President Volodymyr Zelensky has endorsed a bill that amends the Civil Code, enhancing the rights of lawful land purchasers.

This was reported on the official website of the Parliament.

According to the new legislation, if more than ten years have passed since the illegal expropriation of land, the state or local authorities will no longer be able to reclaim these plots. This particularly applies to forests, coastal areas, and other natural territories.

If a court decides to return the land within ten years of expropriation, the state or local authority must compensate the new owner for the market value. However, the law does not provide for any compensation to the state or local authority itself.

At the same time, there are exceptions: this law does not apply to strategic lands, critical infrastructure, cultural heritage, and protected natural areas. Activists point out gaps in the wording that could hinder their return.

“The phrasing proposed in the bill could complicate the return of property and land in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as explicitly noted by the main legal department of the Verkhovna Rada,” representatives of the movement “Chesno” stated.

Activists also highlight that the boundaries of many protected or historical lands are still not defined in the State Land Cadastre, risking the loss of legal mechanisms for reclaiming such assets.

For further reading: The echoes of the Mazepa case: what lies behind the request to protect businesses from law enforcement.

It is worth noting that the Verkhovna Rada has passed the bill establishing a ten-year period after which property (land or buildings) cannot be reclaimed from a bona fide purchaser if it previously belonged to the state or was municipal.