Legal documents are something that every citizen should know about. The point is that both adults and children can encounter such documentation. Especially when it comes to concluding transactions involving real estate. Unfortunately, not everyone knows what a title document is. And where to get it, too. Next, we will try to understand the relevant topics. In fact, everything is simpler than it seems. And even a teenager is able to understand what he has to deal with.
Types of documents confirming rights
Title and title documents for real estate in Russia are different. It all depends on the life circumstances under which this or that property was acquired.
The main legal document is the certificate of title to real estate. It was issued after state registration of the relevant powers in Rosreestr.
In addition, the supporting documents are extracts from the Unified State Register of Real Estate, but they are limited in their effect. The point is that such documentation confirms the rights to the object on a specific date.
Apartment transfer agreement (in case of privatization of municipal housing)
This agreement is concluded between citizens and local governments that have the right to carry out privatization.
A prerequisite is that the privatized living space must be under the jurisdiction of this body, that is, located on its territory.
Ownership rights under such an agreement must be registered with the authorized registration authorities.
, two stamps confirming registration are placed on the contract itself and a certificate of state registration of rights is issued.
If there are several owners, then the certificate is issued separately for each privatization participant.
This document contains the following information:
- address of the property;
- total area;
- number of rooms;
- from whom and to whom the real estate is transferred - the parties to the agreement;
- a document on the basis of which a representative of local government acts.
If several citizens participate in privatization, then each person’s share is specified in the agreement . If joint property of spouses is registered, this is not done.
What are the types of legal certificates?
What else is worth paying attention to? The paperwork associated with real estate is of interest to many. Sometimes it causes a lot of problems. Especially if a person needs to prove/refute rights to property.
As already mentioned, you can find title documents. This is a broader category of housing certificates. These include:
- contract of sale;
- property exchange agreement;
- equity participation agreement;
- annuity agreement;
- deeds of gift;
- wills;
- certificates of acceptance of inheritance.
All these extracts, as already mentioned, help to establish the reason for the formation of rights to real estate. Accordingly, they can also be used as legal documents. This is a fairly common occurrence, especially in litigation.
Types of title documents
Since this category of official papers includes many varieties, this article will present only an exhaustive list of those that regulate the issue of transfer of ownership from one owner to another. Primary documentation of newly emerged objects requires a separate analysis and is the subject of a separate article.
Property transaction agreements
Agreements are the most common types of title documentation obtained as a result of property transactions: purchase and sale, exchange or donation. The main characteristics of this documentation are as follows:
- drawn up by the parties personally or with the participation of an authorized representative;
- signed by the parties personally or by their authorized representatives;
- can be certified by a notary;
- must have a registration mark from Rosreestr.
The rules for drawing up contracts are regulated by civil law. According to Article 550 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, they have only written form and are executed on paper. According to paragraph 1 of Article 551 and paragraph 2 of Article 558 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, they come into force only after registration. It was repeatedly noted that the owner did not have a registration mark, but he did have a certificate of ownership. In this case, the problem can be corrected by contacting the multifunctional center (MFC) with a certificate of ownership or an extract from the Unified State Register, writing a statement about the alleged technical error. If the procedure itself is performed properly, the registration mark will be placed after checking the information available in the database.
I also recommend that you pay attention to the fact that the contract may contain a notary certification mark, in accordance with Article 163 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In no case should it be considered to replace the registration mark. Registration with a notary has legal force, but information is entered into the information bank only upon registration with Rosreestr. Notarized contracts must have two marks: about certification and about registration.
The apartment purchase and sale agreement is a document of title, as it records the transfer of rights to real estate from the seller to the buyer
The owner must have a property transaction agreement if he bought an apartment, land or house. And also if he exchanged it for other property or received real estate as a gift. This documentation can be obtained from the counterparty to the transaction at the notary or legal office where the agreement was concluded for the purpose of conducting the transaction. But what to do if such an agreement is lost? In this case, the document should be restored by writing an application to the law firm or notary office where the transaction was registered, requesting its duplicate.
The resulting duplicate has the same legal capacity as the lost original. But it may arouse suspicion among incompetent buyers, so in this case it is best to obtain an additional document - an extract from the Unified State Register of Rights (USRE), which will indicate the latest information about the ownership of the object. You can obtain such an extract at the MFC or on the government services portal.
Please note that the document can only be ordered on the government services website, but you will have to receive it at the same MFC, saving time on the initial visit.
