How to transfer apartments to residential real estate status and obtain ownership rights

Advantages of the apartments

Apartments, despite their status, continue to be popular, and some buyers specifically choose this particular housing format. Mainly because apartments are cheaper than apartments (other things being equal)

. The cost reduction can reach 20% and is explained by the fact that such housing is not subject to general legislative rules that relate to housing parameters, as well as the organization of the local area.

Such residential complexes have many useful services - you don’t have to go far for household services. Often such houses offer cleaning, grocery delivery, and a laundry service; in addition, such projects, as a rule, are built in convenient areas with high-quality and established social infrastructure.

Disadvantages of the status of “non-residential real estate”

But in a number of cases, shareholders have no idea that their housing will have the status of “non-residential”. When selling, the developer publishes completely correct information - housing is actually for sale, that is, you can live in the premises, and they were originally intended for this. However, there is no mention of status in advertising materials, and some buyers, not familiar with the intricacies of housing legislation, simply have no idea what awaits them. Namely:

• Utility tariffs are higher
  than in residential real estate
  (tariffs for commercial premises apply)
  , that is, the owner will have to pay more. Current overpayments on utility bills over time offset the savings that resulted from lower housing costs;
• It is not possible to register for housing on a permanent basis ;
  it is possible to obtain temporary registration, however, the maximum validity period is 5 years, then you have to register everything again. Lack of registration complicates the ability to place a child in a kindergarten, school, register with a clinic, etc.;
• Property taxes are calculated at the maximum rates used
  for residential taxes. If the rate for an apartment is 0.1%, then apartments are taxed at a rate of 0.5% to 2%;
• The buyer cannot count on a tax deduction ,
  as is the case with ordinary apartments.
• When constructing apartments, developers are not required to build social infrastructure facilities.
  This means that, with a high probability, residents will have to put up with their absence.

Actually, apartments are an excellent option for those who intend to use housing of this format directly for its intended purpose, for periodic living. In this case, the owner is unlikely to be concerned about the impossibility of registration, and will not become poor when paying utility bills, since many items are calculated based on meter readings.

Nuances

Only the owner of the premises has the right to initiate re-registration. If a citizen has entered into a shared construction agreement with the developer, and according to the documents the premises are considered apartments, then the developer is given the right to appeal to the authorized body.

Since the construction of apartments requires reduced location requirements and the cost of the project is lower, the developer can specially draw up documents for non-residential premises. When concluding a shared construction agreement, he may promise you to convert the apartment into an apartment during the construction process.

However, no one can guarantee that the procedure will be authorized by the authorized body.

The law does not provide for the possibility of holding the developer accountable if during the construction process he is unable to re-register the premises as residential. Since according to the contract you paid for the apartment.

Important! You should not agree to dubious schemes if you need the only living space for your family. In case of problems with re-registration, you will lose the opportunity to obtain registration. As a result, difficulties will arise with registering the child in a clinic, kindergarten, or school.

Possibility of changing the status of real estate during construction

In some cases, the developer provides savings (which is also reflected in the price of housing)

at the stage of obtaining permits, the registration of which for the construction of apartments is cheaper than for real estate with the “residential” status. During the construction of the building, the developer initiates a procedure for changing the status, and the shareholder receives a full-fledged apartment at a price that is slightly lower than the market average.

Of course, all this is discussed with the shareholders, but it is worth paying attention to the fact that in order for real estate to be transferred to “residential” status, it must initially be built in accordance with established standards. This circumstance is quite difficult to verify without an examination, and as a result, sometimes a situation arises when the developer promises that the status of the property will change, but subsequently this does not happen (since the parameters do not correspond)

. It is very difficult to hold the developer accountable, since it is apartments that appear in the DDU.

Conditions for changing housing status

Changing the status of an apartment is possible only if the following conditions are met:

the housing is owned, does not have any encumbrances and fully complies with the requirements of the law for real estate intended for permanent residence.
We are talking about the area and configuration of residential and household premises (compliance with the minimum footage of rooms, etc.)
, natural lighting standards
(for example, there must be a window in the living room)
, sound insulation, sanitary and fire safety rules.

In addition, there must be elements of social infrastructure nearby, and in the local area there must be children's playgrounds, parking, and recreation areas - in the case of apartments, the developer is not obligated to provide all of this.

Actually, apartments are cheaper than regular apartments for the reason that the requirements for “temporary” housing are lower than for residential real estate. Which, accordingly, gives the developer some room for maneuver, allowing him to reduce the cost of construction, and thereby improve his position in the highly competitive construction market.

