Existing types of land rights

Land plots are immovable property, and the regulation of the right to own and dispose of them is carried out by bills in the field of civil law relations, in particular the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In this article we will consider the concept, types of rights to land, as well as the emergence and termination of these rights.

The essence of the right to land

According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the essence of the right of land ownership is determined by three components, also called powers, namely: possession, disposal, use.

Owning land means its physical belonging to the owner. Nevertheless, it is not the owner who owns the land resource on the basis of documents legally confirming this right. All types of land rights involve the use of it, that is, the use of its useful properties (example: cultivation of the land in order to grow a crop on it).

Often, ownership and use is perceived as the same action, but this is not entirely true. Sometimes the owner does not use his property, but does not transfer ownership to another person. Example: forestry is rightfully the owner of forest land, but they do not use them, but only protect them from illegal interference and control the activities of other forest users.

Appearance of ownership

According to the current legislation of Russia, the acquisition of real estate in the form of land resources is possible in two ways:

1. Privatization.
2. The civil-law method.

The privatization method combines the types of land rights acquired by citizens in cases when:

• A private or legal entity receives from a state's reserves a land plot for personal disposal, use and possession.
• A member of the agricultural cooperative, the collective farm withdraws from it and takes its share in the form of a piece of land.

After the adoption of land reform in Russia in 1990, citizens could obtain land resources from the redistribution fund, formed from reserve resources. The redistribution fund included reserve land plots and those that were considered inefficiently used by state farms and collective farms. The local authorities were responsible for the formation of the fund, and, as practice showed, the quality of the reserve lands was far from the best in the district.

The civil-law method of property transfer includes sales transactions, acts of donation, inheritance transfers and other actions provided by law, as a result of which an individual or legal entity acquires the right of land ownership through the issuance of civil legal documents.

Termination of ownership

Termination of ownership of land plots can be carried out in the following legal ways:

• The most common method is civil law acts. These can be commercial transactions, as a result of which the owner loses the powers of possession. Often, the possession of land ceases with the gift, as well as in the exchange. However, in the event of an exchange, the owner loses the ownership of one land plot and acquires it on the other.
• Waiver of ownership. In this case, the termination of the right is postponed until it is acquired by another person.
• Purchase of land for public use.
• The seizure of property for the obligations of the owner. Example: the recovery of the collateral (land) by the credit institution from the owner as a result of the latter's non-performance.

Obligations of the owner of the land

The current legislation of the Russian Federation describes not only the types and forms of land rights, but also the responsibility of the owner of these powers. Since the land is, besides the object of personal property, also a part of the ecosystem of the region and even the state, the owner of the land has a certain responsibility for its use. First of all, regardless of what types of land ownership the owner has, land law obliges the owner not to violate the rights of other land users.

Mainly, the owner's obligation is to comply with all established norms on the use of real estate in accordance with its purpose. For example, if a land plot was purchased for construction, then the owner is required to perform construction work in accordance with fire, urban and architectural standards.

If it is a question of the use of agricultural land, the owner of the site should dispose of it so that it does not interfere with the similar activities of the citizens of the neighboring territory, who also have certain types of land rights. Land in this case should be used for their intended purpose. In this area of legal relations, the current legislation identifies the following violations: inappropriate use of the site and its clogging, soil cultivation by methods leading to a reduction and deterioration of its useful properties, as well as refusal to undertake mandatory measures to improve agricultural land.

In addition, all types of land use rights in the agrarian sector oblige its owner or tenant to comply with environmental principles, without worsening the environmental situation in the region. Additional obligations arise from owners of special purpose areas, such as nature reserves, resorts and health zones.

Forms of land ownership

According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, the forms of landed property are divided into three groups:

• Private ownership consists of rights to land legal entities and citizens.
• The state form of ownership includes the rights to lands owned by the state or its subjects. This form of property is regulated by the federal bodies or bodies of the republics and autonomous entities that make up the federation.
• The municipal form of property is managed by local government.

