What to do if your dacha neighbor has seized part of the land plot?

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Published: 11/16/2017

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The current legislation prohibits the use of land in an illegal manner, since in the event of squatting of the territory and its improper exploitation, significant material damage may be caused to the legal owner of the site.

Unauthorized seizure is an administrative offense that involves bringing the offender to established liability.

• Reasons for illegal seizure of land
• Actions of the owner when a neighbor seizes part of the land When the boundaries are established
• When boundaries are not defined

What can be considered a land grab?

It's good when neighbors live together. But not always several families manage to keep the peace. In this case, some disagreements and disputes arise. Sometimes unscrupulous people try to harm their neighbor. So the question arises of what to do if a neighbor has entered the plot and is trying to appropriate part of it.

To answer the question of what to do if a neighbor climbed onto my property, it is necessary to analyze in detail the concept of “squatting.” In Russia, squatting is the illegal appropriation of part of the land belonging to another person. In this case, it does not matter much who occupied someone else’s property: a private person or the state. An occupier is an individual or legal entity who has unauthorizedly occupied part of a land plot owned by another owner.

Attention! Any squatting must be proven in court. Solving the issue on your own is not allowed.

The right of ownership guarantees the separate use of property. That is, it is impossible for someone other than the owner to use the land. If the plot does not belong to any of the neighbors, then the owner of this land is the state. The right protects the owner from attacks by third parties on his property.

The most serious violation in the field of land ownership is the construction of a capital building. In fact, a person builds a house, center or something else on someone else’s land. In the future, such a building is considered a self-construction and is subject to demolition.

Some people think that it is possible to acquire ownership of a plot after the construction of a building. Of course, you will have the opportunity to exploit the land, but it is not a fact that the court will not recognize the construction as unauthorized construction. After all, no papers were drawn up before its construction.

Of course, it is possible to legalize the construction of the building, but it will be very difficult. Often, owners are faced with a refusal, since the town planning commission did not issue a building permit. And it doesn’t matter who now owns the land.

In addition to constructing a building on someone else's property, other violations are sometimes committed.

These include in particular:

• use of adjacent lands for one’s own purposes, without having title documents for the site,
• installing a fence or erecting a structure on territory that does not belong to the owner,
• violation of land boundaries,
• use of land as a place for storage of products, materials, products, etc.,
• boundary violation.

The latter happens when an unscrupulous neighbor arbitrarily wishes to build a fence not on his own territory, but on the neighbor’s property. In fact, he is taking over the earth. However, this can only be proven through the court or the prosecutor's office.

Important! Before contacting higher authorities, try to talk to your neighbor. It is quite possible that he does not know that he has captured your site. It happens that land documents are damaged or lost, so the owner cannot determine where the border of his part is located.

Writing off debts on land, property and transport taxes from the population in 2021.

How to register ownership of a land plot if there are no documents, read here.

How to find out the boundaries of a plot by cadastral number, read the link: https://novocom.org/otvety-na-voprosy-chitatelej/kak-posmotret-granicy-zemelnogo-uchastka-po-kadastrovomu-nomeru.html

What to do if a neighbor illegally seized part of the plot

Understand that if a neighbor seizes part of the land from the site, the following measures must be taken:

• Have a personal meeting with your neighbors, try to convince them that it is necessary to return the land that they have illegally appropriated and exploited;
• In the event of an open conflict, when it is not possible to reach an agreement with neighbors, use a document that reflects the actual boundaries of the site. These boundaries are recorded in the state cadastral register of real estate. Check in advance whether the data on paper corresponds to the actual dimensions of the site. If yes, then contact Rosreestr with a request to appoint and conduct an examination. If the result is positive, after the examination, the boundaries of the site will be restored to the time of the illegal seizure of land by neighbors, or the material damage caused will be compensated. Most often, in such cases, neighbors receive a fine and an order from Rosreestr to eliminate the causes of the conflict as soon as possible;
• If there are no positive results when trying to implement the first points, file a claim in court demanding the return of property from someone else’s possession and use, to which the neighbor has no rights.

Know that there is another option - to contact your neighbor through a judicial authority if you cannot resolve the conflict peacefully. Draw up a document to the court with the wording “on not causing obstacles to the use of the land,” addressing the appeal to the neighbor who has seized part of someone else’s land.