Certificates of inheritance by law and by will
A certificate of inheritance is issued to the owner only after the death of the previous owner. It is characterized by the fact that it certifies the fact of transfer of real rights to real estate, according to the following:
- The last will of the deceased, expressed in a testamentary disposition.
- The degree of relationship that allows entry into real rights to the property of the deceased in relation to queues under the law.
It looks like an official document issued by a notary office, with a mandatory registration mark by Rosreestr.
A certificate of inheritance rights is issued by a notary
Receiving an inheritance by will and by law has equivalent legal capacity, as indicated by Articles 1110, 1111, 1116 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. However, it must be taken into account that most often, according to statistics from judicial practice, inheritance disputes arise regarding wills that deprived relatives are trying to challenge. In this case, I would like to give relevant advice to both the buyer and the seller. The buyer should check, and the seller should additionally obtain a certificate confirming the absence of legal disputes and claims to the property by relatives. A certificate of “no encumbrances” can be obtained from the MFC or ordered on the government services website. Or - find out the period that has passed since entering into inheritance. If it is more than three years old, then, according to Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the statute of limitations has expired and real estate can be purchased.
If the owner has a certificate of inheritance, then in order to participate in the transaction it must meet the following requirements:
- The heir must be the sole owner of the property, or the property is sold by all heirs jointly acting as the buyer.
- If there is more than one heir, then they must formalize a notarized waiver of the inheritance share in the property or sell their shares at the same time.
- If all heirs simultaneously sell an inherited property, they must first register their joint ownership as shared ownership.
Therefore, the following may be attached to the certificate of inheritance:
- notarized waiver of the share in favor of the seller;
- agreement on the allocation of shares;
- the court's decision.
If such documentation is attached, it means that the heir to the property has prepared in good faith for the upcoming transaction.
Agreements on division of property and allocation of shares
Such a document can act as a legal document only if the marriage is dissolved. For example, on the basis of a voluntary decision of the spouses that the dacha or apartment belongs to one of them, in exchange for the fact that the second is left with a car or a commensurate amount of money.
A property division agreement involves the voluntary transfer of part of the property to a spouse
It must be taken into account that an agreement always has an additional nature and comes into legal force only when there is a basic document on the emergence of a joint right. That is, before dividing the apartment, it had to be jointly purchased or privatized. In this case, two documents must be available:
- property transaction or privatization agreement;
- certificate of division of property.
The question of the status of the agreement as a legal document is controversial, however, it appears to be legal for the following reasons:
- without it, the spouse cannot be considered the full owner;
- it must be presented during a property transaction.
If the spouses separated without drawing up such an agreement after the divorce, they can meet with a notary and draw it up. This action will end mutual dependence on property issues. If the second spouse refuses to draw up an agreement after the divorce, the issue can be resolved in court.
A post-divorce agreement is not required if the property was inherited by one of the spouses, or received as a gift - even if this happened during the period of cohabitation. Such property is not considered common and does not participate in the division.
Heirs primarily receive property through the inheritance estate. Therefore, after receiving a certificate of inheritance, they have to formalize the division of the inheritance mass:
- agreement on the division of the inherited estate;
- or an agreement on the allocation of shares in joint property.
In this case, the agreement also acts as an additional document of title, which is attached to the certificate of inheritance.
For former spouses who do not want to burden themselves with drawing up an agreement, we can recommend the sale of an apartment or other object with an annex instead of an agreement - permission to sell from the second spouse. It must be drawn up in full form and certified by a notary. This document will be fully equivalent to an agreement, although it has no relation to title documentation.
Court decisions and administrative acts
Administrative acts always act as title documents in relation to newly allocated or privatized plots. They are issued for plots indicating the cadastral number and other cadastral and technical characteristics. The act is drawn up on the letterhead of the administration of the locality with an official message about the transfer or establishment of ownership with the details of the protocol of the administrative commission on the allocation of such a plot. If the plot is sold at auction, the following is attached to the deed:
- tender protocol;
- receipt for payment of the cost of land.
In addition, acts can be issued if the primary document on the acquisition of land ownership is lost. Therefore, if you do not have documents for the land, you should contact the land department of the local administration or the land management department. Only if the administration refuses to recognize the ownership of the plot can you go to court by submitting an official refusal to the court.
