YUST Law Firm
Can anyone (including foreigners) own and occupy real estate in your jurisdiction (including shares in property owning companies)? Are there any restrictions?
Foreigners have the right to own real estate in the Russian Federation subject to some restrictions. For example, foreign citizens and foreign legal entities cannot own (directly or indirectly) land plots located in border areas, agricultural land plots as well as land plots related to the territory of the seaports.
Currently, there is special procedure for the acquisition as well as disposal of rights by certain foreigners (in particular, from EU, US, and others) to real estate situated in Russia and shares of Russian companies. This procedure provides for the need to obtain Government Commission consent to execute respective transactions.
Are there restrictions on lending for the purchase of real estate by foreign companies? If so briefly give an outline?
The Russian Federation has established a special procedure for carrying out certain transactions with foreign counterparties, according to which it is necessary to obtain permission from the Government Commission for Control of Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation for issuing loans to non-residents in foreign currency, providing credits and borrowings in rubles to foreign counterparties from certain foreign countries (in particular, from EU, US, and others) or non-resident entities controlled by them.
Buying
Please provide a short summary of the fees and costs (including tax) relating to buying real estate in your jurisdiction.
In accordance with the current tax legislation of the Russian Federation the buyer of real estate has no tax obligations at the time of the purchase. The tax burden falls on the seller, who is required to pay certain taxes in connection with receipt of the purchase price (depending on the applicable tax regime and the ability or impossibility of accounting for certain expenses).
Owning
Are there taxes applicable to owning real estate and can the burden of the taxes be passed to someone else (e.g. a tenant or an occupier - not being the owner
In the Russian Federation, the owner of real estate is a taxpayer of property tax, the rate and payment procedure for which are established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Regional tax legislation applicable at the location of the real estate. Taxation of property transferred to trust management as well as leased property, is carried out by the founder of trust management or the lessor.
Tax Breaks
Are there tax breaks or other incentives for foreigners to buy real estate in your jurisdiction? If so, what are they?
There are no tax breaks or other incentives for foreigners to buy real estate in Russian Federation.
How is the ownership of Real Estate evidenced in your jurisdiction?
Ownership rights in the Russian Federation as well as other real rights and restrictions on these rights are subject to state registration in the Unified State Register of Real Estate (USRN), which is a collection of reliable, systematized information about real estate objects. The respective rights are certified by an extract from the said register.
Is it possible to keep the identity of owners of real estate confidential in your jurisdiction?
Yes, it's possible. Information about property rights holders is contained in the Unified State Register of Real Estate and is provided in the form of an extract from the register. At the same time, provision of personal data of the property owner, who is an individual, in particular name, patronymic, surname and date of birth is possible only if there is a record in the Unified State Register allowing the provision of such data, made at the request of the property owner or his/her representative.
In the absence of such a record, the personal data of the owner can be provided only to persons entitled to receive restricted information, certain categories of persons (for example, the spouse of the property owner), a cadastral engineer and a notary.