Inclusion of Family Members in the Unified State Register of Real Estate (EGRN)
Starting from September 2025, amendments introduced by Federal Law No. 482-FZ dated December 26, 2024, “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”, will come into effect. These amendments concern the registration of rights of certain categories of individuals in the Unified State Register of Real Estate (EGRN).
Under the new provisions, the EGRN will now include information about family members and former family members of the owner of an apartment acquired through privatization or a housing cooperative, provided they hold a lifetime right of residence.
This applies, in particular, to individuals who declined to participate in the privatization process but had the right to reside in the apartment based on an official housing order (ордер), or were admitted into cooperative housing as family members. Previously, such rights were not reflected in state registers, creating legal risks, especially in transactions involving sale or encumbrance (e.g., mortgage) of the property.
These rights may now be officially recorded in the EGRN either:
- upon application by the property owner, or
- pursuant to a court decision obtained by an individual seeking to assert and protect their right of residence.
As a result, for notarized transactions such as the sale or mortgage of property, consent will be required from all individuals whose lifetime right of use is officially registered.
This legislative change aims to reduce the risks faced by purchasers of residential property. However, because the inclusion of such information in the EGRN depends either on the voluntary action of the owner or a court decision, the burden of identifying such persons still falls on the buyer.
Recommendation: When entering into property transactions, it is essential to carefully examine the privatization history of the apartment and review documents confirming the composition of the owner’s family at the time the property was acquired.