Court decisions have the widest range of powers. They are used, among other things, in the event of a problem with the title document. According to Articles 209, 321 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, they are subject to immediate execution, with the exception of cases of appeal in a higher court or in the court of cassation. The court's decision is as follows:
- recognize as valid a document whose text has been damaged;
- replace a lost title document;
- replace an incorrectly drawn up title document;
- replace a obviously missing title document;
- register the property with cadastral registration in Rosreestr;
- make the required registration entry;
- recognize the right of ownership of the subject.
Rights to real estate can be transferred from one entity to another and in a forced, judicial manner
Depending on the circumstances, a court decision issued in the form of an extract can act as an independent document of title - if it certifies the fact of the emergence of property rights to the object. For example, when recognizing rights to self-construction or other types of recognition of property rights. When a court decision establishes the legal capacity of the disputed primary document, it acts in tandem with it.
For example, if the will was disputed by the relatives of the deceased, and the court sided with the heir under the will, the court decision must be provided in conjunction with a certificate of inheritance. If the court sided with the relatives, the will loses legal force, and the court decision remains the only document of title and is subsequently presented as an independent document.
There is no need to delay the procedure for obtaining or restoring the original document. If you have received a refusal from institutions that could issue a duplicate or an administrative act, you must immediately (within 10 days after the official refusal) apply to the court for help. According to the regulations, all issues related to real estate are resolved in the district court at its location, as stated in Article 30 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. Having received a court decision, you urgently need to register the property in Rosreestr and obtain an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate. After this, ownership of real estate will leave no doubt about its legality.
Legislative changes
For some time now, certificates that can be considered legal confirmation have changed in Russia. The thing is that some of them were abolished. And this news caused a lot of problems for property owners.
The title document, the certificate of title to property, has been abolished since 2021. From now on, such papers will no longer be issued under any circumstances. Instead of a certificate, an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate in the established form is now used.
In addition, the authorized bodies no longer issue cadastral passports. They were also completely replaced by an extract of the established form. This means that if you need to confirm the rights to a particular object, you should think about obtaining a certificate from the Real Estate Register.
Where to get
It is recommended to order title documents for real estate immediately before concluding a transaction or legal debate. This technique will help to avoid unnecessary questions from authorized bodies. But where can you order such documentation?
There is no clear answer to this question. The thing is that documents on property rights can be ordered from various government services and organizations. And everyone chooses where to turn.
At the moment, you can request the documents listed above through:
- Multifunctional Center;
- one-stop service;
- organizations like “My Documents”;
- cadastral chambers;
- Rosreestr.
Extracts of title are kept in notary offices and in the hands of participants in transactions. Accordingly, in order to restore such an agreement, you need to contact a notary.
Participation agreement
The essence of the agreement is very close to investment, but is concluded between a developer company and individuals .
This method of constructing residential properties has been very widespread lately and allows you to purchase new housing. Almost all new buildings are built on the principle of shared participation.
In addition to the usual data, the document must indicate the deadlines for the delivery of the object and the provision of residential premises to the buyer, as well as the technical condition of the apartment.
It is possible to deliver the property with construction finishing and turnkey finishing.
It is important to stipulate that the moment of fulfillment of obligations under the contract by the developer will be not only the transfer of keys to the apartment, but also the signing of a package of documents on the commissioning of the building and its transfer to the management company.
You can read more about drawing up an agreement for shared participation in construction and its conditions here.
Possibility of ordering online
Title documents are extracts without which no transaction with property can be carried out. This is simply not provided for by the current legislation of the Russian Federation.
Some documents in Russia can be issued via the Internet. The papers being studied are no exception. They are proposed to be issued on the State Register website or on third-party web resources. For example, on the portal “Rosreestr.net”. Next, we’ll figure out how to cope with such tasks.
Is the order current?
A warrant for an apartment was relevant during Soviet legislation. With the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the laws of the Soviet Union lost force. Accordingly, documents issued on the basis of outdated laws have lost their relevance. Instead, contracts are used:
- privatization;
- social hiring;
- commercial rental.
And the use of the warrant in regulatory proceedings has lost its force.
Ordering instructions - contact the authorities in person
It is important to order title documents for real estate in a timely manner if the citizen does not have them in his possession. Moreover, it is better to present the second party to the transaction or the court with fresh copies of the certificates listed above. This will help prove the relevance of the information.
To personally draw up a document on ownership of a property, you will need:
- Conclude one or another transaction providing for the transfer of authority over property.
- Collect a certain package of documents. We'll talk about it later.
- Contact the authorized body with an application to issue a particular certificate.
