How to acquire land in 2026: the moratorium, the exceptions and what registration costs

The free privatisation of state and municipal land is suspended for the duration of martial law by subparagraph 5 of paragraph 27 of section X of the Land Code. The exceptions remain: owners of houses and structures register the land beneath them, holders of land shares take their plots in kind, and people whose homes the war destroyed receive a plot in place of what they lost. Registering title costs 330 UAH over five working days.

Since 24 February 2022 a general ban has applied on transferring land from state and municipal ownership into private hands free of charge: the provision went into the Land Code’s transitional provisions, and as at September 2026 it is still in force. The ban covers both the transfer itself and the granting of permission to prepare land management documentation, so filing the classic “please permit me to prepare an allocation project” application achieves nothing at present.

That does not mean land cannot be acquired. The exceptions to the moratorium work, the sale market is fully open, and inheritance and the allocation of land shares in kind continue. Below: what is actually available in 2026, the size limits under Article 121 of the Land Code, and what the paperwork costs.

The moratorium on free privatisation and its exceptions

Subparagraph 5 of paragraph 27 of section X, “Transitional provisions”, of the Land Code forbids, for the duration of martial law, the free transfer of state and municipal land into private ownership and the preparation of land management documentation for such a transfer. Village, settlement and city councils cannot take such decisions, and applications are returned without consideration.

The ban does not cover four situations. The first is transferring a plot to the owner of the buildings and structures on it: if you have a house, a garage or an outbuilding with registered title, the land beneath them and around them can be registered to you. The second is allocating land shares in kind to certificate holders. The third is plots granted to citizens for use before the 2001 Land Code took effect. The fourth is allocating plots to people whose property was destroyed by the armed aggression.

In practice the first exception is the one that works most often, so privatising the land under a private house remains a workable mechanism even while the moratorium lasts. The key condition is a current entry of title to the house in the State Register of Real Property Rights.

Free transfer limits under Article 121 of the Land Code

Article 121 of the Land Code gives a citizen the right to receive a plot free of charge once under each of six designated purposes. The limits have not changed and remain the benchmark for every procedure, including the exceptions to the moratorium.

The right is used once for each purpose: having taken 0.10 ha for a garage, you cannot obtain another garage plot free of charge, while the right to a gardening plot survives. What a person has already privatised can be checked in an extract from the State Land Cadastre and in the State Register of Real Property Rights. The steps for each purpose are set out on the page about privatising a plot.

Other ways to become a landowner

Purchase. The agricultural land market opened on 1 July 2021: at first only Ukrainian citizens could buy, capped at 100 ha, and from 1 January 2024 Ukrainian companies gained the right with a 10,000 ha limit. Foreigners and stateless people remain barred from buying agricultural land until the question is settled by referendum. The contract is notarised, and title is registered immediately afterwards.

Inheritance. The application goes to the notary within six months of the estate opening (Art. 1270 of the Civil Code), then a certificate of the right to inherit is issued and registration follows. A missed deadline is restored by the written consent of the other heirs or by a court. A foreigner who inherits agricultural land must dispose of it within a year. Such cases are handled by our inheritance lawyer.

Taking a land share in kind. Holders of share certificates have the plot allocated and given a cadastral number. The martial law moratorium does not apply to that procedure.

Acquisitive prescription and recognition of title by a court. Article 119 of the Land Code allows a citizen who has used a plot in good faith and openly for 15 years to claim its transfer. Where documents are lost or the local council refuses without grounds, the answer is recognition of ownership through the courts.

What the paperwork costs in 2026

Land transferred free of charge costs nothing in itself; what is paid for is the work of registrars, notaries and surveyors. Registering title to real property in 2026 costs 330 UAH on the ordinary five-working-day term, 3,330 UAH over two working days, 6,660 UAH over one and 16,640 UAH within two hours. Registering a plot in the State Land Cadastre and assigning a cadastral number carry no administrative fee, while preparing the technical land management documentation is paid for under a contract with a certified surveyor.

A purchase adds the notary’s charges and the seller’s taxes. Article 172 of the Tax Code exempts income from selling, no more than once a year, a plot within the free transfer limits of Article 121, provided it was owned for more than three years; the three-year requirement does not apply to inherited property. Otherwise the seller pays 5 % personal income tax and a 5 % military levy.

If the matter reaches court, an individual’s non-monetary claim costs 1,331.20 UAH, or 1,064.96 UAH through the Electronic Court. Representation costs are in the legal service prices section: a consultation from 1,500 UAH, a written legal opinion from 5,000 UAH, full handling of a civil case from 25,000 UAH.

Registering land, step by step

1. Check the plot’s status on the Public Cadastral Map. With no cadastral number the plot has to be formed; with one, find out the designated purpose and any registered rights and encumbrances.
2. Identify the ground. Owning the house, a share certificate, use granted before 2002, a destroyed home — each ground has its own document list. Without one of them you will have to wait until martial law ends.
3. File the application with the authority that administers the land. That is the village, settlement or city council, or the district administration. An application for permission is considered within one month (Art. 118 of the Land Code).
4. Commission the technical land management documentation. The surveyor does the fieldwork, produces the exchange file and submits it for state registration of the plot in the State Land Cadastre; the cadastre extract is issued within 14 days.
5. Obtain the decision transferring the plot into ownership. The authority takes it within two weeks of receiving the approved documentation.
6. Register the title. Through a service centre or a notary, at an administrative fee of 330 UAH over five working days. The data then appears in the State Register of Real Property Rights and in the Diia app.

