How to recover lost real estate documents
Losing documents that prove ownership of real estate is not uncommon, especially in times of war. They may be destroyed, lost or stolen. Regardless of the reason for the loss of documents, the owner retains ownership of real estate in any case.
It is possible to restore all important papers, and the duplicates will have the same legal force as the originals. Let's take a closer look at what documents confirm ownership of housing and how they can be restored.
What documents confirm the title to real estate
If the owner of an apartment, house or land plot does not have documents confirming that he or she owns this property, he or she will not be able to carry out any legal operations with this real estate. Without proper documents, it is not possible to sell, exchange or donate housing. Owners of war-damaged property without documents for it will not be able to become a participant of the state assistance program for housing reconstruction "єVidnovlennya". That is why it is so important to restore the documents.
What documents confirm the right of ownership of real estate in Ukraine and should be with the owner of an apartment or house:
real estate purchase and sale agreement;
deed of gift;
certificate of ownership received from local authorities
Extract of ownership from the State Register of Property Rights;
certificate of housing privatization;
State acts with the right of ownership of land;
certificate of title to real estate by inheritance;
a court decision on an amicable settlement between the owners of the residential property;
a valid court decision;
a certificate for the immovable property from property registries.
Depending on the way in which the ownership right passed to the new owner, he restores certain documents. If the property was given to him as a gift, the deed of gift must be duplicated. If he received the apartment by inheritance, it is necessary to restore the certificate of right to real estate by inheritance. In case of purchase of a residential property, a duplicate of the contract of sale and purchase of housing will be required.
What to do and where to go if real estate documents are lost
The first thing that a property owner should do, if the documents for housing are lost, is to apply to the police with a corresponding statement. This avoids possible fraudulent actions with the originals. In order to restore lost documents, further you need to apply to the CPAU (CNAP) or to a notary.
Detailed step-by-step instructions on where to go to restore real estate documents:
Visit the police station and write a statement about the loss of documents for an apartment or house.
Place an advertisement about the loss of real estate documents in local newspapers.
Apply to the CPAU (CNAP) and order a duplicate certificate of ownership of real estate.
Re-visit the CPAU (CNAP) and register the title to the apartment or house.
When these steps are completed, the CPAU employee hands over the documents to the state registrar. When applying to the CPAU (CNAP) or to a notary, you should have the original passport, identification code, technical passport for the residential property, as well as the already issued duplicate certificate of ownership of real estate.
Obtaining a duplicate of the certificate of ownership issued before and after 2013
The date of receipt of the original certificate of ownership of real estate plays an important role. If the document was issued in 2013 or later, the State Register already has all the necessary data. This information is the basis for legal transactions with real estate. When there is information in the State Register, the owner of housing is not restricted in his rights to dispose of this property.
If the certificate of title to real estate was registered before 2013, it will be more difficult to obtain its duplicate, but it is also realistic. To do this, you need access to data from the Register of Real Estate Ownership Rights, i.e. to the archive of the State Register of Rights in Rem. This process can take a long time, but the owner of an apartment or house can speed it up if he or she has a copy of the lost document. For faster restoration of documents, you can also contact the BTI archive.
Restoring a technical passport for an apartment
It happens that the owner does not have any documents for the apartment, that is, there is no technical passport. This document plays an important role, as it contains all the information about the housing, in particular the layout, total and living area, location of walls and windows and other information. It is also realistic to restore the technical passport, and it is easier to do this than in the case of documents of title.
Instructions on how to restore a technical passport:
Contact the BTI and order the service of restoring the technical passport.
Pay for the service. The cost of the service varies depending on the type of housing and its area and in general can be up to 6000 UAH.
To meet with a BTI employee in the apartment or in the house, for which you need to re-produce a technical passport, so that the specialist made a sketch plan of the living space.
Pick up the finished technical passport for the real estate in 3 weeks.
If all the above information did not help, and the owner for some reason could not restore the lost documents of title to the apartment or house, there is another algorithm of actions. The owner will have to hire a lawyer and with his help file an application with the court to recognize the right of ownership of the real estate object. After receiving the court decision, it will be possible to restore all the necessary documents for the residential property.
How to restore property documents if the owner has died
If the owner of the property has died and the property documents have been lost, they can still be restored. First, the heir must begin the process of entering into inheritance: it is extremely important to do this within 6 months after the death of the testator.
If the heir has entered into inheritance rights and inherited real estate for which there are no title documents, he will have to go to court. This must be done to restore the right of ownership of the property. But first, the heir must obtain a resolution from the notary that he cannot enter into inheritance without a certificate of ownership of the property.
It can be difficult to independently deal with the restoration of documents for the right of ownership of an apartment or house. But you cannot do without it if you need to sell the property. If you need to exchange or sell an apartment for which the documents have been lost, you can contact the Mayak real estate agency. A team of lawyers will help restore all the necessary title documents in the shortest possible time, and lawyers will search for buyers or objects for exchange. With professionals, you can do everything legally and without unnecessary nerves.
