Date of publication: 31 December 2025
Dmytro Hruba, Attorney
Source: Yurydychna Praktyka
As a general rule, it is possible to lease or purchase a plot of land owned by the state or a local authority following a land auction, except in certain cases. The most common of these is where there is immovable property situated on the plot.
The law permits the transfer of state-owned or municipally-owned land without a tender where it is granted to the owner of immovable property for the maintenance and operation of existing immovable property (buildings, structures) situated on such a plot of land.
Such legal regulation by the legislator is justified and logical. It creates the conditions for private owners to avoid the burden of an auction and unnecessary bureaucracy. In turn, for the state or local authorities, it serves as a safeguard against abuse, including regarding the size of the land plot (which can sometimes indeed unreasonably exceed the area of the real estate objects situated on it).
And it is precisely this issue of the ratio between the land area and the real estate that is the stumbling block in such cases.
Legal Disputes Over the Acquisition of Land Plots Outside of a Tender Process
The fact is that the legislation lacks a clear formula that would unambiguously determine how many square metres of land should ‘correspond’ to each square metre of a particular property. Nor does the legislation provide any methodology or guidance on how and in what order this area should be determined.
In view of this, legal disputes are becoming increasingly common, particularly in cases brought by the public prosecutor’s office, where the issue of returning land to state or municipal ownership is raised on the grounds of a mismatch between the area of land and the property.
Drawing on the successful practice of the team at Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm, we offer some advice to help you prepare for acquiring land rights, which will prove useful should legal disputes arise in the future.
To better understand the issue and possible ways of resolving it, it is worth examining the most common arguments put forward by the prosecutor’s office in such claims.
Mathematical Comparison of Areas
The prosecution’s main argument in such cases is the assertion that the area of the allocated plot of land is greater than that of the property when compared purely mathematically.
However, such arguments are often put forward without reference to supporting evidence (expert reports, discrepancies between land registration documents and legal requirements, etc.).
The mere assertion that the area of the allocated land plot is greater in a mathematical comparison with the area of the property, without substantiation by proper and admissible evidence, cannot be considered a valid basis for the claim and does not provide grounds for its upholding.
Land management documentation (land management plan, technical documentation regarding the division of the land plot, etc.), based on which the plot was allocated, plays a key role in the issue of the rational use of the land plot. It is precisely in this document that all the specific features of the plot’s formation must be taken into account.
Such features include, in particular:
- the specific characteristics of the locality;
- the type of economic activity carried out within the land plot;
- logistical parameters;
- the existence of restrictions on use (conservation areas, sanitary protection zones, easements, zones for the laying and operation of utility networks, etc.);
- other individual characteristics of the specific land plot.
It is also possible to take into account historical aspects of land use on a specific plot.
Due to the combination of certain features, the area of a land plot may objectively exceed the area of the property situated on that plot. Sometimes such an excess may, at first glance, appear significant, but is ultimately justified.
The Supreme Court has also repeatedly drawn attention to this in its rulings of 30 March 2021 in case No. 922/1323/20, of 3 March 2021 in case No. 910/12366/18, of 21 March 2023 in case No. 922/3613/21, and others.
Careful attention should be paid to ensuring that all the characteristics of the land plot are reflected in the land management documentation at the preparation stage. This will enable the formation of a strong legal position for defence.
It is also necessary to ensure that the land management documentation complies with absolutely all, even purely formal, requirements of the legislation. This will prevent it from being called into question in the future.
The identification, in the context of a legal dispute, of shortcomings or inaccuracies in the developed land management project, or the fact that the land management project does not comply with the requirements of the law or is unfounded, may constitute grounds for granting the claim.
References to the ‘Requirements’ of State Building Regulations
In such cases, the public prosecutor’s office often refers to state building regulations (DBN), using them to justify the non-compliance of the dimensions of the land plot in question.
In practice, the most common references are to DBN B.2.2-12:2019 Planning and Development of Territories, DBN Residential Buildings. Basic Provisions of DBN V.2.2-15-2005, DBN 360-92 Urban Planning. Planning and Development of Urban and Rural Settlements, etc., as well as the State Sanitary Rules for the Planning and Development of Settlements.
No DBN sets out standards for the size and boundaries of land plots, nor does it specify the ratio of the area of the allocated land plot to the area of the buildings and structures located on it, etc.
DBNs are standards relating to a different subject of legal regulation, containing requirements specifically for the construction of real estate objects, rather than for the maintenance of real estate.
This logic is also reflected in judicial practice, in particular in the Supreme Court’s ruling of 30 March 2021 in case No. 922/1323/20, in the Supreme Court’s decision of 18 May 2021 in case No. 920/349/20, in the ruling of 2 April 2025 in case No. 922/3614/21, and others.
Consequently, the DBNs alone cannot justify the required size of a land plot intended for the maintenance of immovable property.
Case Study
The team at Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm has handled many similar cases. One recent example is where Ilyashev & Partners successfully defended a Ukrainian manufacturer in the Supreme Court in a dispute over ownership of a plot of land.
In September 2025, the Commercial Cassation Court within the Supreme Court issued a final ruling in favour of the Ukrainian company in a legal dispute with the Rivne Regional Prosecutor’s Office regarding the invalidation of a contract for the sale of a 2.2-hectare plot of land in Zhytomyr. The prosecutor’s office claimed that the area of the purchased land plot exceeded the area of the property situated on it.
The team at Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm proved in court that the area of the land plot is commensurate with the area of the property due to the specific nature of the locality, the type of economic activity, logistical parameters, and a number of other reasons.
Purpose of Land Allocation
It is worth emphasising once again that land may be allocated outside of a competitive tender process solely for the maintenance and operation of existing real estate properties, and not for new construction.
Examples of such situations can be found in the case law of the Supreme Court, for example, in the rulings of 20 July 2022 in case No. 910/5201/19, 9 February 2018 in case No. 910/4528/15-g, and 9 April 2020 in case No. 910/2942/19.
In these and other cases, the courts found violations in the allocation of land plots for lease or ownership outside of a competitive tender. They pointed out that, in these instances, the plots were granted not for the maintenance of the real estate objects located on them, but specifically for the construction of a new object.
It should be noted that the allocation of a plot outside of a competitive tender process for both new construction and the operation and maintenance of existing property on it is also controversial, as the acquisition of lease rights for such plots must take place in accordance with different procedures.
Conclusions
The ratio of the property’s floor area to the land plot’s area is not a mathematical formula, but a legally sound balance between the interests of the owner and those of the local community or the state.
What Helps to Successfully Acquire and Protect Land?
- Properly prepared land management documentation.
- Taking into account all the specific features of the plot.
- Compliance with the requirements of legislation and judicial practice.
- Preparing a strong legal position in the event of a dispute with the authorities.
Ilyashev & Partners’ experience in similar cases shows that this strategy will enable you to purchase or lease land without unnecessary obstacles or risks, secure a plot of the optimal size, and successfully defend your rights in a dispute with the authorities.
