Farmland leases in 2026: was yours renewed automatically, and how to end one with a bad tenant

The automatic one-year renewal of farmland leases without the parties’ consent applied only to leases whose term expired after martial law was introduced and before 19 November 2022 (sub-paragraph 1 of paragraph 27 of Chapter X of the Land Code). A lease that ended later is renewed only under its own renewal clause (Article 126-1 of the Land Code). A live lease can be terminated early through the courts for persistent non-payment of rent or for using the land for the wrong purpose (Article 32 of the Law “On Land Lease”, Article 141 of the Land Code).

So many rumours have built up around farmland share leases over the war years that owners often do not know the basic thing: whether their lease is still alive. Tenants take advantage of that — they keep farming the land, citing “automatic wartime renewal”, although for most leases it ran out long ago. Let us work through the dates: what happened to your lease, how much the tenant should be paying, and how to part company with one who breaches the terms.

These situations cut both ways, so the article is useful to either side; if you need help with a particular dispute, our service page is here: land lawyer.

The main question: is your lease still alive

The check is made against the date the lease term ended:

Law No. 2698-IX was published in Holos Ukrainy on 18 November 2022 and took effect the next day, 19 November. That date divides leases into two groups, so it is worth checking against your own expiry date before beginning any negotiations.

The renewal clause: how Article 126-1 works

Many standard leases contain a clause renewing them once the term ends, and it operates by its own mechanics. Under Article 126-1 of the Land Code, where a lease contains such a clause it is renewed for the same term and on the same conditions without the parties signing anything in writing. To prevent that, the party who does not want renewal files an application with the Register of Real Property Rights, no later than one month before the expiry date, to remove the renewal entry. Without that application, registration of the lease simply continues for the same term once the expiry date passes.

One more detail people miss: Article 126-1 applies to leases made or amended after the Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Countering Raiding” No. 340-IX took effect (16 January 2020). Leases made earlier are renewed on the terms set out in the leases themselves, under the rules in force when they were made. For farmland shares that matters: most village leases were signed between 2005 and 2015, so what applies is not today’s Article 126-1 but the law as it stood then.

The tenant’s pre-emption right: what it gives and what it does not

A tenant’s pre-emption right to a new lease is set out in Article 33 of the Law “On Land Lease”. A tenant who has performed their obligations properly has priority over others, but only if they notified the landlord in writing of their intention to exercise that right — within the period stated in the lease, and in any event no later than one month before it ends. A draft lease goes with the notice. The landlord considers it within a month.

Here lies the owner’s main lever: if the parties do not agree on the rent and the other essential terms, the tenant’s pre-emption right lapses. In other words, priority does not oblige you to accept the old rate. In 2025 the Supreme Court in case No. 161/8859/23 declared invalid an addendum extending a lease that had been signed two years after the term ended: the tenant had not sent the notice before expiry, so there was no basis for extension.

The tenant is using the land with no live lease

This is the commonest situation in 2026. What to do:

1. Order an extract from the Register of Real Property Rights: is the lease registered, and until when. An electronic extract costs 40 UAH, and an extract from the State Land Cadastre about the plot costs 170 UAH (0.05 of the subsistence minimum, rounded to 10 UAH).
2. Send the tenant a written demand to vacate the plot and hand it back under a formal record. Article 34 of the Law “On Land Lease” expressly requires the plot to be returned on the terms set by the lease and forbids the tenant to hold on to it to secure their own claims against the landlord.
3. For the period of use without a lease, claim the money unjustly saved (Article 1212 of the Civil Code) — courts award it at the level of the rent for the whole period of use.
4. If the tenant will not leave, sue for the return of the plot. The old lease registration is cancelled in the process. The court fee for an individual’s non-monetary claim in 2026 is 1,331.20 UAH.

The lease is alive but the tenant is in breach: grounds for termination

Early termination without the tenant’s consent is possible only through the courts: Article 32 of the Law “On Land Lease” allows it where a party fails to perform the duties set out in Articles 24 and 25 of that Law and in the lease, and on the grounds set out in the Land Code. The grounds that work:

• persistent non-payment of rent (Article 141(1)(d) of the Land Code) — the case law requires a pattern, that is two or more periods; a single late payment is not enough;
• use for the wrong purpose (Article 141(1)(e)) — a quarry or a depot on arable land, for instance;
• use in ways contrary to environmental requirements (Article 141(1)(c)) — exhausting the soil, contaminating it, destroying the fertile layer;
• subletting without consent, where the lease requires that consent.

Every ground must be documented in advance: bank statements showing no payments, written demands with proof of service, photographs, soil survey reports. The court assesses evidence built up over time, not emotion at the hearing.

The rent: how much, and how to claim it

For privately owned farmland the rent is whatever the lease says — the law sets no upper or lower limit for it. Presidential Decree No. 92/2002 points the parties towards rent of at least 3% of the value of the share determined under the law, but that is guidance, not a sanction. The 3–12% band of the standard valuation that owners often hear about is set by Article 288.5 of the Tax Code and applies to leases of state and municipal land.

