Then all that remains is to submit the CD to the MFC, wait for Rosreestr’s response and no more difficulties.

It should be noted that during the “Dacha Amnesty-2”, an already constructed extension can be registered in a simplified manner.

So, if you have built or are planning to build an extension in the near future, then it is recommended to register it before March 1, 2021, so that in the future you do not encounter difficulties in the form of obtaining permits from the administration and other issues that complicate the registration of the extension.

Option 2: court decision

If the administration refuses, but the building already exists (or is really needed), the owner can initiate legal proceedings.

It is not difficult to sue the administration, and the court will side with the applicant if:
The applicant is the full owner of both the building and the land underneath it; the building is not under arrest and has no debts.
The actual (or theoretical) construction complies with construction standards and does not pose a threat to the health and life of both the owner and those around him.
The extension does not occupy someone else’s space: it is not located on the territory of a neighboring plot, it does not occupy municipal land.

If the court decides in favor of the applicant, the decision becomes the basis for an appeal to the municipality. Most likely, during the trial, the extension will already undergo an examination, and all that remains is to register it in the Unified State Register of Real Estate - to do this, contact the MFC.

If the court sides with the defendant and prohibits construction, the owner has three options: file an appeal; change the building and bring it into line with legal requirements: make it safer, change its shape, etc.

Then submit the application to the administration again; Demolish the illegal building.

Typical reasons for court refusal:

The initiator of the lawsuit was a citizen who does not have the right to do so. Only the owner of the land plot and building can do this. If there are several owners and they own the house in shares, they must submit a collective application. Otherwise, the court will consider that some owners will not agree with the new area in their property (new tax and increase in utility bills).
The extension does not fall into the category of buildings requiring legalization.
Failure to comply with construction standards, the construction poses a threat to the safety of people.
The extension turned out to be larger than the building.
The extension does not meet the originally stated parameters.

Registration of an extension to a house on individual housing construction lands

Legalizing an extension to a house on individual housing construction lands is somewhat more difficult. In this case, it is impossible to do without notification and approval of local authorities, namely:

You must notify the administration that you are going to build an extension and obtain some kind of permission from it (Notice of Compliance). The notice period for consideration is 7 days.
The next stage is when the cadastral engineer surveys the property and prepares a technical plan for reconstruction.
Next, the Notification of Completion of Reconstruction and the Technical Plan are submitted to the administration for verification.
And only after receiving a response from the administration, you have the right to submit a technical plan to the MFC for sending to Rosreestr (some administrations send the technical plan to Rosreestr independently. This point must be clarified directly with the local government authority).
As a result, you will receive an Extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate with updated data on the characteristics of the house.

It is important that the extension does not violate urban planning norms and rules.

How to arrange a non-permanent extension

There are no fundamental changes in the design of the house due to non-permanent extensions, they do not create a danger for the residents themselves, do not violate the standard distances and cannot in any way infringe on the rights of neighbors, therefore permission for their construction is not required. Actually, now it is not required at all, but since March 1 of this year, a notification has been introduced, which is submitted to local governments before the start of construction. But local authorities can both approve the construction and issue a refusal and, in fact, the meaning has not changed. If we are talking about non-permanent extensions, there is no need to submit a notification to the municipalities, but upon completion of construction they must be processed through the BTI.

Provide title documents for the plot and house.
Write an application for changes to the technical documentation.

Ideally, a commission will visit the site to verify the parameters of the extension; based on the results of the inspection, they will issue a certificate of completion of the reconstruction. You can register a non-permanent extension either immediately after construction or after a while; there are no fines or sanctions for delays. It is theoretically possible to leave it without registration at all, but it is impractical - it is not known how the legislation will change, it is better to have the entire package of documents on hand.

Why do you need to legitimize the project?

It is a mistaken opinion of many suburban residents that if land has been transferred to private ownership, then it is not necessary to legalize buildings on it.

In fact, the legislation somewhat restricts independent construction on the territory of a suburban area, even if the land has been transferred into the hands of its owner.

Construction restrictions are as follows:

When constructing extensions, regulatory standards must be observed.
The construction of new extensions is not carried out without a design. This measure is due to the fact that several people can be registered in the house, and by increasing the total or living area of the mansion, the share participation changes accordingly.
The project must be carried out in accordance with the latest regulatory documents in the articles: fire safety and communications (if the extension involves expanding the total area of the building).

After completing all stages of design, the documentation must be agreed upon with municipal authorities (usually MBTI). This need is related to the possible subsequent sale or other transactions with real estate provided for by the articles of the law.

When familiarizing yourself with all the regulatory documents and how to register an extension to a house as your property, it is important to understand that it will be simpler and easier to do this even before construction work has begun.

Stages of work to legitimize construction

Currently, the entire process of legitimizing an extension can be divided into three successive stages, each of which has its own specific work and features.
So, let's take a closer look at these stages:

Stage 1

Collection of the necessary package of documents, the list of which was presented above. It is worth noting that all work should begin after you have collected documents and certificates from the entire listed list; if you missed something, then your case will not be considered until the entire volume of necessary documents is submitted.

Stage 2

Submission of collected documents for consideration to judicial authorities. As a rule, the collected documents must also include a statement of claim written by you in your own hand for recognition of ownership of such a building. It is worth noting that the defendant in these types of cases is the district or city administration, with whose consent either construction is permitted or, on the contrary, prohibited.