It is recommended to use the assistance of professional lawyers in such cases, however, in any case, prepare a surveyor's report before you begin legal proceedings.

Owner's rights

If it is not possible to come to an agreement peacefully with the neighbor who has seized the land, then you must follow the law. In Russia, land relations are regulated on the basis of several legal acts.

These include:

• Article 301 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that the owner claims to return his land plot. Anyone who uses someone else's land is subject to administrative liability,
• on the basis of Article 304 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the owner of a land plot has the right to demand the elimination of all violations found on his land, even if the right of ownership has not been violated. For example, if someone interferes with a citizen’s use of his property, he has the right to file a negatory claim. Please note that a negatory claim is a claim directed to third parties to eliminate obstacles to the implementation of property rights,
• Article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that there is no statute of limitations for resolving issues related to the implementation of land rights. Thus, the owner of the site can go to court regardless of how much time has passed since the violation was committed.

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.

You have the right to go to court not only in case of violation of the inviolability of property rights, but also if a neighbor violates the requirements of SNiP 30-102-99. For example, if a neighbor built a bathhouse next to your fence. This figure must be at least three meters. In reverse order, the conditions do not lose their relevance.

Never start resolving a conflict with a court or other higher authority. Often the violator agrees to correct the deficiencies voluntarily. It is quite possible that the person did not know about the location of the boundaries of his property.

But if the neighbors do not want to agree to reconciliation, you can go to court. Please note that before involving a judicial authority, it is necessary to carry out a mandatory pre-trial conflict resolution procedure.

How to find out who owns a plot of land at an address?

To do this you need to do the following:

• ask your neighbor to voluntarily vacate your property. If he refuses, take a receipt from him. If you are unable to receive a document, you can record the refusal on a voice recorder,
• Next, the owner needs to write a complaint to the local administration. They check existing documentation, compare actual data with paper information,
• after the local administration they contact the land committee. This is created as part of the urban planning complex. Appeals are considered within thirty days from the date of their registration.

Only bypassing the above steps can you go to court or the prosecutor's office. In this case, it is worth taking care of conducting an examination. It will help prove the actual discrepancy between the indicators. Only after this the violation is considered committed.

For the court, you will need to prove your ownership of the plot.

Please note! To do this, you must present one of the following documents:

• contract of sale,
• privatization agreement,
• barter agreement,
• gift agreement,
• certificate of receipt of inheritance.

There is a single document that confirms your ownership of the property. This is a certificate of registration of ownership. It is issued after obtaining the right. It is quite possible to confirm it with a certificate from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.

A lease agreement or an agreement for free use are also considered documents that can confirm ownership. In addition to confirming ownership of the property, the plaintiff must collect other documents.

In particular these are:

• witness's testimonies,
• expert opinions,
• photo and video files,
• receipt of payment of state duty,
• plaintiff's passport,
• other documents that may be needed for the proceedings.

Please note that experts advise not to go to court, but to the prosecutor's office. The judicial authority must be involved only to recover money, for example, moral damage.

Land tax for individuals in 2018.

Procedure

The procedures for violating property rights vary. It all depends on whether the boundaries of the land plot are established. It's worth checking out each of them.

Set boundaries

If a neighbor has seized part of your land plot, and the boundaries have been demarcated, then the actions of the victim will be as follows:

• First, actual indicators must be compared with documentary information. To do this, use a cadastral passport and a boundary plan,
• If violations are discovered, you can require the neighbor to move the fence. The fact of violation is recognized as committed after its registration,
• If a neighbor refuses to voluntarily correct violations, it is worth using the opportunity to resolve the conflict out of court. To do this, contact the local administration and land committee.

Remember! It is necessary to collect a large package of documents for the court and the prosecutor's office. First of all, it includes title papers for the house. In addition, you will need to collect evidence of violation of the law.

If boundaries are not set

If boundary work has never been carried out in relation to the disputed land plot, the following procedure is provided:

• performance of cadastral works. To do this, contact a company that has received a license from the state to carry out such actions. The function is performed by a trained master who has received a certificate. As a result, an approval act is drawn up, which is signed by all interested parties,
• if, after dividing the borders, the neighbor does not want to vacate the unauthorized territory, you should contact the land committee, as well as the local administration,
• if as a result the neighbor still refuses to move, then you need to contact the prosecutor's office or court. To do this, you should collect a package of documents that prove your ownership of the site, as well as the fact of its violation.

