Selling agricultural land in 2026: who may buy, the price and the tenant’s pre-emption right

Agricultural land in 2026 can be bought by a Ukrainian citizen or by a company registered in Ukraine whose participants are all citizens, the state or a territorial community. The ceiling for one acquirer is 10,000 hectares, the price may not fall below the normative monetary valuation, and payment must be by bank transfer. Where the plot is leased, the intention to sell is registered two months in advance.

The land market opened on 1 July 2021 under Law No. 552-IX, and from 1 January 2024 Ukrainian companies joined the pool of buyers while the ceiling per acquirer rose from 100 to 10,000 hectares. For the owner of a land share that means a wider field of bidders and, with it, a higher price: according to the State Geocadastre, in early 2026 the average price of a hectare of agricultural land held at about 64,600 UAH, though deals in the Cherkasy, Poltava and Kyiv regions closed noticeably higher.

The difficulty is not finding a buyer but that most land shares are under long leases. The tenant has a pre-emption right, and a seller who forgets it risks losing both the money and the plot: a court can transfer the buyer’s rights to the tenant. Below: who may acquire, what is paid and to whom, how the procedure runs on a leased plot, and what to do once a pre-emption right has been breached.

Who may buy agricultural land in 2026

The pool of acquirers is set by Article 130 of the Land Code and paragraph 15 of section X, “Transitional provisions”. Agricultural land may be acquired by Ukrainian citizens, by companies created and registered under Ukrainian law whose participants or ultimate beneficial owners are exclusively Ukrainian citizens, the state or territorial communities, and by those communities and the state themselves. The total area owned by one acquirer together with related parties may not exceed 10,000 hectares.

A bank may take agricultural land into ownership only as security and must sell it at a land auction within two years. Foreigners, stateless people, foreign companies and Ukrainian companies with foreign beneficial owners are barred from buying agricultural land until the question is settled by referendum. The notary checks the acquirer against the State Register of Real Property Rights, the State Land Cadastre and the register of beneficial ownership data, and where a prohibition applies simply refuses to certify the contract. If land nonetheless passes to someone who may not own it, it must be disposed of within a year under Article 145.

Price, payment and the seller’s taxes

Until 1 January 2030 the sale price of a plot allocated in kind to the holder of a land share may not be below its normative monetary valuation. That figure appears in an extract from the technical documentation, ordered through the State Land Cadastre, and it is what the notary works from when certifying the contract. Payment under such contracts must be made exclusively by bank transfer, so cash “in an envelope” leaves the seller with no proof of payment.

The tax depends on how long the plot has been owned and whether there has been another property sale that year. Where the land share came from privatisation or was allocated in kind to the holder of a land share, and is sold no more than once a year, the income is not taxed under paragraph 172.1 of the Tax Code. Otherwise the seller pays 5 % personal income tax and a 5 % military levy, and certifying the contract adds a state duty of 1 % of the price. It is worth checking the figures with a tax disputes lawyer before signing, since overpayments then have to be reclaimed through the tax authority or the courts.

The pre-emption right: who ranks ahead of the tenant

Article 130-1 of the Land Code sets two ranks of pre-emption holders. First comes a person holding a special permit to extract minerals of national significance, where the plot lies within the subsoil area granted to them. The tenant ranks second and exercises the right only where there is no first-rank holder or that holder declines. So the phrase “the tenant has first refusal” is inaccurate: priority belongs to the subsoil user, and in some districts that is a real rather than a theoretical situation.

The pre-emption right is exercised on condition that its holder pays the price at which the plot is being sold and accepts the other terms the seller has set. A holder may transfer the right to another person once; any further transfer to third parties is prohibited, so a scheme of endlessly “reselling” the right does not work. Whether a registered lease exists and whether the plot falls within granted subsoil areas can be checked against extracts from the State Land Cadastre and the State Register of Real Property Rights; a land lawyer normally begins with those two documents.

Selling a leased plot, step by step

1. Order an extract from the State Land Cadastre and an information certificate from the State Register of Real Property Rights to see any registered lease, easements, mortgage or attachments. The certificate is produced the same day.
2. At least two months before the contract is made, register the intention to sell. The application goes to a notary, who enters the details in the State Register of Real Property Rights.
3. Within three working days the notary sends the pre-emption holders a notice by valuable post with a list of contents and proof of delivery, stating the price and the other terms of sale.
4. The holder has one month from receiving the notice to tell the notary they intend to buy or to transfer the right to someone else. Silence within that month counts as a refusal.
5. Once the period expires, sign the contract before the notary, settle by bank transfer and pay the taxes and the state duty. The notary completes the sale contract by registering the buyer’s title.
6. Obtain the extract from the State Register of Real Property Rights confirming the new owner’s registered title. The administrative fee is 330 UAH on the ordinary term and 3,330 UAH over two working days.