Existing types of land rights in the Russian Federation

The powers of owning a land plot are of several varieties. Types and forms of land rights, as well as their content, can be clearly seen in modern legislation, in such bills as the Land Code of 2001, as amended, the Constitution, Federal Law No. 101-FZ. Classification of these property rights has a hierarchical structure, which can be conditionally divided into two groups: real rights and obligations.

Group of real rights are the immediate right of ownership and types of other rights to land (life inherited possession, perpetual permanent possession, limited possession of other people's property). Other proprietary rights also enable their owner to dispose of the land plot by the target value, but taking into account the discretion of the owner of the territory. Obligatory types of rights to land are: rent and uncompensated urgent use. Consider each of these species separately.

Land ownership

The right of ownership fully grants the owner the powers to own, dispose of and use immovable property. The subjects of this right are physical and legal persons. The object is the land plots owned, disposed of and used by the property subject. The owner of the land has the right to use the territory belonging to it for its intended purpose, as well as everything that is above and below the surface of the earth, unless otherwise provided by the law relating to the use of soil and airspace.

The right to life inheritance

After the collapse of the USSR, to compensate for the lack of the private sector in the sphere of land property, the forms and types of land ownership were supplemented with a system of life inherited possession of plots. Over time, as the private sector expanded and the Federal Land Code entered into force, the transfer of land plots to citizens on the basis of the right to life ownership was abolished. Nevertheless, ownership rights to the territories that were transferred before the reform of land legislation are preserved. At the same time, a citizen who has lifelong inherited real estate available for disposal can re-register it as his property.

The right of perpetual permanent possession

Another institution of post-Soviet land law is the right to use the territorial resource on a regular basis. This right was also granted for the expansion of the private sector, but for legal entities. Currently, this right is partially abolished, or rather narrowed the range of subjects of legal relations. If in the post-Soviet period the lands were transferred to all pretending legal entities for perpetual possession, today the circle of applicants for this right narrowed to the state subjects (state and municipal organizations, local self-government bodies, public institutions). Other organizations are deprived of this right, which, however, does not prevent them from formalizing a lease for this site.

The right of limited use of another's property

Servitudes as types of land rights are of a somewhat specific nature and are expressed in the right of limited disposal of a foreign territory. There are times when the owner's landlord's needs can not be physically resolved without using a part of the neighbor's plot. Example: passing through neighboring territory, laying communication lines, including electricity, gas pipeline, irrigation system.

In this case, the owner of the site can conclude an agreement with the neighbor on the right to use the part of his territory (easement) for a fee. If the agreement has not been reached, the owner has the right to file a claim with the court with the demand to provide him with an easement. In addition, the applicant for obtaining the right of limited use of the neighboring site may not be the owner on permanent basis or for life inherited land. Termination of the servitude, the owner of the encumbered site is entitled to demand in case of falling or improper performance of the conditions of easement.

Rent of a site

Use of land plots and extract benefits from them, without being their owner, is also possible by means of a lease. To do this, a fixed-term agreement is concluded between the lessor and the lessee, according to which the lessee has the right to use this site for the amount of money specified in the contract and with the condition of observance of the stipulated conditions.

Land leased, the lessee is entitled not only to use for the purpose, but also to use the lease rights for the term of the contract as a contribution to the authorized capital, pledge or share contribution, and also transfer them to a third party. In order to perform these actions, in the event that this does not contradict the concluded agreement, additional consent of the landowner is not required, only its written notification is sufficient. In this case, the lessor has the right to demand through the court termination of the lease only in the event of gross violations of the contract. Upon termination or termination of the lease agreement, the rights to the land plot are fully returned to the lessor.

Right of gratuitous urgent use of land resources

Types of land rights in the Russian Federation include the so-called rights of free use of the site. The owner of such a right is obliged to use the land granted to him for a certain period of time and return the site to the owner in a satisfactory condition. The object of this right can be state and municipal lands, which can only be received by state structures and local authorities, as well as municipal and state institutions. The validity of this right is 1 year.

The object of the rights of gratuitous use of the land plot may also be the land of individuals and legal entities that can be transferred to other citizens and organizations for use. The term of the obligations is established by the contract or the service life of the employee (in the case of the official allotment of the employee's land).