Dacha: is it a residential or non-residential premises?
There is no concept of “dacha” in any law. But there is a wording: “garden house” - a building for seasonal residence, designed to meet the household needs of citizens. According to Art. 16 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, a house, part of a house or an apartment is considered a residential premises.
But on January 1, 2021, the Federal Law of July 29, 2017 No. 217-FZ “On Gardening by Citizens...” came into force, according to which from this date all garden houses are recognized as residential. If ownership was registered before 01/01/2019, re-registration of status is not required. The USRN must indicate the purpose – “residential”.
If a house is listed as non-residential in the Unified State Register of Real Estate, it means that it is not recognized as a residential building. It does not matter on what site it is located: SNT, for agriculture, individual housing construction.
Note! Registration can only be done in a residential building. To find out the status, just order an extract from the Unified State Register on the Rosreestr website. Registration online will cost 350 rubles. The transfer of a non-residential country house to a residential one is now possible within the framework of the “Dacha Amnesty” in a simplified manner.
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How to recognize a garden house as residential: conditions
Before recognizing a house as residential in SNT, you need to make sure that it meets the requirements established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 28, 2006 No. 47 “On approval of the Regulations...”:
- Location in residential areas in accordance with the conditions of urban zoning, or in the territory of gardening and vegetable farming.
- The operability of load-bearing structures, the absence of damage and deformation that would pose a threat of collapse.
- Availability of engineering systems: water supply, sewerage, electricity. If the area is gasified, gas supply will be needed.
- Optimal thermal insulation of external structures.
- Protecting the premises from the penetration of melt water, rain, and snow.
- The presence of at least one room, bathroom, kitchen.
- The floor mark should be higher than the ground mark. Placing residential premises in basements and ground floors is prohibited.
- Compliance with requirements in terms of noise level, electromagnetic radiation.
Note: to transfer a garden house into a residential one, it is important that it is already registered in the Unified State Register of Real Estate, and that the ownership right is properly registered. If the premises have several owners, everyone's consent to the transfer will be required.
Status of the garden house - residential or non-residential house
How to convert apartments into housing stock?
Assistance in translation in Moscow and the Moscow region
Competent specialists from the Basis expert bureau will help prepare documents for the transfer of premises, apartments, or garden houses into housing stock. We conduct a technical examination and draw up a conclusion. Our certified experts will thoroughly inspect the building:
- Conduct a visual inspection. Experts study the state of communications, compliance of the garden house with sanitary, fire, and building standards.
- Take the necessary measurements. The condition of building structures and foundations is determined. Distances to fences and outbuildings are measured, which must be observed for safe operation.
- A technical report is drawn up, in which the rear is recognized as residential or recommendations are given to eliminate shortcomings.
We also provide the following services:
- We help you recover lost documents for your home;
- we determine the boundaries of the site and fix them with boundary signs;
- We draw up technical plans and design documentation;
- We provide free consultations in difficult cases.
You can contact us any day, operators accept requests by phone from 8 to 21. You can write to email and instant messengers around the clock.
Advantages of converting a country house into a residential one
There are several advantages to converting a non-residential building into a residential one:
- Registration of tax deductions. Property deduction is only available when purchasing a home.
- Registration. You can only register in residential premises.
- Reduced electricity costs compared to city tariffs. Rural ones are usually 30-50% less.
- Easier to Sell: Residential homes offer greater value to buyers.
Legal advice: if the owner is registered as in need of residential premises, it is better to wait before transferring the country house. Otherwise, they will be removed from the queue, because To receive housing from the municipality, there must be no other suitable real estate owned.
Elena Plokhuta
Lawyer, website author (Civil law, 7 years of experience)
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Examination of the suitability of a building for habitation
An examination is carried out to convert a garden house into a residential one. When assessing the suitability of a building for habitation, the expert will check:
- whether sanitary, hygienic and construction standards are observed - for the entire volume of the room, ceiling height, glazing level, operation of the ventilation system, thickness of the thermal insulation layer, etc.;
- the strength of the foundation, load-bearing walls, as well as the tightness of windows, roofing and doors;
- air quality (absence of mold spores, harmful impurities, etc.);
- operability of the heating system, power supply systems, water supply and sewerage, gas supply;
- ensuring fire safety requirements - the quality of the electrical cable laying, whether the rules for installing heating devices are observed, the availability of fire protection treatment for combustible structures;
- radiation background.
How to convert a garden house into a residential one?
To recognize a garden house as residential, you must be guided by the provisions of paragraphs 55-63 of Government Decree No. 47. First, the owner will have to contact a cadastral engineer for a technical inspection of the building, then collect and submit documents for consideration, and receive a decision from the local government within the established time frame.
Let's look at how to convert a dacha into a residential building in a simplified manner, and what is needed for this.
Step 1: technical inspection
When submitting documents, the owner will need a boundary plan and a cadastral passport. They confirm that the property meets all requirements. These documents are prepared by cadastral engineers; the service will cost 15,000-20,000 rubles.
A conclusion is also drawn up on the compliance of the country house with technical requirements. It can be done by an LLC or individual entrepreneur registered with the SRO in the field of engineering surveys.
Sample conclusion
Consultation on document preparation
Step 2: collecting and submitting documents
Before converting a house in SNT into residential, you need to collect:
- application for recognition of a garden house as residential;
- boundary plan;
- cadastral passport;
- extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate;
- conclusion based on the results of an inspection of the technical condition of the property.
Important! If the house has several owners, notarial consents from each will be required. You need to submit documents to the MFC or directly to the local administration.
