Extension of the land lease agreement

Despite the efforts of legislators to clearly define the specifics of the procedure for extending the land lease agreement, this issue remains quite debatable. For example, there has been an increase in the number of disputes regarding the confusion surrounding the issue of extending the land contract and the determining right of the land owner to conclude land lease contracts for new terms. In this article, our specialists, lawyers Prykhodko and Partners will tell about the features of extending the lease agreement of the desired part of the land.

Peculiarities of the procedure for extending the land lease after the start of a full-scale war

If the lease agreement was signed before July 16, 2020, it contains a condition regarding its extension (the above is regulated by Article 33 of the Law of Ukraine). If the lessee wishes to fully use his or her right to extend the lease, the lessor must notify the lessor of this desire no later than 30 days before the expiration of the validity of this agreement.

Such information is provided in an official format: a letter of recommendation or mail with a notice of its delivery. The new legislative norms provide for the automatic extension of contracts. That is, in order to terminate the validity of the lease agreement, it is sufficient to submit a corresponding application to the Administrative Services Center to exclude the existing information from the register.

Until November 18, 2022, already in the conditions of a full-scale war, the rules regarding the renewal of contracts relating to land leases were in force automatically. The changes also applied to lease contracts for agricultural land plots. Even if their legal effect has ended after the introduction of martial law, they are considered automatically renewed even without the appropriate consent of the parties. The term is 12 months. Information is not entered into the State Register of Property Rights.

The situation has changed since November 19, 2022. In particular, the registration of new land lease contracts was renewed. Therefore, if the owners of plots of land, the lease agreements of which are coming to an end, wish to stop cooperation, they can do so with respect to the concluded agreement (such a procedure was foreseen before the start of the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine).

How is the land lease extended?

As it was indicated above, the extension of lease agreements today takes place on the basis of the conclusion of an additional agreement to the lease agreement. For this, it is enough to pay the administrative fee and submit an additional agreement to the registrar.

When the lease rights of a plot of land are entered in the Register of Real Property Rights, it is enough to simply increase the lease term specified in the register.

Important: in the process of concluding additional agreements, it is worth remembering that the term of validity of the lease agreement begins from the date of conclusion of the primary agreement (another option is from the date of registration of the corresponding agreement).

Litigation related to the renewal of the land lease agreement requires paying special attention to the formation of claims. For example, if the lease agreement is recognized as renewed, but the content of the additional agreement will not be set out in the claims, the state registrar will not have the opportunity to make appropriate changes to the register (the court decision will not be enforceable).

Also, situations often arise when one of the parties does not plan to renew the land lease agreement. In this case, it will be necessary to submit an application to the Register of Rights to exclude from it information on renewal. Deadlines – at least one month before the expiration of the relevant contract. That is, any party can refuse to renew the lease agreement individually.

Specialists of our law firm Prykhodko and Partners provide a full range of services related to real estate in Kyiv and the Kyiv region.

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