How to register ownership of an apartment

According to Law No. 218 on the registration of rights to real estate and transactions with it, ownership of housing appears only from the moment information about the new owner is entered into the unified state real estate register. At the moment, this is the Unified State Register of Real Estate, which combines the Unified State Register and State Register of Companies, which worked previously. Until this moment, it is impossible to dispose of property obtained in any way.

Full rights to real estate arise after registration of the transaction in Rosreestr. How to register ownership of an apartment, what methods exist, the peculiarities of concluding an agreement for shared participation in construction and obtaining property on the basis of a judicial act will be discussed in this article.  

Where can you register property rights?

Whether the ownership of an apartment is registered is possible in several ways:

• application in person at the territorial division of Rosreestr;
• sending a registered letter by post with an application and a valuable attachment - title documents for housing;
• through the mediation of Multifunctional Centers (MFC);
• through a single portal of State Services.

In the registry (step-by-step instructions)

To establish housing rights through regional branches of Rosreestr, you must complete the following steps:

1. Collecting documents for a property, drawing up an agreement on the sale of property or obtaining a certificate of acceptance of inheritance from a notary’s office.
2. Contact Rosreestr to fill out an application for transfer of ownership. The form is provided by an employee of a government agency; it is enough to sign the parties to the transaction or the person applying. At the same time, you need to submit to the organization all documents confirming ownership of the real estate and the absence of restrictions on the disposal of the property - an extract from the Unified State Register for the apartment . The registration service specialist issues a receipt indicating a list of documents received in copies and originals.
3. Verification of documentation by the state registrar of the Rosreestr service. Entering information about the transfer of ownership into a unified real estate database.
4. The issuance of an extract from the Unified State Register confirming ownership of the property and the absence or imposition of restrictions on the disposal of property has been carried out since January 1, 2017 and replaces the Rosreestr certificate. Documents in originals provided for registration of rights are also transferred.

More details here >> Step-by-step instructions for ordering an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate through Rosreestr .

Through State Services (step-by-step instructions)

It is possible to submit an application with a set of documents through a special website of the State Service. You do not need to be present at the registration chamber for this; actions are carried out via the Internet:

1. You need to open the official State Services page at: https://www.gosuslugi.ru . Register and identify yourself through Russian Post when receiving an electronic signature.
2. Go to the “Electronic Services” tab.
3. “Registration of ownership of an apartment.”
4. Fill out the form provided with the characteristics of the property and the applicant’s personal data. Scan the package of documents for housing and send it through the portal.
5. Go to the Rosreestr office for an appointment with a specialist at the appointed time after registration to personally sign all documents and receive an extract certifying ownership.

After this, the new owner of the property has the right to dispose of the property at his own discretion - to make any transactions with it.

At the MFC

Here are step-by-step instructions for registering ownership of an apartment in the MFC .

List of documents

To apply to Rosreestr, you must prepare the following documents for registration, the list of which is limited by Federal Law No. 218 of July 13, 2015 :

• application form, usually filled out by a service employee;
• identification of the parties to the transaction, with the participation of a representative - a power of attorney certified by a notary;
• document of title - purchase and sale agreement, exchange agreement, certificate of inheritance, etc.;
• if you are in an official marriage - the consent of the spouse or a marriage contract, an agreement on the allocation of shares in the sale of personal property;
• receipt of payment of state duty.

The registration service does not have the right to request an additional package of documents for registration.

Features of registration of property rights

In every legal situation, registration of property is preceded by the execution of title documents.

In this capacity, a contract of sale, gift, exchange, privatization, a certificate of acceptance of an inheritance or a contract for shared participation in construction can be considered. In any case, the existence of the right is certified by an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate after inclusion of information about the new owner in the Rosreestr database.

It should be noted that in Crimea, after joining Russia, the same rules for registering property ownership under the laws of the Russian Federation apply.

In a new building

Registration of ownership of an apartment in a new building is possible in two ways:

• by concluding an agreement on shared participation in construction, if the building is at the construction stage, in the absence of permits for occupancy from government authorities;
• When signing a purchase and sale agreement for an apartment in a newly built building, it is important that a commissioning certificate and a BTI technical passport are issued for it when assigning an address, and that individual premises are transferred to buyers under equity participation agreements in construction, if any have been concluded.

