Are there legal restrictions on ownership of real estate by non-resident persons?
Foreign ownership of agricultural land is prohibited in Ukraine.
Foreign ownership of non-agricultural land is limited. The below table demonstrates conditions when non-resident persons may own non-agricultural land in Ukraine. Such conditions depend on whether land is located within or beyond the boundaries of a settlement (i.e. city or village).
| Land within the boundaries of a city/village | Land beyond the boundaries of a city/village | |
| Foreign individuals | Yes, may own (no restrictions apply). | Only if they own real estate objects (i.e. buildings or structures) located on such land. |
| Foreign legal entities | Only for construction purposes, or if they purchase real estate objects (i.e. buildings or structures) located on such land. | Only if they purchase real estate objects (i.e. buildings or structures) located on such land. |
State or municipal land may be sold to a foreign legal entity only if its permanent establishment (with a right to carry out commercial activity on the territory of Ukraine) has been registered. Such condition does not apply to purchase of private land.
It is worth mentioning that the Land Code of Ukraine does not specifically allow Ukrainian legal entities with 100% foreign ownership to own any land in Ukraine. In practice, due to this limitation, two-tier corporate structures are often used by foreign investors to hold property in Ukraine (i.e. foreign parent – Ukrainian subsidiary – Ukrainian property holding company); alternatively, a Ukrainian partner (with a minimum participation share/interest) can be involved in order to convert a fully owned subsidiary into a joint venture (to which the abovementioned limitation does not apply).
Foreign ownership of other types of real estate (residential, commercial or industrial) is unlimited.
23.10.2019
Property Purchase
Package
For those who are buying a flat, house or land plot in Lviv
This Package Includes
- one hour consultation
- due diligence of selected property
- bilingual sale-purchase contract
- deal signing and closing
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