How can a foreigner buy land or real estate in Ukraine? Opening of the land market in Ukraine in 2023

Land in Ukraine is the most promising asset that you have the right to purchase. But legally there are many restrictions and risks that a foreigner planning to purchase land in Ukraine may face. The same applies to purchasing real estate, for example, an apartment, although in this case everything is much clearer than with land. 

Today, we hear a lot of talk about the land market, its opening and organization. Despite the fact that some provisions of the land legislation are quite ambiguous, and some issues remain unresolved, our land and commercial lawyer will explain how, to whom and how much land can be sold / bought in Ukraine. We will think about your risks in advance. If the purchase of real estate will be unprofitable or risky for you, we will honestly say so.

As a rule, any real estate, including land, is purchased not directly by the future owner, but through a proxy, namely a realtor who finds the necessary plot or house and recommends a certain notary.

This practice is not always positive. You may have a deal with the “wrong” buyer/seller, and the land plot or real estate object may be under arrest or pledged (other restrictions on alienation may be imposed). For this purpose, our specialists will conduct a preliminary analysis and search for all persons related to the real estate/land plot, as well as the real estate object.

First of all, you should pay attention to the seller. At the time of concluding the agreement with the notary, the seller must be legally capable, not be wanted, under house arrest, not have a ban on alienation of property, etc.

Secondly, you need to pay attention to the legal aspects of the transaction, especially the requirements for the agreement. For example, if the seller or buyer is married, the consent of the other spouse is required.

It is also important to remember that the issue of limiting non-residents’ ownership of agricultural land remains open. The only exception is for inheriting land. However, one must adhere to the following requirement: its subsequent alienation within a year is mandatory.

It should also be noted that only legal entities of Ukraine, established and registered under the legislation of Ukraine, whose members (shareholders, members) are only citizens of Ukraine, have the right to own agricultural land. 

All these norms of Ukrainian legislation exclude the right of foreigners to own agricultural land.

The exception is that foreigners and legal entities may have land plots for individual or collective gardening on lease. In this case, the term of such lease shall not exceed 50 years.

Our lawyers will help you to properly prepare a land lease agreement, draw your attention to mandatory clauses, and identify points that should be paid attention to in order to avoid problematic and controversial issues in the future.

The legislation of our state on the sale and purchase of non-agricultural land is quite loyal. Thus, according to Part 2 of Article 81 of the Land Code, foreigners may have the right to own land:

• within settlements, 

• land plots outside settlements on which real estate objects (a house, production, workshop, etc.) belonging to them on the right of private property are located.

Foreign legal entities also have the right to purchase such land.

Since July 2021, the land market has been launched in our country. As for the right of foreigners and foreign companies to purchase agricultural land, Ukraine plans to hold a referendum on this issue.

The documents that a lawyer needs to ensure safe transaction and assess preliminary risks are as follows:

• documents establishing land ownership (certificate of ownership, contract of sale, rent, gift, exchange, other civil law agreements, acceptance of inheritance, allocation in kind of land plot / share);

• marriage certificate of the seller / buyer, where appropriate;

• passports of the buyer / seller, and the passport of the second spouse (where appropriate);

• comments and/or special conditions of the sale and purchase agreement (if any).

If you need to organize a turnkey sale and purchase transaction in compliance with all the requirements of the current legislation, don’t hesitate to contact us. Thanks to their extensive experience in this field, our lawyers will help you to understand in detail what and how you can buy in Ukraine, how to do it quickly and safely.