State Duma to consider a simplified procedure of real estate alienation from residents of Sochi

On September 13, a bill was officially brought to the State Duma on a special legal regime for the preparation period of 2014 Olympics. According to the bill, the regulations of alienation the land estates within the area of the Olympic sites to be erected should be radically amended.

The new legislation, although adopted exclusively with the aim to ensure erection of Olympic sites in Sochi, will be valid all over Russia, enabling bureaucrats to alienate real estate from citizens by justifying their actions by the needs of the city.

The "Vedomosti" newspaper possesses a draft of proposed amendments to the Land and Civil Codes; and should the amendments be passed, citizens will be alienated of their real estate in a simplified manner. Instead, certain compensation should be paid.

The current legislation enables to withdraw privately owned land for the needs of the state (construction of infrastructure and military objects, access to deposits of minerals) under decision of the federal or local executive body. For this purpose, a respective statutory act is passed, and the proprietor has a year to agree with the authorities the terms of alienation. Should the negotiations fail, the authorities can strive for eviction of the incompliant owner in the judicial order.

The new bill is essentially simplifying the procedure. No longer, the alienation decision needs to be registered at the Federal Registration Service. The Olympic State Corporation will simply address local authorities, the latter will make a decision and inform the proprietor about it. The latter shall select an appraiser from the list compiled by the State Corporation and sign a buy-out agreement with local authorities.

There is no chance for the proprietor to challenge the decision of the officials in the judicial order - this is directly envisaged by the bill.