The court will not accept the application for consideration if the pre-trial settlement procedure has not been carried out.

Watch the video. What to do if your dacha neighbor has seized the plot:

Actions of the owner when a neighbor seizes part of the land

To resolve the issue of unauthorized seizure of part of the land by the owner of a neighboring plot, there are several ways:

• pre-trial order. To do this, you should contact your neighbor and discuss the problem. Sometimes it happens that the violator simply does not know that he has occupied someone else’s territory. Therefore, it is often enough to compare the existing documentation for real estate;
• if a neighbor refuses to release illegally used land, you should contact the local administration;
• if these actions do not influence the offender, you can submit an application for unauthorized occupation of land to the Land Committee;
• If the above actions are ineffective, it is necessary to go to court.

The sequence of appropriate measures to resolve the conflict depends on whether the boundaries of the land ownership, part of which the neighbor has seized, are defined.

When boundaries are set

If land surveying was carried out in relation to a plot of land, part of which was occupied by a neighbor without permission, the sequence of actions will be as follows:

• comparison of the boundaries indicated in the cadastral passport for the site and in the boundary plan;
• establishing actually established boundaries with those reflected in the documentation. If it becomes clear that a violation has occurred on the part of a neighbor, you should contact him and report it;
• If the violator does not agree to vacate someone else’s territory, it is necessary to file a claim in court. To do this, you will need a documentation package consisting of:

1. Title documents for the site. These can be contracts, certificates of inheritance, acts of state and municipal authorities, court decisions, etc.
2. Cadastral passport for the property.
3. Boundary plan of the territory.

When boundaries are not defined

If cadastral work has not been carried out in relation to the disputed area, the procedure is as follows:

• carrying out the land surveying procedure. Boundary work is carried out by a cadastral engineer and ends with the preparation of an act of approval of land boundaries, which is signed by all interested parties (owners of adjacent plots);
• If a neighbor does not agree with the established boundaries, a claim should be filed with a judicial authority.

How to resolve a dispute peacefully

Before contacting a judicial authority or prosecutor's office, be sure to carry out the pre-trial conflict resolution procedure. It is easier to resolve a dispute peacefully if the land surveying procedure has already been carried out.

act of approval of the location of the land plot free of charge in word format

Please note a few important points:

• display the actual boundaries on the ground. To do this, clearly study the cadastral plan and place directional signs on the demarcation line of two adjacent plots,
• After actually reflecting the boundaries, show the unscrupulous neighbor that he is wrong. Demand that he move the fence, that is, liberate his land,
• if the neighbor still refuses to comply with the requirements, you can contact the local territorial division of the Russian Register. Its specialists, as a rule, respond immediately. An inspector will arrive and check your land documentation,
• if the neighbor agrees with the cadastral engineer’s conclusions, a written agreement is drawn up and signed by all participants. In the future, it can be presented to the court as evidence of pre-trial settlement of the issue.

Attention! The cadastral worker has the right:

• examine documents establishing ownership of a land plot,
• explore adjacent land plots, measure them, etc.
• analyze the data received and draw conclusions, draw up an appropriate report.

The act is drawn up in any case, even if the neighbor does not agree with the results of the work carried out by the cadastral engineer.

A neighbor has seized part of a plot of land - procedure

The procedure for seizing part of a land plot will depend on whether you have a boundary plan or not. Let's look at each situation in more detail.

If boundaries are set

When land surveying was carried out earlier and the boundaries are clearly established and documented, it is necessary to verify the data of the land survey plan with the cadastral passport or an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.

The all-Russian register stores coordinate data that is fixed by boundary signs. Based on this information, you can clearly see where exactly the boundaries of the plots lie.

If there is a boundary plan and relevant data in a unified register, it is possible to clearly say whether the boundaries have been violated or not. Documentary proof that you are right can become a serious argument, and the dispute can be resolved without involving the courts.

