Procedure for Changing the Designated Purpose of a Land Plot

The owner of a land plot plans to build a commercial facility, warehouse, production facility, or use the land for other activities, but during the verification of documents it turns out that the existing purpose does not allow this.

Previously, in such a situation, a change in purpose was almost automatically associated with the development of a land management project, its approval, and obtaining a separate decision from the local government body. After the land and urban planning reform, this approach has changed significantly.

Today, the key issue is not so much the development of land management documentation, but whether the urban planning documentation allows for the desired type of purpose of the land plot.

What is the purpose of a land plot?

According to Article 20 of the Land Code of Ukraine, when establishing the purpose of a land plot, its land category and type of purpose are determined.

A change in purpose may consist in changing the category of land, type of purpose, or both of these characteristics.

Types of purpose are determined in accordance with the Classifier of Types of Purpose of Land Plots, Types of Functional Purpose of Territories and the Relationship Between Them, which is part of the Procedure for Maintaining the State Land Cadastre, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 17.10.2012 No. 1051.

Therefore, before starting the procedure, it is necessary to first establish what purpose the land plot has now and what is necessary for the planned use.

Target and functional purpose: what is the difference?

After the territorial planning reform, the purpose of a specific land plot is closely related to the functional purpose of the territory on which it is located.

In accordance with Article 20 of the Land Code of Ukraine, the type of purpose of a land plot must comply with the classifier and rules of the relationship between the type of purpose and the functional purpose of the relevant territory.

In practice, this means that the owner cannot always simply choose any desired type of purpose.

For example, if the land plot is located within a functional zone for which mainly residential development is envisaged, transferring it to a type of use incompatible with such a functional zone is not possible only at the owner’s request. will work out.

That is why, before changing the intended purpose, it is necessary to check not only the information of the State Land Cadastre, but also the current urban planning documentation for the relevant territory.

Depending on the specific situation, such documentation may be a comprehensive spatial development plan for the territory of a territorial community, a general plan of a settlement, a zoning plan or a detailed plan of the territory.

At the same time, the establishment of a certain functional zone in itself does not automatically change the intended purpose of a specific land plot.

What to do if information about the functional zone has not yet been entered into the State Land Cadastre?

In practice, information about functional zones has not yet been entered into the State Land Cadastre for all territories.

For such cases, land legislation provides for transitional rules. The belonging of a land plot to a functional zone can be determined on the basis of current urban planning documentation, in particular a zoning plan, a general plan, a detailed plan of the territory or urban planning documentation of the appropriate level.

Therefore, the old rule according to which the absence of a detailed plan of the territory automatically made it impossible to change the intended purpose is no longer universal today.

It is necessary to establish which urban planning documentation applies to a specific land plot and whether it allows the establishment of the desired type of intended purpose.

Do I need to develop a land management project?

This is one of the most significant changes compared to the old procedure.

According to part six of Article 20 of the Land Code of Ukraine, changing the intended purpose of a land plot, as a general rule, does not require the development of land management documentation.

The exception is, in particular, the case when it is necessary to simultaneously form a land plot from state or municipal land that has not previously been formed as a separate object.

Therefore, if we are talking about an already formed land plot of private property with a cadastral number, the old scheme with a mandatory order for a land management project for its allocation is no longer applied as a general rule.

Who makes the decision to change the intended purpose?

To answer this question, it is necessary to distinguish between private and state or municipal land plots.

With regard to a land plot of private property, the category and type of its intended purpose are determined by its owner.

Article 20 of the Land Code of Ukraine directly provides that a separate decision of an executive authority or local government body is not required to change the intended purpose of a land plot, except in cases where the relevant body itself disposes of such a land plot.

That is, the owner of a private formed land plot, as a general rule, does not need to obtain a separate “permit to change the intended purpose” from the local council.

Regarding lands of state or municipal property, the decision is made by the body that is authorized by law to dispose of the relevant land plot.