Two levers are always available. The first is indexation: if the lease sets the rent as a percentage of the standard valuation, recalculate it once the valuation is updated, because for most plots it has risen. The second is the form of payment: payment in grain is converted at market prices as at the payment date, and that is where tenants most often “economise”. The demand for recalculation and the shortfall goes in writing; then comes court, with recovery of the arrears and the contractual penalty. Recovering arrears is a monetary claim: the court fee is 1% of its value, but not less than 1,331.20 and not more than 16,640 UAH.

Owners’ typical mistakes

• Taking “automatic renewal” on trust. The wartime rule covered only leases that expired before 19 November 2022; check the expiry date and the text of the lease, not the tenant’s assurances.
• Missing the one-month objection to renewal. If the lease contains a renewal clause and falls under Article 126-1, the application to the register must be filed no later than a month before the expiry date, or the lease registration continues by itself.
• Accepting payment after the lease ends “as before”. Regularly taking rent without objection may be read by a court as the lease relationship continuing in fact.
• Terminating by self-help — ploughing the field or letting another tenant in. While the lease is still registered, that creates a dispute against you.
• Signing addenda without reading them. A classic of the case law: the owner thought they were extending for a year, and the addendum said ten.

When you do not need a lawyer

If the lease has ended, the tenant accepts that and hands the land back under a formal record after a written demand, a register extract and a registered letter are enough. A lawyer is needed when the tenant relies on renewal and carries on sowing, when the rent is a pittance with no indexation, or when a live lease has to be terminated for breach: there the outcome turns on the quality of the evidence gathered.

Questions and answers

Was my farmland lease renewed automatically because of martial law?

Only if its term expired after 24 February 2022 and before 19 November 2022 — then it was treated as renewed for one year. Leases that ended later were not automatically extended by the wartime rule; renewal is possible only under the lease’s own clause.

The lease has ended but the tenant keeps farming. What do I do?

A written demand to vacate and hand the plot back under a formal record (Article 34 of the Law “On Land Lease”), and for the period of use without a lease, recovery of the money unjustly saved under Article 1212 of the Civil Code at the level of the rent. Then, if needed, a claim for the return of the plot.

How do I stop automatic renewal where the lease provides for it?

File an application with the Register of Real Property Rights to remove the renewal entry — no later than one month before the lease ends (Article 126-1(3) of the Land Code). For leases made before 16 January 2020 the procedure is set by the lease itself.

Can I terminate a live lease if the tenant pays late?

A single late payment is not enough. Persistent non-payment is required (Article 141(1)(d)): two periods or more. Record each default with written demands — they become the evidence of a pattern in court.

The tenant pays in grain at understated prices. Is that lawful?

Payment in kind is permissible where the lease provides for it, but the conversion must follow market prices as at the payment date. Understating them is grounds to demand the shortfall and, where it is persistent, to terminate.

Does the tenant’s pre-emption right apply if I want to let the land to someone else?

Yes, where they performed the lease properly and notified you by letter with a draft lease no later than one month before the term ended (Article 33 of the Law “On Land Lease”). But if you do not agree on the rent, the pre-emption right lapses.

What does a case about termination or the return of land cost?

A claim to terminate a lease or recover a plot is non-monetary: the court fee is 1,331.20 UAH in 2026. Recovering arrears is a monetary claim: 1% of its value, from 1,331.20 to 16,640 UAH. Filing electronically is 20% less; if you win, the costs are recovered from the tenant.

How long does such a case take?

Recovering the land after the lease has expired takes 4–8 months at first instance. Terminating a live lease for breach takes 6–12 months, depending on the volume of evidence and any expert reports (a soil survey where the land has been exhausted, for instance).

Can a farmland share under lease be sold?

Yes. The lease does not end: the new owner becomes the landlord on the same terms. The tenant has a pre-emption right to buy, but second in line — after anyone holding a special permit to extract minerals of national significance (Article 130-1 of the Land Code).

An heir has inherited a share with a “perpetual” lease. Is it binding?

The lease passes to the heir with the land, but the heir has the same rights: to check whether it is alive by the dates, to demand indexed rent, and to terminate it through the courts for breach.

Sources

• Law of Ukraine “On Land Lease”, Arts. 32–34 and the Transitional Provisions — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/161-14
• Land Code of Ukraine, Arts. 126-1, 130-1, 141, sub-para. 1 of para. 27 of Chapter X — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2768-14
• Law of Ukraine of 19 October 2022 No. 2698-IX (limiting the wartime automatic renewal) — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2698-20
• Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Countering Raiding” No. 340-IX — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/340-20
• Civil Code of Ukraine, Art. 1212 — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/435-15
• Tax Code of Ukraine, Art. 288 — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2755-17
• Decree of the President of Ukraine of 2 February 2002 No. 92/2002 — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/92/2002
• Law of Ukraine “On Court Fees” No. 3674-VI, Art. 4 — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/3674-17

Protecting a landowner’s rights with Svarog

Send us the lease and its expiry date — we will tell you whether it is still alive, calculate how much the tenant has underpaid once indexation is applied, and prepare either the demand for the land back or a claim for termination with evidence the court will accept. Related material and services: how to prove your boundaries, land lawyer, pre-action settlement of disputes, full price list.

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