Only if the issue cannot be resolved amicably should you go to court. In addition to the statement of claim, depending on the basis of land ownership, you will need:

• certificate of ownership or extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate;
• a document confirming the existence of the right of lifelong inheritable ownership;
• a document confirming the right of unlimited use;
• long-term lease agreement (more than five years).

In addition to these documents, technical documentation for the land plot and a boundary plan will be required.

If boundaries are not set

If land surveying has not been carried out before, then the first step is to establish the boundaries of your site. To do this, you need to contact a geodetic company. A list of cadastral engineers who have the appropriate license to carry out such activities can be found on the official website of Rosreestr.

The result of the cadastral engineer’s work is documented in an act of approval of boundaries and a schematic boundary plan. Based on the data obtained, you can try to negotiate with your neighbors peacefully. However, if the situation cannot be resolved, you will need to go to court.

Application to the administration

If a neighbor voluntarily refuses to vacate the unauthorized territory, you should contact the local administration. A special application is drawn up for this purpose. It should be noted that there is no single unified form.

applications to the administration against a neighbor who has violated the boundaries of the land plot, free in word format

Important! But there is information that must be reflected in it:

• name of the authority to which the application is submitted,
• last name, first name, patronymic of the head of the local administration or the person responsible for the division of land plots,
• surname, name, patronymic of the applicant,
• contact information about the applicant,
• title of the document (application, complaint, appeal for violation of the boundaries of a land plot/seizure of a land plot),
• what rights were violated by the invader,
• circumstances of violation of property rights,
• requirements imposed on the violator,
• what do you want to achieve from the local administration,
• list of documents attached to the application,
• date and signature of the document.

In the document, be sure to refer to regulations that prove a violation of the law and are capable of regulating such relations.

It is necessary to ask the local administration for help in resolving the issue. She will assign a specialist who will conduct a detailed inspection.

Based on current Russian legislation, all citizens' appeals are considered within thirty days from the date of their registration. In practice, the local administration makes a decision within 2 weeks.

How to check whether a land plot has been seized?

Where to go if a neighbor illegally seized part of the land plot

Understand that if a neighbor clearly provokes a conflict and deliberately occupies territory that is not his, then contacting the management of the gardening partnership is already useless. Most of these neighbors count on the fact that the injured party will not go anywhere, so as not to get involved with arrogant neighbors, trying to avoid conflict.

Do not allow your neighbors to do this under any circumstances. First, contact the administration of the settlement or municipality so that your neighbors are sent a written order to return the unauthorized portion of someone else's plot of land.

If there is no response to such actions, file an appeal to the land committee that regulates land issues and was created to resolve land disputes. It is necessary to obtain a document from the land committee that records the appeal regarding the violation of the integrity of the boundaries of the property owned by the owner. And this is already evidence when applying to court for help.

Application to the Land Committee

applications to the land committee free of charge in word format

Often, land disputes are related to the refusal of the violator to remove waste products from someone else’s territory. One such example can be given. Citizens Ivanov I.I. and Smirnov A.A. neighbors in the country. They have an adjacent plot of land, not divided by a fence. Here they conduct business activities. In the spring, citizen Ivanov decided to expand his land plot by planting vegetables on the territory of A. A. Smirnov. He installed barriers.

Smirnov showed his dissatisfaction and demanded to clear the square, but Ivanov refused to do this. As a result, Smirnov turned to the land committee with a statement about the seizure of land. In this case, Article 76 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation applies. This provision states that the owner has the right to independently clear the occupied territory.

Please note an important point! If the violator used someone else's land plot to make a profit, the owner has the right to recover compensation from him. Such actions serve as grounds for filing a claim in court.

Please note! Unauthorized occupation of a land plot is an administrative offense. It is punishable in accordance with Article 7.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences.

Punishment is most often a fine. Its size is determined as a percentage of the cadastral value of the land plot.

If the cadastral price has not been established, the court shall impose a fine in the amount of:

• up to 10,000 rubles for citizens,
• 50,000 rubles for officials.

If an invader has occupied a territory that does not have an owner, there will be no problems with registering the site.

To legalize the right, you should contact the local land committee and submit a package of documents:

• passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation,
• application of the established form,
• boundary matter,
• documents establishing the right to an adjacent land plot.