Thus, it often turns out that the apartments do not meet the required status in many respects, in which case nothing can be done to change it.

Apartment and apartment: differences

Now part of the primary real estate market is occupied by apartments. Developers sell them to people, promising to convert them into housing in the future. Converting non-residential premises to apartment status is beneficial for several reasons:

1. Utility tariffs are becoming lower.
2. You can apply for permanent registration.
3. When purchasing a home, you can use maternity capital and other subsidies. For non-residential premises - no.
4. Infrastructure. There are more kindergartens and schools in residential areas, and the infrastructure is constantly developing.

Let's look at the difference between apartments and apartments in detail:

Note: there are benefits to buying apartments. They usually cost 15-20% cheaper than apartments, and are located in the city center.

How to convert a garden house into a residential one?

Is it possible and how to convert commercial real estate into residential and vice versa?

Assessing the situation: is it possible to change the status?

What needs to be done to change the status of a property to “residential”? In the case of apartments, there are not many options:

• The apartment may already comply with all the required rules, in which case all that remains is to collect the necessary documents, submit an application to the appropriate authority and pay the fee. A commission of specialized specialists will conduct an inspection, and if officials have no objections, the status of the housing will be changed. However, even in this situation, not everything is so simple; the legislation describing the parameters of residential real estate is quite vague, which gives officials the opportunity to make decisions almost at their own discretion.

Naturally, the refusal to change the status is formalized accordingly; for example, the commission may consider that the location of the doorway cannot ensure safe movement around the apartment. However, the officials’ refusal can be appealed in court, and if their decision turns out to be unlawful, an independent examination will be carried out, on the basis of which the court will most likely rule in favor of the owner. However, before initiating legal proceedings, it is worth remembering that all costs are borne by the owner.

• The apartments do not meet the requirements .
  In this case, it is necessary to bring the housing into compliance with all standards by performing redevelopment
  (changing the configuration of premises, possibly engineering infrastructure)
  . However, it is necessary to understand that in some cases this cannot be done, given the technical characteristics of the building, the planned changes may turn out to be unsafe for the structure of the house.

Accordingly, the city authorities will not approve such a project,

and will not issue permission for redevelopment, and if the work is carried out without permission and is contrary to safety standards, the changes cannot be registered. Moreover, the owner will be required to pay a fine and “return everything as it was,” unless, of course, independent work carried out without permission does not lead to more serious consequences.

These include the collapse of part of a building due to a violation of the integrity of structural elements (for example, when trying to drill a window opening in a load-bearing external wall).

The modern practice of transferring real estate to residential status suggests that this procedure is usually applied to the entire building; for this purpose, a meeting of residents is convened, an examination is carried out and the relevant documents are prepared. Cases of changing the status of one apartment are quite rare, since if the housing complies with the standards, then this applies to all other apartments; this rule also applies in the opposite direction. Although the law does not indicate that it is impossible to change the status of just one apartment.

How to convert an apartment to residential status?

The possibility of transfer exists in the following cases:

1. The premises meet all legal requirements for residential premises.
2. The facility can be converted to meet established requirements.

Important! It is not recommended to carry out redevelopment before agreement with the authorized bodies. Otherwise, the work may harm the safety of the building as a whole.

And if violations are detected, the authorized body will not only not issue permission to transfer to residential premises, but will also force the premises to be returned to their original form.

Where to start: the legal side of the issue

The first step is to put the legal side of the issue in order. Namely:

• Obtain ownership of housing if
  we are talking about an apartment in a new building and this has not yet been done.
  To do this, the new building must be put into operation (this is done by the developer)
  , and the apartment must be transferred to the shareholder according to the acceptance certificate.
  All that needs to be done in this case is to submit an application to Rosreestr along with some documents (copy of the DDU, passport, acceptance certificate)
  and pay a fee
  (about 300 rubles)
  . You can take the package in person or send it through the MFC.

In fact, developers also offer the service of registering property rights,

however, they ask for an amount of 30 thousand rubles for its provision
(for mysterious reasons, never established by the Novostroev.ru portal, this is much higher than the official fee of 300 rubles)
. This is much more expensive than registering it yourself, so we cannot recommend this method of obtaining title.

• Remove encumbrances. One of these is the mortgage debt to the bank, which must be repaid.

Does it make a difference who files a claim against the developer - the owner of the apartment or the apartment?

If a shareholder wants to file a claim against the developer, then it makes no difference to him whether an agreement has been concluded for the purchase of an apartment or an apartment. The following factors will play a role:

1. Shareholder status: individual or legal entity.

This determines the amount of the penalty that the developer must pay to the shareholder. For an individual, this is 0.006 of the Central Bank refinancing rate, which was in effect on the day of the obligation, from the contract price for each day of delay.

