Legal regulation

The main points regarding receiving payment in lieu of a land plot for individual construction are reflected in Federal Law No. 161-FZ, which contains information on the interaction between government agencies and citizens in the formation of the construction of residential buildings.
Download for viewing and printing: Federal Law of July 24, 2008 No. 161-FZ “On promoting the development of housing construction”

Cases when payment of compensation is possible

The program for free registration of land plots for large families began operating in 2011.
Citizens who are raising their own or adopted children under the age of 18 can apply for such a benefit (if the child is studying in a regular form, then the application can be submitted before he turns 23 years old). When providing this benefit, the types for which the intended use of the allocated plot of land is allowed are specified in advance:

1. Construction of a house suitable for permanent residence, followed by registration of the property as joint ownership in shares for each family member;
2. Maintaining personal farming on the site.

On a note!
Most often, families raising 3 or more children are allocated plots of 6-15 acres. The allocation of land is allowed both within the city limits and in the surrounding area. In cities of federal significance, it is impossible to obtain land within these boundaries; regional authorities can only offer plots in the region. It is this reason that often determines the need to replace a site with monetary compensation. But not all parents with many children can count on receiving funds; this benefit is provided only to several categories of citizens:

1. Families who do not own another plot of land;
2. Citizens who have officially registered their relationship with the civil registry office;
3. Families raising 3 or more children under 18 years of age;
4. Family members have permanent registration in the region of the Russian Federation where the plot allocated for citizens is located.

Land plot or monetary compensation for large families

The location of land plots, terms of provision or the amount of monetary compensation are determined by local regional authorities. Typically, the size of allocated land varies from 6 to 15 acres and is provided within the city. In subjects such as St. Petersburg and Moscow, plots are allocated to the region due to the lack of available plots within the city. Therefore, many large families from these regions choose monetary compensation.

We recommend reading: Suburban train fares

How to get money instead of a plot

Compensation is issued in the form of a certificate, which can be used to purchase a residential property or transfer these funds as a mortgage payment.
In order for the government agency to understand that the family wants to receive a certificate, parents must write an application and obtain the consent of all members who have reached the age of majority.

Important! In the absence of such an application, government agencies will consider that a large family is applying for a plot of land.

Documentation

To receive a compensation payment instead of a land plot, parents must prepare a certain package of documents, which includes:

1. Copies of parents’ passports (main page and page indicating registration);
2. Copies of birth certificates of all babies and their adoption (if necessary);
3. A certificate issued by the PLO, in which a representative of the government agency confirms that there have been no cases of deprivation of parental rights in relation to the parents;
4. Certificate of family composition (available at the passport office);
5. An extract from the house register indicating that the family is actually registered and lives in the region to which the government agency applied to receive a cash payment;
6. A document confirming marriage registration.

Amount of assistance to large families

The amount of payment if parents refuse to receive land depends on several factors:

1. The number of squares required for each family member, according to Russian legislation;
2. Composition of a large family;
3. Average cost of each square meter in the region.

Where can large families get an apartment instead of a land plot?

The conditions of the state program provide for obtaining housing only in the region in which the applicant:

• lives with his family for at least the minimum possible period established by regulations, and has duly registered registration at the place of residence;
• is in line to receive an apartment, unless otherwise provided by local laws.

Registration of housing for social rent is allowed. For the purchase of an apartment, subsidies may be provided or a certificate will be issued for an amount that cannot be less than the price of the land plot to which the family is entitled.

Purposes of using funds paid in lieu of the site

If regional authorities have decided on the possibility of replacing the state support measure in the form of providing land with compensation, citizens must confirm that the funds received will be used for their intended purpose.
If confirmation is not provided, parents may lose their right to a refund. Attention! According to current legislation, money can only be used to improve the family’s living conditions. Therefore, the target direction in the use of funds is implied in performing one of the following actions:

1. Purchasing a new apartment or country house;
2. Carrying out repair work in existing housing;
3. Construction of an extension to a finished residential building;
4. Repayment of a mortgage issued for the purchase of residential premises;
5. Payment of the down payment on a mortgage loan that was taken out to purchase an apartment or residential building.