Typical mistakes

• Applying for free privatisation with no qualifying exception. The authority returns the application unconsidered, and the time spent and any agents’ fees are gone. Check first whether your situation falls within an exception to the moratorium.
• Buying a plot “on a receipt” or under a power of attorney. A land sale contract without notarisation is void, and title is registered only on a notarised contract. Money paid in such a scheme takes years to recover through the courts.
• Not agreeing the boundaries with neighbours before filing. Overlapping boundaries in the cadastre block registration, and correcting the error requires new documentation and the neighbours’ consent, sometimes a court case.
• Missing the six-month deadline to accept an inheritance. Restoring it requires every other heir’s consent or a court order, and meanwhile the plot may pass to the community as an unclaimed estate.
• Forgetting the designated purpose. Building a house on a private household plot invites an enforcement notice and a fine; the designation must be changed before work starts.

When you do not need a lawyer

Where the plot already has a cadastral number, there are no disputes with neighbours and the ground is obvious — you own the house on that land, or inherited the plot under a will with no rival claimants — the process is done alone. The application goes in through the service centre, the cadastre extract is ordered online, and the registrar or notary registers the title for 330 UAH. A surveyor is found in the State Register of Certified Land Surveyors, and none of that needs legal help.

Help is needed where there is conflict or refusal: overlapping boundaries, a dispute with a neighbour, an unreasoned refusal by the council, a challenge to a decision transferring the plot to someone else, inheritance disputes between several claimants, dividing a plot between co-owners. In such cases a land lawyer builds the case on the cadastre records and the survey documentation, not on restating the code.

Questions and answers

Can land be privatised during martial law in 2026

General free privatisation is suspended by subparagraph 5 of paragraph 27 of section X of the Land Code. A plot can still be registered under the exceptions: to owners of buildings on it, to holders of land shares taking them in kind, to users of plots granted before 2002, and to people whose homes the war destroyed.

How many hectares can be received free of charge

Up to 2.00 ha for a private household plot, up to 0.12 ha for gardening, up to 0.25 ha in a village (0.15 ha in a settlement, 0.10 ha in a city) for a house, up to 0.10 ha for a dacha, up to 0.01 ha for a garage, and the size of a land share for farming. Each purpose is used once.

What does registering land in ownership cost

Registering title costs 330 UAH over five working days, or 16,640 UAH within two hours. Registering the plot in the cadastre is free; the surveyor’s work is paid for separately under contract.

Can agricultural land be bought in 2026

Yes. Ukrainian citizens may buy up to 100 ha and Ukrainian companies up to 10,000 ha since 1 January 2024. Foreigners and stateless people are barred from buying agricultural land.

Is a notary needed to buy a plot

Yes, a land sale contract must be notarised. Without that the transaction is void, and the registrar will not enter the new owner.

What tax does a land seller pay

The income is exempt where the sale is no more than once a year, the area is within the Article 121 limits and the plot was owned for more than three years. Otherwise it is 5 % personal income tax and a 5 % military levy.

What if the council refuses to transfer the plot

The refusal must be reasoned and cite a specific provision. It is challenged in the administrative court; the court fee on an individual’s non-monetary claim is 1,331.20 UAH, or 1,064.96 UAH through the Electronic Court.

How long does registering a plot take

The application for permission takes a month, the technical documentation from a few weeks to a few months, the cadastre extract 14 days and registration of title five working days. In practice the whole thing usually takes three to six months.

Can a land share be inherited, and what then

Yes. The heir applies to the notary within six months, obtains the certificate of the right to inherit, then has the plot allocated in kind and registers title. A foreigner must dispose of inherited agricultural land within a year.

Will the right to free privatisation still exist after martial law ends

Article 121 of the Land Code has not been repealed, so once the moratorium is lifted the procedure resumes as before. The purposes already used are recorded in the registers, so a right exercised before 2022 does not arise again.

Sources

• Land Code of Ukraine, Arts. 118, 119, 121, 122, paragraph 27 of section X
• Civil Code of Ukraine, Art. 1270 — the period for accepting an inheritance
• Tax Code of Ukraine, Art. 172 — taxation of property sales
• Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Real Property Rights and Their Encumbrances”, Art. 34 — the administrative fee
• Public Cadastral Map of Ukraine — checking the cadastral number and designated purpose
• The Diia portal — extracts from the State Register of Real Property Rights

Registering land in ownership with Svarog

We check whether your situation falls within an exception to the moratorium, prepare the application to the council, support the survey work, challenge refusals and run disputes about boundaries and ownership. The first step is usually checking the plot in the cadastre and the register of rights: that shows at once whether filing now is worth anything.

+38 095 554-54-24 · Kyiv, 7 Khoriva Street (Podil) · Mon–Fri 9.00–18.00