2. Purpose of purchase: for personal, family, household and other needs or for business activities.

If you are buying real estate to live in, you can count on the Consumer Protection Act. This means that you can:

• do not pay state duty when filing a claim in court (if the cost of the claim is up to 1 million rubles);
• choose jurisdiction: at your place of residence or at the location of the defendant;
• demand compensation for moral damage;
• make demands for a fine in the amount of 50% of the amount collected by the court.

If the housing parameters correspond to the new status

You need to go to the body that deals with issues of changing status (in the capital this is the City Property Department)

with an application and a set of documents.
The set includes an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate (confirming ownership)
, a copy of the passport, and a technical passport of the apartment from the BTI
(confirming compliance with the requirements)
. The latter document may not be provided; in this case, department employees will send the request themselves, but because of this, it may take more time to consider the application. Yes - you still have to pay a fee, the amount is about 20 thousand rubles.

After inspection of the housing by employees of the commission sent by the Department, a decision will be made to change the status of housing
or refusal
with a clear justification of the reasons.
If the reasons include such inconsistencies that can be eliminated by redevelopment, it is worth doing just that (the procedure is described below)
.

If housing parameters can be “adjusted” to the new status

Now consider the following option:

the apartments do not comply with legal requirements, and redevelopment is required to change the status. To begin with, of course, you should clarify whether it is possible to carry out changes from a technical point of view, whether the authorities will issue permission for redevelopment, and whether the apartment, after completion of the work, will comply with all the required standards. To find out, you need to contact a public or private design organization.

If it turns out that redevelopment may well be carried out, you should prepare a draft of the proposed changes, and then go to the Department and apply for a permit. To the application you need to add a redevelopment project, a technical passport for the apartment (with a floor plan)

, these documents are drawn up in the BTI, DDU
(or other title document)
, as well as a passport.

After the commission inspects the property, the owner receives official permission and can begin work. If there is a refusal, it can be appealed in court. Upon completion of the work, you need to put the apartment into operation by contacting the same authority where the permit was issued.

When the redevelopment is legalized, you can submit an application to change the status of the property (to the same Department)

.
However, first you need to produce a new technical passport for the apartment (ordered from the BTI)
, which must be attached to the application along with the passport and title document.

Short

1. To convert apartments into residential housing, they must meet the standards for residential premises;
2. The most common reasons for refusals to change the status of apartments are encumbrance, the premises are not owned, and non-compliance with the standards for residential apartments.
3. If the apartment does not meet the standards for apartments, it is sometimes possible to convert the apartment into housing stock after redevelopment.
4. The chances of being transferred to housing stock are higher if all owners of apartments in the building have given their consent to the transfer and submitted a collective application.

Registration of changes in Rosreestr

The final stage is registration of all changes in Rosreestr,

Simultaneously with registration, a decision on the new status of housing is also formalized, which is made by the Department. You can submit an application to Rosreestr in person or send it through the MFC. Specialists will make the necessary changes to existing records, after which the apartments will officially receive the status of residential real estate. There is no additional need to formalize ownership rights; this procedure is performed automatically; the corresponding document is issued to the owner upon completion of all actions within the framework of registration of the new status.

Arbitrage practice

There are not too many court cases challenging refusals to convert apartments into residential premises. But they are considered by analogy with other cases of converting non-residential properties into residential ones: the same standards are used everywhere.

Here are some examples of decisions on real cases:

1. Appeal of the administration’s refusal to transfer non-residential premises to residential premises, refusal to make changes to the Unified State Register of Real Estate (Decision No. 2-2873/16 2A-2873/2016 2A-2873/2016~M-2603/2016 M-2603/2016 dated June 22, 2016 . in case No. 2A-2873/2016). The claims were denied.
2. Recognition of the premises as a residential apartment, imposing the obligation to make changes to the registration certificate and the Unified State Register of Real Estate (Decision No. 2-3169/2013 2-61/2014 2-61/2014(2-3169/2013;)~M-2597/2013 M-2597/2013 dated February 12, 2014 in case No. 2-3169/2013). The demands were denied.
3. On recognition of non-residential buildings as residential (Decision No. 2-261/2016 2-261/2016~M-161/2016 M-161/2016 dated April 19, 2021 in case No. 2-261/2016). Satisfaction denied.

Legal advice: before going to court, it is recommended to carefully study the conclusion and the reasons why the apartment was refused recognition as residential premises. Often, courts refuse to satisfy claims because people do not want to understand the details and reasons for refusals.