Real Property Law
Under Kyrgyz Civil Code,[1] real property refers to land, minerals, water, forests, perennial plantings, buildings, structures and everything firmly attached to land, i.e. objects that cannot be moved without destroying or altering them. The state registration of rights to immovable property is performed by the State Registration Service under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic[2].
Real property rights and encumbrances, as well as real property transactions are subject to mandatory state registration. The registration procedure is set forth in the Kyrgyz Law “On State Registration of Immovable Property Rights and Transactions”.[3] Under Kyrgyz law, state registration is mandatory for the following rights:
According to the World Bank’s, ‘Report Doing Business’, 2013, the Kyrgyz Republic ranks 6th among 189 countries of the world in terms of the steps, time, and cost involved in registering property in the Kyrgyz Republic.[4]
The following rights and restrictions are valid regardless of their registration or non-registration, but are not secured state protection:
Land Relations
The principal regulatory act governing land relations in the Kyrgyz Republic is the Land Code of the Kyrgyz Republic[5] according to which, the land fund in the Kyrgyz Republic comprises the following:
The transformation (conversion) of land from one category into another is set forth in the Land Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Conversion (Transformation) of Land Plots”, and the Provisional Regulation on procedure for conversion (transformation) of land plots.[6]
Receiving the Right to Land
There are two ways to receive the right to land under Kyrgyz law:
Model Regulations setting forth the terms and conditions of the fee-based transfer of the right to own or lease municipal lands were adopted on September 23, 2011 under Kyrgyz Government Resolution N 571.
The right to land may be sold by auction, tender or direct sales by the land commission established for this purpose.
The right to land may be sold by direct sales in the following cases:
а) If there is a private building or facility, including incomplete construction, on the land plot previously provided for fixed-term (temporary) use;
b) If the land plot was put up for auction twice but was not leased out;
c) If the land plot adjoins (borders) with part of a private building or facility for the construction of an entrance to, improvement or extension of the said objects, provided that the said land plot cannot be formed as a standalone unit of real property and the transfer of rights over such land plot to third persons may entail violation of rights of owners of these building or facilities;
d) If the land plot adjoins (borders) with part of a private building or facility or is close to it, and is needed for setting up and maintaining parking lots, when the transfer of rights over such land plot to third persons may entail violation of rights of owners of these buildings or facilities.
As a result of the auction or direct sales, the parties execute the land purchase and sale agreement or the land lease agreement.
The agreement must be registered with the local registration authority and does not require notarization.
The sale of municipal land is effectuated by Bishkek Mayor’s Office through the Land Committee which determines, within the scope of its authority, the list of land plots offered for sale.
The preliminarily purchase price of the land plot is determined by negotiation between the land committee and the purchaser. The final purchase price is determined by independent appraisers based on the land documentation provided.
Residential Property
Citizens and legal entities have the right to own residential property without limitation[7].
Receiving the Right to Residential Property
The grounds for creation of rights and obligations in respect of the residential property are:
1) acts of governmental and local authorities;
2) contracts and other transactions stipulated by law;
3) judicial acts;
4) decisions of authorized bodies of legal entities to reorganize the same;
5) membership in building cooperatives;
6) other grounds stipulated by law.
The right to residential property arises from the moment of its state registration in the manner provided by law.
Recreation Area
Under Kyrgyz law[8], recreation assets (i.e. assets used in recreation, health improvement, and tourism) may be owned by governmental and local authorities or by private individuals and legal entities.
Restrictions on Foreign Ownership of Immovable Property
There are no restrictions in Kyrgyz law on the right of foreign persons to acquire buildings and structures as long as they refer to non-residential assets.
Foreign persons may not own recreation, infrastructure or tourism assets, but they may use such assets for a maximum of 49 years subject to permission of the Kyrgyz Government and consent of Kyrgyz Parliament.
Also, there are a number of legal restrictions on the right of foreign persons to own land in the Kyrgyz Republic. A foreign person is a person who must meet one of the following:
- be established by an international agreement or treaty.
The land rights of foreign persons are limited to the following:
In general, under Kyrgyz law, any immovable property which has been lawfully acquired by a person but may not belong to it by operation of law must be alienated by such person within one year from the date of acquiring, unless other period is provided by law.
The immovable property not alienated within one year will be, depending on it type and purpose, either subject to forced sale by the court decision at the request of the state authority or local community with the proceeds from its sale being transferred to the former owner, or appropriated for state or communal needs with its value determined by the court being refunded to the former owner, less the cost of sale.
Kyrgyz law does not clearly regulate the procedure for waiver of immovable property rights with simultaneous determination of an owner. The ownership right is terminated upon alienation by the owner of their property to other persons, or waiver of the ownership right by the owner, or perish or destruction of the property or loss of the ownership right to the property, or in other cases provided by law. An individual or legal entity can waive the ownership right to their property having declared this waiver or having performed other actions expressly evidencing that they were deprived of possession, use or disposal of the property without an intention to preserve any rights to this property. However, waiver of the ownership right does not entail termination of the owner’s rights and obligations with respect to the relevant property until the ownership right to this property is acquired by the other person.[10]
The owner voluntarily waiving their ownership right or other rights to the immovable property can apply to the authority for registration of immovable property rights in person with a written request stating their waiver of the ownership right and other rights to the immovable property. In this case, the owner’s waiver of the ownership right or other rights must be recorded in the respective files.[11]
[1] Article 24 of the Civil Code of the Kyrgyz Republic (with the latest amendments as August 3, 2013
[2] Regulation on State Registration Service under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic (with the latest amendments as of December 14, 2015) approved by the Resolution of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic dated February 20, 2012 No. 128.
[3] The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On State Registration of Immovable Property Rights and Transactions” dated December 22, 1998 (with the latest amendments as of July 9, 2013).
[4]http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/kyrgyz-republic/.
[5] The Land Code of the Kyrgyz Republic of June 2, 1999 (with the latest amendments as of June 14, 2016).
[6] The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On conversion (transformation) of land plots” dated July 15, 2013 (with the latest amendments dated March 19, 2016) and the Regulation on procedure of conversion (transformation) of land plots dated March 19, 2014 No. 169.
[7] The Housing Code of the Kyrgyz Republic dated as of 9th July 2013
[8] The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Sustainable Development of Issyk-Kul Ecological and Economic System” dated 13th August, 2004 (with the latest amendments as of 19th October 2013)
[9] Article 7 of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Management of Agricultural Land” dated January 11, 2001 (with the latest amendments as of July 22, 2011).
[10] The Civil Code of the Kyrgyz Republic: Part I.
[11] The Rules of state registration of immovable property rights and encumbrances (restrictions) thereon and related transaction, approved by Resolution of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic dated February 15, 2011 No. 49 (with the latest amendments as of January 9, 2014 No. 5 ).