The Property Banks Buyers Guide to Belarus
STANDARDIZED PROPERTY
Property value: 325,945,548
City: Minsk
Registration Requirements:
Procedure 1*.
Obtain
a certificate confirming the connection of the building with the
land plot and a certificate confirming the title of the seller to
the property
Time to complete: approximately 30 days
Cost to complete: BYR 29,000
Comment: The buyer should request from the seller or from the
Registry an updated extract which allows the buyer to verify the
title of the seller, the encumbrances and legal rights attached to
the building and the land plot. In addition, parties must obtain
from the Registry a certificate confirming connection of the
building with the land plot as well as cadastral plans. In 2005 the
basic tax unit increased from BYR 24,000 to 29,000, applying to all
payments in basic units, such as notarizations, registration fees
and other government charges.
The documentation shall include:
Application in the established form
Procedure 2*.
Notarization of seller's and buyer's incorporation documents
Time to complete: 1 day
Cost to complete: BYR 29,000
Comment: The seller and buyer shall notarize the copies of their
registration certificates and articles of association.
The documentation shall include:
Corporate documents of the parties, i.e. charters, foundation
agreements, powers of attorney
Procedure 3.
Obtain
municipality's first refusal rights
Time to complete: 7 days
Cost to complete: No cost
Comment: The parties submit the signed real estate sales agreement
to the municipality for a decision on its first refusal rights. This
usually has no charge.
The documentation shall include:
Application in the established form
The copy of sale-purchase agreement
Certificate confirming the connection of the building with the land
plot (Obtained in Procedure 1)
Certificate confirming the title of the seller to the property (Must
be in possession of the seller)
Procedure 4*.
The
buyer applies to the Registry for registration of the sale-purchase
agreement and his title to the property
Time to complete: 65-80 days
Cost to complete: approximately BYR 150,000 to 260,000
Comment: The buyer must apply to the Registry for state registration
of the transfer of title. He should produce the original sale
agreement as well as the other documents required.
The right to own land is very Ltd in the Republic of Belarus. The
overwhelming majority of legal entities in Belarus hold land plots
under lease. The rest of them have either permanent use right or
(very few) ownership right to land plots. The parties submit the
documents obtained in the previous procedures to the Registry.
Buyer's application is reviewed by the Registry. The Registrar
inspects the authenticity of the presented documents, including
verification through the database and makes a decision about
registration and issues the certificate about title registration to
the new owner.
Current legislation imposes on the seller an 18% VAT on the sale of
property. The buyer is subject to Property Tax. Its imposition is
regulated by the regional legislation to a rate of 1% in general
depending on the type of activity of the enterprise. Parties are not
required to pay any other fees or taxes.
The documentation shall include:
Notarized copies of buyer and seller's incorporation documents
(obtained in Procedure 2)
Sale-purchase agreement
Seller's cadastral package of documents (obtained after Procedure 1)
Application (in the established form)
The contract of lease of land plot between the seller and the City
of Minsk (Must be in possession of the seller)
The document establishing seller's right of ownership to the
building (must be in possession of the seller).
Municipality's approval of the transference (Obtained in Procedure
3)
Procedure 5*.
Inspection of the property to check consistency of cadastral plan
Time to complete: 3 days
Cost to complete: BYR 30,000
Comment: An architect of the Registry must go and verify that the
property still corresponds to the cadastral plan and the cadastral
value, and the borders have not been unofficially moved.
Procedure 6*.
Obtain
the signature of the cadastral plan by every neighbor
Time to complete: 7 days
Cost to complete: Already included in Procedure 5
Comment: Every neighbor of the property has to sign and seal the
cadastral plan in order to avoid further border disputes. The
architect usually asks the seller to be present when neighbors sign
and seal the cadastral plan.
Procedure 7.
Application to the municipal authorities for isolation of the land
plot under the building
Time to complete: 2-6 months
Cost to complete: No cost
Comment: As soon as the application has been reviewed the Registry
makes corresponding alterations in the land-cadastral book and
provides the buyer with the new cadastral plan.