However, special requirements and approvals may apply to certain categories of land. This applies, in particular, to lands with a special environmental, historical and cultural, forestry regime, especially valuable lands and other cases directly provided for by the Land Code of Ukraine.

What does the procedure look like for a private land plot?

For an already formed land plot of private property, the procedure is much simpler today than before.

First of all, it is necessary to check the information about the land plot in the State Land Cadastre and the current urban planning documentation. At this stage, it is determined whether the desired type of purpose is allowed within the relevant functional zone and whether there are no other legislative restrictions.

If the desired purpose is allowed, the owner makes an appropriate decision and initiates the entry of the amended information about the land plot into the State Land Cadastre.

It is the SLC that contains official information about the category of land and the type of purpose of the land plot in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On the State Land Cadastre” and the Procedure for Maintaining the State Land Cadastre, approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1051.

After making changes, you can obtain an extract from the State Land Cadastre with the current purpose of the land plot.

Thus, the old sequence of “land development project – approval – council decision – cadastre” for a regular formed land plot of private property is no longer a general procedure.

Is it necessary contact the state registrar of rights?

A change in purpose primarily involves a change in the characteristics of the land plot, information about which is contained in the State Land Cadastre.

A new purpose in itself does not mean the termination of ownership and the emergence of a new right to the land plot.

Therefore, amendments to the State Land Cadastre should not be equated with state registration of ownership.

However, in a specific situation, it is necessary to check the information of the State Register of Property Rights, especially if the land plot is leased, used, mortgaged, or other property rights or encumbrances are registered on it.

What to do if the land plot is leased?

The presence of a tenant or other land user must be taken into account before starting the change in purpose.

For state and municipal property, the Land Code of Ukraine directly provides for cases when the change The purpose of a land plot in use requires approval from the land user.

For private land, it is first necessary to check the terms of the lease agreement or other use agreement.

If the contract provides for the use of a land plot exclusively for a specific purpose, changing its intended purpose may require a simultaneous revision of the contractual terms.

Can the intended purpose of agricultural land be changed?

The lifting of the moratorium on the circulation of agricultural land does not mean that any such land plot can be automatically transferred, for example, for residential or commercial development.

The general requirements of Article 20 of the Land Code of Ukraine apply: the new intended purpose must correspond to the functional purpose of the territory and the established restrictions.

Special rules may also apply to individual agricultural lands, in particular regarding especially valuable lands and compensation for losses of agricultural production in cases provided for by law.

Certain restrictions continue to apply to lands in temporarily occupied territories.

Therefore, the possibility of changing the intended purpose of agricultural land must be assessed individually, and not based only on the fact that the land plot the moratorium is no longer in effect.

When may a change in purpose be impossible?

A typical problem arises when a land plot is initially purchased for a specific business project, and the possibility of using it for this project is checked only after the purchase.

For example, the land plot is located near a highway, and the buyer plans to build a retail or warehouse facility on it. However, after analyzing the urban planning documentation, it turns out that the functional purpose of the relevant territory does not provide for such use.

In this case, the problem is no longer solved simply by changing the purpose code in the cadastre.

It may be necessary to make changes to the urban planning documentation, which is a separate and much more complicated procedure.

That is why it is advisable to check the legal regime of the land before its acquisition or before the start of the design of the facility, and not after problems arise with development or obtaining permits.

Conclusions

The procedure for changing the purpose of a land plot has changed significantly in recent years.

For an already formed land plot of private property, as a general rule, it is no longer necessary to develop a land management project for allocation and obtain a separate decision of the local council only to change its purpose.

Instead, compliance is of central importance the desired type of purpose, the functional purpose of the territory and the current urban planning documentation.

Therefore, before starting the procedure, it is worth checking the State Land Cadastre, urban planning documentation, existing restrictions on the use of the land plot and the rights of other persons to it.

It is such a check that allows you to understand whether it is enough to enter new information into the State Land Cadastre, or whether to implement the planned project it is first necessary to resolve the issue of urban planning documentation, land use or special legislative restrictions.