The plaintiff is the owner of the property. Today, when considering cases, a judge may ask to see a permit in which all residents give their consent to the construction of this extension. Such permission must be legally correctly drawn up, executed and certified, but this is only at the discretion of the judge.

If the building was erected according to all the rules and in accordance with all requirements, then there is no need for such a permit. Once the building permit has been received, you can move on to the final stage.

Stage 3

Payment of all government fees. But, before you start paying, you first need to go to Rosregistration, where it is necessary to resolve the issue of registering a new building. It is there that a receipt for payment of the state duty is issued, after payment with which your structure is registered. It is worth noting that today the state duty is calculated on the basis of Article 33.21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Only after going through all stages of the legalization process does your extension receive the status of a legalized type of housing.

Registration costs

Registration fees will depend on the area where the land plot is located. If you decide to seek help or advice from a lawyer, you must pay for his services. The cost of legal services depends on the assistance provided (consultation, collection of documents, court hearings).

In addition to paying for the services of a law firm, you will need to spend money on the following:

state duty - 500 rubles;
power of attorney certified by a notary office - from 1000 rubles;

Prices may vary depending on the region where the plot of land is located.

Advice from experts and lawyers

Alexey Dubrovsky, lawyer: “It’s better to deal with formalities and obtain permits before the start of construction. In this case, you will have to wait a little, but the process of obtaining documents after the construction of the object will not be so expensive and problematic. If possible, this entire burden can be shifted onto the shoulders of specialists. Then you will just need to wait until they give the go-ahead to start construction. As for already built objects, the issue can only be resolved through the courts. Although the package of documents for legalization in both the first and second cases is practically the same. The opinion of experts is that everything must be done on time!”

Alina Samoilova, lawyer : “It’s worth initially finding out all the problematic issues. That is, it is prohibited to attach anything to a dilapidated house. The object will not be legalized, the owner will receive a refusal. If the land is owned by several entities, the structure of the future object is agreed upon with them, which is confirmed by documents certified by a notary. The same applies if the house is owned by several owners. In the future, it can be quite difficult to prove your case in court, in the absence of the necessary documents. In the process of legalizing self-builds, the most difficult moment is to collect a package of documents and coordinate them with other co-owners. Everything else is a formal question that requires some time.”

The importance and necessity of this process

Many people mistakenly believe that since the site is owned, there is no need to obtain permission to build extensions to an existing residential building.

The need for this process is as follows:

When constructing an extension, the total area of the room changes. If the house has shared ownership, then the size of the shares also changes.
Construction may affect the interests of neighbors , so you need to obtain their written consent.
When constructing an extension, communications and the structure of the house may be affected ; this may negatively affect the safety of the residents of the existing building.
If there is no permission for the erected structure , then subsequently all manipulations with it (sale, exchange, donation) will be prohibited.

The legalization of the structure must be taken care of in advance, at the initial stage of construction, in order to avoid possible problems in the future.

When can they refuse?

It is better to obtain permission for construction work before it begins. The court may refuse to build an extension if it finds violations or inconsistencies in the submitted documents.

If an unauthorized building already exists, then a decision will most likely be made to restore the site to its previous form, which will entail financial costs. Here is a list of reasons that are guaranteed to lead to refusal:

Any underground communications must lie at a distance of more than 2.5 meters from the building. This is a mandatory requirement for any residential buildings.
During the work, the supporting structures of the main building were affected. In this case, it will not be possible to design an extension, because there is a threat to the integrity of the building.
When construction was carried out using outdated technologies or low-quality materials were used.

The design of the extension contains a lot of nuances that need to be taken into account. For example:

It is better to design the extension in 2021. Starting next year, it is planned to tighten the registration procedure;
After filing a claim, there is a set period for the executive body to accept the application for consideration. The response is sent by mail to the applicant. We recommend that you do not wait, but periodically check with the court secretary whether the claim has been accepted for consideration or ignored.

Please note that judicial refusal is regulated by legal norms. In particular, an application may be refused for two reasons: a decision on the issue has already been made or the claim has been drawn up incorrectly. If the denial states another reason, you may file a complaint.

To correctly draw up a claim, we recommend using the services of a lawyer.

Price

One of the reasons why owners hesitate to start construction by contacting the administration is an attempt to save money. Meanwhile, legalizing a building can actually cost much more!

If you go the legal route (notify the administration), the costs will include:
The cost of drawing up a technical plan, which will then need to be attached to the application;
Fee for registration in the Unified State Register of changes made.

The path to legalization after the fact through the court includes:

State duty for litigation. Its size is calculated as a percentage of the cost of the finished building. To sue, the applicant must have an expert’s opinion on the price of the extension.
The cost of the conclusion on the price of the extension.
Payment for a technical examination, which will issue a conclusion on the safety and suitability of the housing for use.
Payment for legal services if you decide to seek the help of a lawyer when going to court.
Related expenses if the court requires additional examinations and documents.

As a result, the cost of legalization will not please you. That's why it's better to do everything right away according to the law.

Required documents

Before starting the process, it is necessary to obtain permission from certain authorities and collect a package of documents.

Certificate of ownership of the land plot under construction.
Certificate of ownership of the house.
Technical plan.
BTI certificate, cadastral passport.
Extract from the house register.
Legal documents.
Consent of neighbors if the building is located on the border with their territory.
Sanitary and epidemiological station act.
Construction permit from water utility, fire, gas service.

Additionally, photos of the land plot, house, object are provided if construction has already been completed. In addition, a simplified system for legalizing buildings is in effect until 2020. If you arrive before this deadline, you can receive the necessary documents much faster.