What a tenant whose pre-emption right was breached can do

Where the plot was sold without notice, the tenant brings a claim to have the buyer’s rights and obligations transferred to them. What makes this category distinctive is that the claim must be accompanied by payment into the court’s deposit account of the sum the buyer was to pay under the contract: without it the court dismisses the claim, however obvious the breach. The claim is brought within the general three-year limitation period, and here it matters that limitation, suspended from 2 April 2020, resumed running on 4 September 2025 under Law No. 4434-IX.

For the seller such a case means the money has already come from one buyer while the plot passes to another, and unravelling the payments takes a separate claim. That is why notaries refuse to certify the deal until they see proof that the intention was registered and the notice served. If the dispute is already in court, court representation is worth starting before the first hearing, while the deadline for the defence and the evidence is still open.

Typical mistakes by sellers and buyers

• Selling without registering the intention. The two months run not from an oral arrangement but from the entry in the register, so a contract backdated afterwards hands the tenant a ready-made ground to claim the buyer’s rights.
• A price below the normative monetary valuation. The notary must check the price against it and will refuse to certify, and the parties lose time on a fresh valuation and renegotiation.
• Paying in cash. Bank transfer is compulsory, and without a payment instruction the seller cannot prove payment if the buyer later challenges the deal.
• Different terms for the tenant and the actual buyer. Where the tenant was offered the plot at a higher price than it was later sold for, the court treats that as circumventing the pre-emption right.
• Ignoring the first-rank holder. Whether a special mineral extraction permit exists is checked before the intention is registered, not after the contract is signed.

When you do not need a lawyer

If the plot carries no lease, mortgage or attachment, the buyer is a Ukrainian citizen and the price is above the normative monetary valuation, the deal can realistically be done alone through a notary. The notary checks the registers, calculates the state duty and registers the title, and their fee comes to less than legal support. Help is needed where the plot is leased, where an estate has not yet been settled, where there are several co-owners, where the boundaries are not in the cadastre, or where the tenant has already threatened to challenge the sale. Indicative figures are on the page of legal service prices: a written opinion on a particular plot from 5,000 UAH, a consultation from 1,500 UAH.

Questions and answers

Can a land share be sold during martial law

Yes, the circulation of privately owned agricultural plots has not been suspended. The wartime restrictions concern mainly the free transfer of state and municipal land into private ownership and the sale of state and municipal agricultural land, not transactions between private parties.

How many hectares may one person buy

Since 1 January 2024 the total agricultural land owned by one acquirer together with related parties may not exceed 10,000 hectares. Before that date the limit for citizens was 100 hectares.

Can a company buy a land share

It can, if it is created and registered under Ukrainian law and its participants and ultimate beneficial owners are exclusively Ukrainian citizens, the state or territorial communities. A company with a foreign founder has no right to buy.

What happens if the plot is sold without notifying the tenant

Within three years the tenant may bring a claim to have the buyer’s rights and obligations transferred to them, paying the contract price into the court’s deposit account. If the claim succeeds the plot passes to the tenant, and the buyer recovers their money separately.

How long does selling a leased plot take

At least two months from registering the intention to sell, since that is the period the law gives the pre-emption holders. Even where the tenant has refused in writing sooner, notaries still observe the procedure set out in Article 130-1.

Is tax payable on selling an inherited land share

Income from selling inherited land is not taxed where it is the first property sale of the year, and the three-year ownership requirement does not apply. The 1 % state duty is payable in any event.

Can a plot be sold below the normative monetary valuation

No; until 1 January 2030 the sale price of a plot allocated in kind to the holder of a land share may not be below it. The notary checks the contract price against the valuation extract.

Who pays the notary and the valuation

The law does not allocate the costs, so the parties set them in the contract. In practice the state duty is split or borne by the buyer, and the seller orders the valuation extract.

Can the pre-emption right be transferred to someone else

Yes, the holder may transfer it once, notifying the notary within the one-month period. Any further transfer to third parties is prohibited.

How can I check whether the plot is leased

Order an information certificate from the State Register of Real Property Rights using the plot’s cadastral number. Registered leases, mortgages, easements and attachments all appear there.

Sources

• Land Code of Ukraine, Arts. 130, 130-1, 145 — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2768-14
• Law of Ukraine No. 552-IX on the conditions for the circulation of agricultural land — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/552-20
• Tax Code of Ukraine, Art. 172 — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2755-17
• Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Real Property Rights and Their Encumbrances” — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1952-15
• The State Land Cadastre and the public cadastral map — land.gov.ua

Selling agricultural land with Svarog

We check the plot against the registers, arrange the registration of the intention to sell, handle the correspondence with the tenant and the notary, and in contested cases represent the owner or the tenant in claims to transfer the buyer’s rights. Start with a consultation: after it you will know whether a notary is enough or the transaction needs full support.

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