The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for several mechanisms for the implementation of privatization. Its subjects can be both citizens and organizations. The objects of privatization in accordance with the law are enterprises, apartments, land, non-residential premises. What are the features of the procedure for transferring them from the ownership of the state or municipalities to private hands? What documents should be collected?
Definition of privatization
Before considering what methods of privatization in Russia are established by law, consider the definition of the corresponding term. The fact is that it can have quite a few interpretations.
In general, privatization should be understood as the process of transferring a property belonging to state or municipal authorities to private hands - that is, at the disposal of citizens or organizations whose authorized capital is owned mainly by private individuals. In cases established by law, foreign citizens and organizations may be allowed to participate in privatization.
In legal practice, characterizing various legal relations in the sphere of the Russian market and socio-economic communications, 2 main areas of privatization have been formed.
Firstly, it is a transfer to private hands of enterprises owned by the state or municipalities. The subjects of this privatization mechanism are mainly legal entities.
Secondly, this is a transfer to private hands of housing built by the state. In turn, the main actors involved in this privatization mechanism are citizens who have the right to live in apartments provided by the state, and at the same time wish to receive them in the manner determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
The concept of “privatization methods” can also be interpreted in different ways. In the general case, it should be understood as a legal mechanism through which a citizen or organization acquires a particular asset, as well as the main characteristics and legal grounds for the implementation by subjects of legal relations of certain actions under this mechanism.
The privatization method is a method prescribed by law and established for a specific subject of legal relations - a citizen or organization. In many cases, it can also characterize a particular type of property.
Consider the features of both main mechanisms for transferring property from state or municipal property to private hands, as well as the main methods of privatization corresponding to them in more detail. Let's start with the process of transferring the assets of state or municipal bodies to private hands.
What options for privatization of property of the state and municipalities are allowed by the legislation of the Russian Federation?
In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, there are the following ways to privatize property that belongs to state or local authorities:
- transformation of an enterprise having the status of a unitary enterprise into an AO or LLC;
- sale of property owned by the state or municipality at auction, competition;
- sale of securities of joint stock companies, including state-owned ones, under special procedures;
- sale of property in the framework of public offers;
- selling assets owned by the state or municipality without publishing the price;
- the inclusion of assets of state or local authorities in the authorized capital of AO;
- sale of AO shares following the results of trust management within the framework of mechanisms established by law.
There is a special procedure, which is provided for by legal acts regulating privatization, - the transformation of property complexes of enterprises in the status of unitary into business companies. Let's consider it in more detail.
Privatization of property complexes
So, the privatization methods provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation include a procedure that is the transformation of property complexes of enterprises that are unitary into business companies - for example, AO or LLC. This mechanism is possible if the amount of the authorized capital of the relevant business company corresponds to the minimum indicator established by the legislation of the Russian Federation for AO, or exceeds it.
The methods of privatization of property complexes provided for by regulatory legal acts also include the transformation of relevant economic entities into limited liability companies. This is possible if the average number of employees or revenue resulting from the entrepreneurial activity of a unitary enterprise during the 3 years prior to privatization does not exceed the limit indicators established by the legislation of the Russian Federation regulating the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
If the amount of the authorized capital established within the framework of the privatization of a business company becomes lower than the minimum indicator established by the legislation of the Russian Federation for a joint-stock company, the property complex shall be transformed into LLC.
Privatization of state property: nuances
The forms and methods of privatization of state and municipal property considered by us are characterized by a rather large number of nuances, from the point of view of law enforcement practice, which reflects the fulfillment by legal entities of the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation regarding privatization. So, it can be noted that the procedure in question most often consists of 3 stages:
- planning;
- consideration by the competent subject of various documents;
- privatization directly.
Of course, within each of them there can be a large number of other procedures, but in general, the transfer of property to property is carried out precisely in the indicated sequence.
The most difficult stage, regardless of what specific methods of property privatization are involved by one or another subject of legal relations, is the first. During this stage, the authority decides whether or not to transfer certain assets to private hands. In the framework of this procedure, a state or municipal body evaluates objects that, in the manner prescribed by law, may be subject to privatization.
The way in which the process under consideration will be implemented in practice is determined, first of all, by a specific category of property. For example, if the methods of privatization of enterprises, provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation as a whole, do not involve significant difficulties in transferring certain objects of their state property to private, then, for example, an object that has historical or cultural value cannot be transferred to the possession of a citizen.
The decision to transfer to a private person a particular state asset is taken at the level of federal authorities - primarily, the Government of the Russian Federation. This predetermines a rather long process.Therefore, the subjects of legal relations, hoping to apply the appropriate conditions, methods of privatization of state property, may need to spend a large amount of time on the implementation of the procedure in question. In turn, if a person interacts with a government authority at the regional or municipal level, privatization can take place quite quickly.
The most important aspect of the privatization of property owned by state or municipal structures is information support of the privatization process. Consider its features in more detail.
Information support for the privatization of state or municipal assets
Information support in this context is a set of measures carried out by state or municipal structures in order to provide opportunities for any persons to freely access information on privatization. One or another subject of legal relations can thus learn ways to privatize municipal property or that which belongs to the state, and also, if there is an opportunity and an objective need, to participate in this procedure.
The main tool for privatization information support is the publication on the Internet of information in the form of forecast plans or programs for transferring a particular property to private hands. At the same time, data relating to property of both federal and regional or municipal structures may be displayed on the servers of competent government departments.
