The article is written by Andrii Pohorilyi, Adviser on Decentralisation and Local Self-Government of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme

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Under martial law, due to the suspension of the State Land Cadastre (hereinafter the Land Cadastre) and the Unified State Register of Property Rights to Immovable Property (hereinafter the Register of Immovable Property Rights), local self-government bodies received a unique simplified tool for leasing municipal agricultural land plots for commercial agricultural production, namely:

• The land plot formation mechanism is simplified;
• Information about the plot is not entered in the Land Cadastre;
• The right of use is not registered in the Register of Immovable Property Rights;
• Land lease contract is executed only in electronic form.

The changes are set out in Law No. 2145. They were further updated on the basis of Law No. 2247, which entered into force on 9 June.

Learn more about the peculiarities of the above Laws as well as land legislation under martial law in general in the article “The Second Wave” of Land Legislation under Martial Law and How It Affects Local Self-Government

Today, let’s talk about practical matters. How can a local council work with a land lease e-contract?

 

NOTE! A land lease agreement contract under a simplified procedure under martial law must be executed only in electronic form (subparagraph 2(c) of paragraph 27 of Chapter X (Transitional Provisions) of the Land Code of Ukraine).

 

Let’s take a closer look at the process of executing such a contract from the perspective of the lessor, i.e. a local self-government body.

Step one. Preparation. The contract itself should be drafted by the local council. For this, use the Model Land Lease Agreement as amended by Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 563 dated 10 May 2022.

Download the template of the adapted land lease contract under martial law here.

Step two. Signing. The e-contract must be signed with a qualified electronic signature. Learn how to do it correctly by watching the video here.

Step three. Registration. The lessor is responsible for submitting the documents.

All documents must be submitted together with an electronic application to the District Military Administration (hereinafter the DMA). The Law does not specify the form or deadlines for the submission of the application.

We suggest the following form of e-application for registration of a land lease e-contract.

Step four. Notification of parties on the registration. According to the Law, the state registration of an e-contract can only be denied on the grounds of the inconsistency of the submitted documents.

The right to lease a land plot arises upon state registration of the e-contract.

In our opinion, the DMA should inform the parties to the contract about the results of registration by e-mail. However, the legislator did not foresee such a tool.

Therefore, the local council as a lessor must independently control these processes.

You can also watch this video that details these steps.

 

NOTE! The District Military Administration must effect the registration within five working days upon submitting the e-application.

 

Step five. Sending a copy of the E-contract to the State Geocadastre (hereinafter the Geocadastre). The legislator defined the obligation of the lessor to send a copy of the registered contract to the Geocadastre by e-mail.

Thus, the question of the exact address for sending the documents arises.

The Geocadastre has published the corresponding list of e-mail addresses.

 

NOTE! The lessee has only three working days from the moment of registration of the e-contract to implement this step.

 

CONCLUSION. Agricultural commodity producers are increasingly turning to local councils with requests to lease a plot of land for commercial agricultural production according to a simplified procedure. Moreover, there are known cases when two companies apply for one plot of land. Therefore, local councils must clearly understand the mechanism of concluding an e-contact for the lease of a land plot in order to minimise their risks as a lessor and effectively dispose of the land resource in the context of food security of both the community and the country.