Thus, the agreement on shared participation in construction, concluded on the basis of Federal Law No. 214 of December 30, 2004 .

By inheritance

A period of 6 months is provided for receiving property by inheritance. During this time, the heirs must declare their rights to the real estate included in the estate.

After the expiration of this period, it is possible for relatives or persons specified in the will to register the inheritance as property. They are issued certificates of acceptance of part or all of the inheritance.

Where to register ownership of the purchased apartment, which notary to contact, you can call the regional Notary Chamber. The notary at the last address of residence of the deceased is usually involved in the management of inheritance affairs.

In mortgage

A real estate pledge arises by force of law or contract. When purchasing property using borrowed funds, a mortgage is subject to registration.

Registration is carried out in Rosreestr when signing a pledge agreement in favor of the creditor bank with the simultaneous transfer of rights under the purchase and sale agreement. The mortgage is removed only upon termination of the loan agreement after full repayment of the debt.

According to DDU

Registration of housing rights when purchasing an apartment at the construction stage is carried out in two stages:

• sending to Rosreestr an agreement for shared participation in construction in the name of a certain citizen or organization when the developer provides a construction permit, SRO approvals, and a project declaration to a government agency;
• registration of ownership of real estate after completion of work on the construction of an apartment building and its acceptance by the state commission with the issuance of a commissioning certificate. It is mandatory to draw up a technical passport for both the entire building and for individual premises with the assignment of an address by the BTI authorities, and the transfer of the apartment to the shareholder according to the deed in a finished state.

Until the completion of the work and the drawing up of a commissioning certificate confirming the possibility of living in the premises, registration of property is impossible. Resale of an apartment purchased under a share participation agreement in construction up to this point is possible only upon concluding an agreement for the assignment of the right of claim.

According to the gift agreement

Signing an agreement to receive an apartment as a gift means the need to register the property rights of the gifted person in Rosreestr. The transaction is two-sided in nature and to formalize rights, it is necessary not only the donor’s intention to give the property, but also the recipient’s intention to accept it.

It is considered that ownership of real estate is registered from the moment of receipt of an extract from Rosreestr about the inclusion of information about the transfer of rights into a unified state database.

By proxy

Both the party to the transaction and a representative - a relative or a third party - can be present during registration in Rosreestr. To do this, it is necessary to obtain a power of attorney from a notary office indicating the period and authority to carry out registration actions in relation to a certain property.

The original power of attorney with a copy is submitted to the registration chamber for comparison by a specialist of the institution and to certify the authority of the representative.

By the tribunal's decision

If legal disputes arose regarding real estate as a result of the acceptance of an inheritance, the division of jointly acquired property between spouses and in other cases, the procedure for separating shares from the property or certifying ownership takes place in court. Other government authorities do not have the right to establish the fact of ownership of real estate.

There is also a need to register ownership of a privatized apartment. To do this, it is enough to provide an agreement on the transfer of property into private ownership of citizens, indicating shares or in full, drawn up with a state or municipal entity. The presence of employees of the executive body is not required when registering rights.

In practice, there are situations when citizens bought an apartment, but did not register ownership. In this case, he does not have the right to dispose of it at his own discretion - rent it out, donate it as a gift, include it in a will, exchange it for other premises, sell it, etc.

Federal Law No. 218 and civil legislation indicate that transactions subject to state certification are valid from the moment of their registration. Until information about the transfer of rights is included in the Rosreestr database, such an agreement is considered invalid and does not entail legal consequences for the parties.

Upon receipt of such an inheritance, if the rights to the apartment have not been registered, there is a possibility only through the court with subsequent certification of the transaction based on a decision in Rosreestr in the name of the heirs.  

You can find out whether the property right is registered by contacting the Rosreestr authorities at the location of the property with an application for issuing an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate. Any citizen can order such a service, with the exception of the extended type of certificate, which indicates the transfer of rights. Only the owner can receive such a document.

How much the service costs is regulated by the provision in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Article 333.19. For 2017, it will be 2,000 rubles for citizens, and 22,000 rubles for legal entities. Such payment is made at a single rate, regardless of whether the apartment is a one-room or two-room apartment.