Step 3: Get a Solution
Submitted documents are reviewed no more than 45 days from the date of application. Based on the results, the applicant is given a decision to recognize the garden house as residential or to refuse it.
Sample solution
Consultation on document preparation
Step 4: making changes to Rosreestr
If the decision is positive, the administration independently sends documents to Rosreestr to register the new status of the property. The state duty for the owner is 200 rubles.
When do you need to register a country house as a residential one?
An expert’s opinion on recognizing a garden house as residential and its suitability for living is required in the following cases:
- To obtain registration in a house that is located in a garden non-profit partnership (SNT). This is the most common case, since many citizens are busy building a cottage or summer house as a home for permanent residence, and then they need registration in this home.
- To put the house into operation. An expert’s conclusion in the case of converting a country house into a residential one is a document that confirms the compliance of the capital construction project with the requirements of technical regulations and the fact that the building is suitable for human habitation.
- To eliminate errors in the technical passport of the BTI or in other documents, if any were made during cadastral registration or registration of the technical passport. For example, a house is residential, but in the documents, due to a misunderstanding or someone’s oversight, its purpose is indicated as non-residential. This can be easily corrected if the error was noticed immediately, but if the issue “resurfaced” months later, you need to prove the purpose of the building, following the procedure for converting a garden house into a residential one.
Grounds for refusal to convert a country house into a residential one
A change of status to a residential building on a dacha plot may be refused in several situations:
- An incomplete set of documents is presented, except for an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate: if it is not there, the administration requests information from Rosreestr on its own.
- Submission of documents by an unauthorized person (not the owner or representative under a notarized power of attorney).
- Placing the object on a land plot on which the construction of permanent structures is prohibited. For example, on a garden plot.
Note! The decision to refuse must contain reasons. It is sent to the applicant no later than three working days from the date of acceptance. You can appeal it in court.
The procedure for transferring non-residential premises to residential premises SNT
Gather the documents required to submit your application and bring them to your local government office. If necessary, a package of documentation is sent to the territorial office of the MFC.
Please wait for your application to be reviewed. If a positive decision is made, the authorized authority will send your documents to Rosreestr to register the fact of a change in the status of the premises.
If this does not happen, you can independently contact the government agency’s office to order an updated extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.
If the local administration has identified shortcomings (for example, if electricity was not installed in the house), you can return to the office with documents after correcting the problems found.
The registration procedure in Rosreestr takes no more than 15 working days. After this, you will be able to pick up an updated extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate in three working days. You only need to have your ID with you.
How to recognize a house as residential on a summer cottage site in court?
If the administration refused to transfer from a non-residential to a residential building, the decision can be challenged in court through administrative proceedings. The application and other documents must be submitted to the district or city court at the defendant’s address.
Legal advice: in the application, as a claim, you must indicate that the administration’s refusal to transfer the house in SNT to residential was illegal. If the claim is granted, the municipality will be required to reconsider the decision.
Elena Plokhuta
Lawyer, website author (Civil law, 7 years of experience)
Documentation
What exactly will you need when going to court:
- written refusal to convert a garden house into a residential one;
- administrative claim;
- cadastral passport;
- boundary plan;
- extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate;
- conclusion that the house meets all requirements.
Additionally, you may need other documents confirming the unfoundedness of the administration’s refusal.
Arbitrage practice
Most often, courts refuse to satisfy claims, citing the impossibility of changing the status of buildings due to the fault of the plaintiffs. But situations are different, here are some examples of decisions on real cases:
- On declaring illegal the decision to refuse to recognize a garden house as a residential building (Decision No. 2A-6235/2019 2A-6235/2019~M-5269/2019 M-5269/2019 dated August 29, 2021 in case No. 2A-6235/2019 ). The demands were denied.
- On recognizing a residential building as suitable for living (Decision No. 2-2242/2012 2-2242/2012~M-2511/2012 M-2511/2012 dated December 28, 2012 in case No. 2-2242/2012). The claim was satisfied, and the residential building on the garden plot was declared suitable for permanent residence.
- On challenging the decision to refuse to recognize a garden house as residential (Decision No. 2A-12431/2019 2A-12431/2019~M-8090/2019 M-8090/2019 dated September 4, 2021 in case No. 2A-12431/2019). Satisfaction denied.
Lawyer's answers to private questions
I want to register individual housing construction on a summer cottage. I learned that it is not included in the territorial zones of the rules that determine the order of use and development. It is not possible to convert a house into a residential one. What should I do?
In this case, you will have to negotiate with the neighboring owners and contact the administration on behalf of the gardening partnership so that, on the basis of the prepared documents, changes are made to the rules of development and land use.
I have a summer house with a kitchen of 8 sq.m. I want to move her to a residential building. Are there any ceiling height requirements?
Yes. The ceiling height must be at least 2.5 m, the kitchen area must be from 6 sq.m.
Is it possible to convert an apartment building into an individual residential building?
Yes, if the number of floors is no more than three (Letter of the Ministry of Economic Development dated March 20, 2013 No. OG-D23-1426). It is necessary to obtain permission for the permitted type of use of the land, as well as for reconstruction, if it is carried out. After this, a technical plan is drawn up by a cadastral engineer, and changes are registered in Rosreestr.
How much does it cost to convert a cottage into a residential building?
Preparation of technical documents costs an average of 20,000 rubles, and the permit is issued free of charge. State duty to Rosreestr – 200 rubles. If a lawyer handles the procedure, it will cost from 30,000 rubles, but the owner will not have to waste his own time.
How to convert a country house into a residential one if it is in shared ownership and the location of the second owner is unknown?
We will have to look for the second owner, or recognize him as missing. Without his knowledge, even the court will not change the status of the property.
