Recognition of Ownership Rights to a 1/5 Share of an Apartment via Privatization

Case Profile

The Background

In 1992, a Moscow apartment was privatized in equal shares among all family members, including our Client, who was a minor at the time. Based on the transfer application and the issued certificate of ownership, a 1/5 share belonged to him.

Years later, when applying to Rosreestr (the Federal Tax and Cadastral Register) to confirm and state-register his title, the Plaintiff was refused. The refusal was grounded in the fact that in the archived text of the transfer contract, our Client was formally omitted from the list of individuals. The Department of City Property of Moscow (DGI) stated that its database previously contained erroneous data, which was subsequently "aligned" with the wording of the contract.

This created a paradoxical situation where our Client was effectively stripped of his lawful share in the apartment, despite holding the original 1992 ownership certificate. To protect his legitimate interests, KDpartners lawyers prepared a lawsuit seeking judicial recognition of the Client's ownership right to the 1/5 share as a previously arisen title.

Client Risks

The central risk for our Client was the permanent loss of ownership to his 1/5 share of the property, valued at nearly RUB 2.8 million cadastral value.

Rosreestr's refusal and DGI's stance created a direct threat of excluding the Plaintiff from the property title and suffering actual asset loss. This would have rendered him unable to dispose of the share, complicated inheritance procedures, and affected tax liabilities.

Moreover, the municipal authority's actions formed a harmful precedent whereby citizens who participated in privatization as minors could be deprived of rights due to clerical mistakes made by officials thirty years prior.

Legal Defense & Strategy

KDpartners lawyers formulated a legal strategy demonstrating that our Client's ownership right arose back in 1992 as a result of privatization and remains legally valid regardless of modern USRN database entries.

The defense submitted the following evidence to the court:

• the application for transfer of the apartment into ownership, signed by all adult family members;
• the original housing ownership certificate;
• archival house book extracts and certificates from housing management offices;
• documents confirming the Plaintiff's permanent registration and residence in the apartment at the time of privatization.

The legal arguments relied on the Law of the Russian Federation "On Privatization of the Housing Stock in the Russian Federation" and established Supreme Court guidelines safeguarding the rights of minor privatization participants. Additionally, the lawyers cited legislation on previously arisen ownership rights, which are recognized as valid even without contemporary USRN entries.

The court fully concurred with the defense arguments, ruling that our Client was lawfully included among the privatization participants and that technical errors in contract wording or DGI databases cannot extinguish a previously established ownership title.

The Outcome

The Koptevsky District Court of Moscow granted the lawsuit in full:

• our Client was officially recognized as holding ownership rights to a 1/5 share of the apartment arising from the 1992 privatization;
• the judicial act was confirmed as the direct legal instrument for entering the ownership record into the USRN.

As a result of our team's work, the Client completely restored legal certainty, secured his real estate share, and protected his property rights against claims by the Moscow Department of City Property.