- Contribute funds in the form of state duty, if provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
- Pick up the completed certificate within the specified time frame.
That's all. It sounds quite simple, but in reality citizens may face certain difficulties. For example, when choosing a place to submit an application or when preparing a package of documents to implement the task.
Donation agreement
This document is drawn up when one of the parties receives an apartment free of charge, without providing anything to the other party.
The deed of gift may be real or consensual . In the first case, the recipient takes possession immediately after registration of real estate rights; in the second case, this moment will occur in the future specified in the contract.
The gift agreement may be terminated by the donor if:
- The donee has committed a crime against the donor or members of his family;
- The agreement stipulates the right of the donor to invalidate the gift if he survives the donee.
You can read more about drawing up an apartment donation agreement and its conditions here.
Rosreestr website and USRN extract
The title documents for a land plot are no different from similar papers for apartments and houses. Only the information that is written in them.
As already mentioned, if you wish, you can issue some title certificates via the Internet. For example, on the Rosreestr website.
To do this, a citizen will need:
- Go to the official State Register page, and then select the “Services” section there.
- Click on the line “Providing information from the Real Estate Register”.
- Fill out the application electronically. It contains information about the property, as well as about the customer.
- Submit a request for processing.
- Make a payment in the form of a state fee for the extract.
All that remains now is to pick up the finished documentation from the authorized body at the appointed time. To successfully send a request, you need to log in to your “Personal Account”. The option is available to those registered on State Services - there is no need to create a separate profile on the State Register portal.
Rent agreement
Consists in situations where one of the parties transfers its property, and the other party periodically pays the annuity recipient the amount of money services for its maintenance for this amount .
There are annuity agreements:
- Permanent annuity. In this case, the payments will be money or things, services, food products in equal equivalents.
- Life annuity. Payments under such an agreement are made only in money.
- Lifetime maintenance with dependents. Money or dependency, that is, full maintenance.
Sometimes such an agreement also includes payment of funeral expenses for the annuity lender.
The minimum monthly rent payment cannot be less than two subsistence minimums.
You can read more about drawing up a rental agreement for an apartment and its conditions here.
Dates of issue
Legal documents for an apartment in Russia are issued quite quickly. True, sometimes you have to wait and be patient.
At the moment, the average time for issuing title documents is only 3-5 days. In some cases - 10-15 days. When completing paperwork through the MFC, as a rule, you have to wait longer than when applying directly to the authorized bodies.
It is better to check with a specific service for more accurate information about the speed of processing real estate documents. This is the only way to avoid unjustified hopes and other troubles.
Barter agreement
Consists of exchanging one living space for another.
However, the exchange of municipal housing is possible only under the control of the municipality. The barter agreement in such cases is invalid.
In cases of unequal exchange, the party providing an apartment with a smaller area for exchange must pay the difference in price to the other party .
The exchange agreement necessarily includes passport and address information of all parties to the transaction, location, area of the apartment, number of rooms, additional conditions for the exchange.
The agreement is drawn up in writing in triplicate . It is important that the data for the apartment in the contract coincide with the data specified in the technical passport and the certificate of state registration of real estate.
You can read more about drawing up an apartment exchange agreement and its conditions here.
What is the price
As a rule, documents confirming the title to a property are not issued free of charge. A state fee must be paid for their issuance. But in what sizes?
Restoring title documents in the Russian Federation costs on average 1,500-2,000 rubles. The USRN extract costs from 350 rubles. Its price tag depends on what type of document is requested. For example, you can request an extended extract from the Unified State Register. It will cost approximately 1200-1500 rubles.
There is no need to pay for a certificate of acceptance of inheritance and a will, but in order to receive property in this way, you will have to pay a state fee. It depends on the value of the object, as well as on the degree of relationship of the recipient.
The most accurate information will be provided either to the MFC or any other authorized body. It is recommended to pay fees shortly before applying for a particular certificate.
How to restore lost copies?
You can get a duplicate as follows::
- If the transaction was certified by a notary, then you should apply to the notary and request a notarized duplicate.
- In other cases, you should submit an application to Rosreestr (through the MFC or State Services) and request a duplicate that was registered here.
If these authorities refuse, then the establishment of ownership should be carried out through the court. The resulting court decision will replace the lost document.
The owner receives a title document from Rosreestr on the basis of title documentation . Accordingly, he can restore it here - by filing a statement about damage or loss of an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate (or a certificate of ownership).