Features of obtaining an apartment instead of a land plot for large families

As already noted, to obtain an apartment instead of a land plot, you must first submit an application. It must contain comprehensive information that confirms the right of a large family to receive land, as well as the intention to receive living space instead of land.

When writing an application, indicate specific circumstances that prevent you from independently solving housing problems. It is allowed to write an application by hand in free form, if the authorized body does not provide a ready-made application form.

Attach all required documents to your application. Please note that the decision of the commission reviewing it will depend on this.

Birth certificates and civil passports are not enough for a positive decision of the commission council; documentation confirming the following circumstances is also required:

• the family needs to improve their living conditions as soon as possible;
• the family is recognized as low-income.

Make sure that the case is accompanied by acts, certificates or other documents confirming the difficult financial situation of a large family. Depending on the specific circumstances, pension certificates, certificates of disability, certificates of the spouse being on parental leave may be attached. The above list is not exhaustive; you can (and should!) provide other documents if necessary.

The application you submit is subject to consideration by an administrative commission authorized to determine to what extent you actually need to improve your living conditions. The approximate processing time is one month.

It is worth noting that the procedure for providing housing is not regulated at the legislative level, however, if certain circumstances exist, you will be provided with an apartment. First of all, this is the urgent need for housing for Russian large families living in a particular region for at least 5 years.

A fact confirming the family's need for housing is the family's presence in the waiting list for housing. If for some reason you never joined the queue, you will have to justify why you refused the status of the waiting list and at the same time consider your family to be in need of improved living conditions.

Of course, the timing of receiving an apartment directly depends on your current position in the queue for subsidized housing. Find out your number in this queue in advance.

This can be found out in the following ways:

• It will be most convenient to look at the queue number on the website or through the MFC;
• by contacting the administration directly with a request for information about the progress of the queue. This will also allow you to obtain more detailed information on any questions you may have by consulting with an authorized representative of the administration.

If you are unable to provide all the necessary evidence confirming the difficult financial situation of your family, apply for subsidies or obtain a mortgage on preferential terms. This will help solve the housing problem on a proportionate basis.

According to Russian legislation, administrative services are provided to Russian citizens free of charge. In our case, this will be the case until the conclusion of a social rental agreement for municipal housing. After signing it, go to Rosreestr to register the right to use housing. You will be given a certificate for the apartment, after which you must pay a state fee. Today its size is 2000 rubles.

The main mistakes of citizens

There are several mistakes that parents with many children encounter when trying to receive monetary compensation instead of a plot of land.

1. A mother raising her children alone was deprived of parental rights, and then restored to them for all three children. When trying to apply for compensation instead of a land plot to a government agency, the citizen was faced with a refusal. If a parent or both parents at once have been deprived of their parental rights, then they cannot apply for a plot of land or compensation payment, regardless of whether they have such rights at the time of application;
2. A large family refused to receive compensation instead of a land plot, since two children were adopted. A family raising three or more children can apply for monetary compensation, regardless of whether all the children are related to their parents or not.

Apartment for many children instead of land

Answering the question of the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation faction, Vladimir Korsun, who will benefit as a result of the adoption of the law - developers or large families, he said that the government is primarily focused on the interests of large families and in order to respect them, officials are ready to finalize the bill together with parliamentarians.

The leader of the A Just Russia faction, Daria Eisfeld, noted that the bill was supported by the social committee. “We have said before that every family in Russia can potentially become large. And we must create favorable conditions for large families, so that other families also strive to have children,” she said, but noted that the bill is now a framework - the volume and procedure for providing living space is determined by government decree, and not by regional law, which, in her opinion, contradicts the Land Code of the Russian Federation.

We recommend reading: What is the tax on a donated apartment?