Buyer checks for encumbrances on property at the Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography
Agency: Federal Service of State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography (Rosreestr)
Even though not mandatory by law, in practice most buyers do check for non-encumbrances on the property to prove the validity of the seller’s title. The complete information on the property (ownership rights, encumbrances) can be obtained by the Buyer in two ways with equal legal power of each. In a form of the official physical document and in electronic format (e-extract).
The official, signed E-Extract is ordered online, payment is made the E-extract is received electronically in 3 days.
According to the Federal Law No.218 – upon the official request for information the registration authority shall provide an official document with all information available in the Unified State Register of Real Estate Property within three working days.
The Buyer can also obtain a paper copy of the extract from Real Estate Property Register by making an application as individual (not the legal entity) with the cost being RUB 750 (RUB 300 e-document). There is also an option to access the information resource of Rosreestr: any individual or legal entity may obtain an electronic extract from the Property Register and verify ownership title to any real estate facility and existence of encumbrances, if any.
The procedure includes the following steps:
- Obtaining an electronic access key (free of charge);
- Refilling one’s account with the help of a credit card for a minimum sum of RUB 400;
- Receiving the electronic extract from the Property Register with the charge being RUB 1 for one query.
Time and cost: 3 days, RUB 600 (RUB 600 (electronic document), RUB 2200 (for a hard copy))
Seller obtains a “reconciliation report” from the local utility
Agency: Local Utility Company
At the request of the buyer, the seller obtains a signed “reconciliation report” from the local utility, showing that no outstanding debts are owed to the utility company. Usually, the seller can obtain this report within a day by requesting it directly from the local utility. Although not a legal requirement, the reconciliation report is commonly obtained in transactions involving commercial real estate, so the buyer can rest assured that the property is free from any possible creditors and to avoid problems with future utility hook up. The process of registering a new contract in the buyer’s name may take much longer if there are any outstanding bills (up to one month) and the service will be interrupted, which is not desirable for the commercial property.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Check for legal status and current conditions of the buyer at the Unified State Register of Legal Entities
Agency: Unified State Register of Legal Entities (Officially managed and maintained by the Federal Tax Service (FNS))
Legal entities will obtain extracts from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, officially managed and maintained by the Federal Tax Service (FNS) (http://egrul.nalog.ru/#). Although Russian legislation does not establish the term of validity for the extracts, in practice most state authorities accept the extracts issued not earlier than 30 days before their submission to the respective state authority.
Since 2015 the official information on the legal status of a legal entity became available in a form of the official electronic extract with encrypted digital signature of FNS on its official website: https://service.nalog.ru/vyp/. The statutory term for obtaining the official electronic extract is the same as for the official hard copy extract (not more than 5 days).
Time and cost: Less than 1 day (online),
- Electronic document – no charge.
- Official documents in hard copy – RUB 200 (regular procedure – 5 working days) or RUB 400 (expedited procedure – 1 working day).
Apply for state registration of title transfer in the Unified State Register of Rights to Real Estate
Agency: Multifunctional Center (MFC)
The most common way to apply for state registration of title transfer is completed within 9 business days. An application and relevant documents are submitted at the Multifunctional Centers (MFCs), which provide services on federal, regional and municipal levels, using a “One-Stop-Shop” principle and are widely spread across all regions of the country. MFC accepts the application and documents, sends them to Rosreestr internally, and receives them back (all electronically).
It is also possible to apply for state registration of title transfer directly at the Roseester, which is completed within 7 business days. However, the option is less popular since Roseester centers are more scarce.
Additionally, the application together with all relevant documents can also be submitted in an electronic format, using the following link: https://rosreestr.ru/wps/portal/p/cc_present/reg_rights#/ However, the online application for the registration of the property transfer is subject to the special requirements listed in Order No. 883 of November 26, 2015. For example, all documents submitted online be signed by the encrypted digital signature of a relevant person. In practice, submission of documents in electronic format is not frequently done, since there are only a few legal entities/individuals who have the encrypted digital signature software necessary for the transaction.
Time and cost: 11 days, RUB 44,000 (RUB 44,000: RUB 22,000 (building) + RUR 22,000 (land plot transfer))