In addition, the agencies responsible for the information support of the procedure in question should publish messages on the sale of certain types of assets, as well as generate reports on the results of the privatization of various types of property.
Let us now consider the methods of privatization that characterize this process when considering it in the second context - as a procedure for transferring state-owned residential real estate to private hands.
Features of housing privatization
The objects of privatization in this case can be mainly apartments, in some cases also land. The transition to private ownership of the first type of real estate in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation is generally free of charge. Privatization of land, as well as non-residential facilities, in turn, is usually carried out on a fee basis. Although, of course, the legislation of the Russian Federation provides methods for privatizing property in the form of land plots for free.
There may be situations in which a citizen buys housing from the state. True, this mechanism cannot, from a legal point of view, be considered as an option of housing privatization.
The most, perhaps, demanded among Russian citizens method of obtaining housing is using the mechanism of free privatization. Initially, the owners of residential property, which is transferred to citizens through privatization, can be both state and municipal authorities. To get an apartment in the property from the state, a person using the property under a social tenancy agreement can only 1 time free.
Consider a number of practical nuances of the procedure in question. In particular, it will be useful to study the specifics of completing the lists of documents that a citizen needs in order to use the methods of privatization of state property in the form of apartments guaranteed by law. We will also study some of the recommendations of lawyers on the application of this housing acquisition mechanism.
Privatization of housing: basic documents and recommendations of lawyers
If the real estate object transferred from the state or the municipality to the citizen is an apartment, then in order to register it as a property, the tenant must prepare:
- identity documents of all citizens who are registered in the apartment;
- an agreement under which a person uses housing on the basis of social tenancy;
- warrant, which is the basis for the settlement of a citizen in an apartment;
- extract from the housing and communal company stating that the applicant has no debts for the relevant services;
- a certificate confirming the fact that a person had not previously exercised his right to privatize apartments for free, because, as we noted above, a citizen can use them only once for free;
- extract from the state register of rights of property owners;
- applications from citizens living with a person in a privatized apartment.
If we talk about the recommendations of lawyers regarding the privatization of housing, many of them advise to clarify whether it is necessary to supplement this list of documents with any other sources directly in state or municipal authorities with which the citizen intends to interact as part of the procedure for obtaining ownership of the relevant objects real estate. Lawyers are also advised to monitor the validity of the relevant documents - many of them, for example, a certificate from the housing and communal company, should be fresh.
It can be noted that the legislation of the Russian Federation also provides for methods of privatizing state property and non-residential premises by citizens. Consider the features of this procedure in more detail - again, from the point of view of human preparation of the necessary documents.
Privatization of non-residential premises by citizens
In order to use the mechanism under consideration, a citizen needs to prepare a very voluminous list of various sources, comparable to what is needed in the framework of privatization of residential premises, or even surpassing it, both in terms of complexity of acquisition and in terms of the total number of sources that need to assemble a person. One way or another, the applicant must submit to the state or municipal authority responsible for carrying out the privatization documents such as:
- passport;
- a decree certifying the legitimacy of the privatization of the premises;
- receipt confirming the fact of payment by the citizen of the state fee;
- extract from the inventory;
- a statement requesting the necessary procedures related to the registration of ownership;
- rental contract - if the relevant document is the basis for privatization;
- cadastral passport of the property.
As we noted above, the methods of privatizing state and municipal property that has the status of a non-residential fund are generally implemented on a paid basis. The specific costs of this procedure for a person using the property should be clarified in the state and municipal authorities to which he applies.
The methods of privatization in Russia provided by law also allow citizens to take ownership of land. Let's consider this procedure in more detail - again from the point of view, first of all, of collecting the necessary documents.
Registration of ownership of land: documents
In order to draw up a land plot, originally owned by the state or municipality, into ownership, a citizen must prepare documents such as:
- a statement in the prescribed form, which records information about the site, as well as the purpose of its privatization;
- passport of the citizen - the original, as well as a photocopy;
- extract from the unified register of the rights of property owners;
- cadastral passport;
- certificate of transfer of land for use by a citizen.
Privatization through the courts: pitfalls of the procedure
So, we examined the main forms and methods of privatization, which are carried out on the basis of the norms of federal sources of law. But in some cases, the transfer of ownership of a particular object from the state to a citizen or organization requires the participation of the courts.
For example, this may be due to discrepancies between the parties to legal relations within the framework of privatization in the interpretation of the provisions of federal law - regarding various pitfalls in the rule of law, or other disputes that the parties cannot resolve by joint efforts without arbitration.
What common pitfalls in the framework of the legal relationship characterize the process of interaction between citizens and the state? Most often, citizens go to court in cases when:
- there are problems with determining the legal status of privatized real estate - for example, due to the lack of information about the apartment in state registers;
- there is a need to prove in court a pre-emptive right to buy this or that real estate from the state or municipal authority - while other citizens wish to take this opportunity, and it is not always legal, or another problem arises - specific departments impede the citizen's initiative to acquire property .
In a statement of claim, which is sent to the court, lawyers recommend fixing:
- name of the court, data about the plaintiff - his F.AND.O., address of residence, registration,
- subject of dispute or appeal of a decision,
- list of evidence of violation of the rights of a citizen,
- specific requirements of the plaintiff,
- list of documents that supplement the application.
It is worth noting that the main methods of privatization that we have considered, provided that the subjects of the relevant legal relations pay sufficient attention to ensuring the legality of the transaction, do not generally involve any difficulties. The most important thing is to collect documents on time. Even better is to clarify their list with a competent state or municipal authority.