Those persons who have committed the following actions are brought to administrative liability:

• taking possession of a land plot or part thereof without the owner’s permission,
• exploitation of a land plot without having title documentation for it,
• exploitation of a land plot without permission from local authorities (if the private owner has not been identified).

Self-occupation of a land plot means not only its unauthorized use, but also a violation of the requirements established by SNiP.

ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample application to the land committee:

Going to court if a neighbor illegally seized part of the land plot

If the neighbor has no desire to end the conflict, submit the documents prepared at the previous stages to the court demanding the return of the plot of land that the neighbor illegally occupies.

Do not forget to attach a receipt for payment of the state fee for applying to a judicial authority. The application itself and all copies of documents that were prepared in advance must be submitted in triplicate.

After accepting the documents, the court sends copies to the defendant demanding the return of the illegally seized territory. If the neighbor responds in writing and proves that the seizure was not targeted, but accidental, then the conflict will be settled upon the return of the illegally occupied plot.

If your neighbor does not want to respond to all the actions taken, get ready for a lawsuit.

Dispute resolution through court

If your neighbors refuse to reconcile and claim that your documents contain an error, you can go to court. Do not forget to carry out the procedure for pre-trial settlement of the issue.

Cases related to the resolution of land disputes are considered by the district judicial body. Territorial purpose matters. The claim is filed at the location of the disputed land plot.

The application must be made in writing. There is no single set form. However, territorial divisions of courts have the right to develop their own forms.

claim to court for violation of the boundaries of a land plot free of charge in word format

Any claim includes the following information:

• the name of the judicial authority where the claim is filed,
• last name, first name, patronymic of the plaintiff, place of registration, residence, contact telephone number,
• last name, first name, patronymic or name of the defendant, his place of registration, residence, as well as contact telephone number,
• the main part of the document, which includes an explanation of the violation of law,
• listing of violations,
• description of ownership when it arose,
• general technical characteristics of the land plot,
• reasons for violation of property rights,
• references to regulatory legislation,
• suggestions on how the conflict can be resolved,
• requirements to the court,
• list of documents attached to the claim,
• date of preparation of the document and signature of the plaintiff.

The completed claim form can be downloaded from the official website of the judicial authority. Please note that this is provided as a sample. If you did not write an application according to this form, but reflected the necessary information in it, then nothing needs to be corrected.

Article 301 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation gives the right to demand the return of a land plot to the owner. And Article 304 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that all obstacles to operation must be eliminated.

The court has the right to consider the statement of claim within two months from the date of its registration. After this, a place and date for the meeting are set, of which the parties are notified in writing. Most often, a summons is sent.

At trial, all parties have the right to defend themselves and present evidence in the case. Each of the participants may not testify against himself, but cannot refuse to testify.

ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample claim to court for violation of the boundaries of a land plot:

Responsibility of a neighbor for seizure of land

Seizure of a land plot is an administrative offense, which is provided for in Article 7.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. According to this provision, the person who violates the right is punished with a fine.

The size of the fine directly depends on the cadastral value of the land plot. Ordinary people, that is, individuals, are required to pay from 1 to 1.5 percent to the state treasury. But the total amount should not be less than five thousand rubles.

If the dispute is in relation to a land plot, the cadastral value of which has not been determined, then the amount of the fine will be from five to ten thousand rubles.

In addition to imposing a fine, the court will oblige:

• return the land plot to the actual owner,
• restore existing borders,
• remove all structures that were erected on someone else's land.

The violator is brought to parallel liability for the illegal construction of a building on someone else’s land, if any. Costs are borne by the plaintiff. But if the defendant’s guilt is proven, then the total amount is subject to recovery from him.

What to do if areas overlap

Boundary overlaps happen quite often. In this case, each of the neighbors is right. To resolve the conflict, it will be necessary to involve specialists from the cadastral service. They are obliged to compare previously issued documentation and re-carry out land surveying work.

If cadastre employees refuse to carry out the required actions, you can go to court. He will oblige to determine the owner of the boundary.

Most often, overlap of boundaries occurs due to incorrect reflection of information in the documentation. If a lot of time has passed since the last work, it is very difficult to determine the culprits.

Without the participation of a cadastral engineer, it will not be possible to determine who is right and who is wrong. Based on the results, owners are issued new documents.

Watch the video. How to file a lawsuit yourself: