Land Management Department: Over 70 land plots in the Vitebsk region transferred to private ownership with reduction coefficients
"In total, from September 1 last year to May 11 this year, 74 land plots with an area of over 9.5 hectares were transferred to private ownership in the Vitebsk region with the application of reducing coefficients. Citizens and legal entities paid a total of over Br120 thousand for the procedure," the department explained.
The Vitebsk, Polotsk, and Braslav districts are most active in acquiring land plots into private ownership. "These are regions with beautiful natural conditions," explain specialists. "At the same time, the Miory district has no worse conditions, but we see significantly less initiative from people there. The same can be said about Gorodok (and this region is also rich in lakes), Lepel, and Postavy districts."
Belarusians were granted this right – to buy plots at a preferential price – 20 years ago. Today, this option has been revived, but the offer is not indefinite – it is valid until September 1, 2025. A similar period is set for gardeners who want to legalize their existing plots based on actual use. "The uniqueness of the case lies in the fact that actual use practically never corresponds to the previously developed and approved projects of organizations and development of horticultural cooperative territories. Previously, there was a ban and it was impossible to formalize documents for land plots without making changes to the development project. Today, this ban has been lifted. The legislator has allowed the formalization of plots based on actual use without making any changes to the project of organization and development of the horticultural cooperative territory. In essence, a citizen has gained the right to save money: there is no need to change project documentation – the formalization occurs based on the fence as it is in actual use," the department said.
From September 1 last year to May 11, 2023, 27 citizens in the Vitebsk region took advantage of this right. Approximately 70% of the plots were registered earlier. All stages of the procedure take up to 1.5 months.
More than 140 applications were received from individuals and legal entities for the provision of additional land plots. This concerns the legalization of illegally occupied land plots on which parts of illegally constructed buildings or structures are located. Individuals paid over Br34 thousand for the procedures, legal entities - over Br37.3 thousand. Residents of Polotsk and Postavy districts are the most active. "The number of applicants is small, considering that about 11 thousand cases of illegal occupation of territories have been identified. Perhaps not everyone has been notified yet, as the volume is large. But in these cases, a person certainly knows that their capital construction is not within the boundaries of the plot allocated to them, as a rule, these are clusters of buildings. And regarding all these capital constructions that are currently illegally located on the lands of settlements, the legislator provides an opportunity to apply for legalization - to formalize documents for this construction. And this right is limited to a three-year period. After September 1, 2025, a decision on demolition will be subject to be made regarding illegally constructed buildings," the department added.