Land use rights

In Tajikistan, land is in the exclusive ownership of the state.

Land use rights can be alienable and non-alienable. Alienable land use rights can be sold, transferred otherwise, given as security or leased out. Such rights can be granted or acquired for value. The land to which such rights attached can be used only in accordance with its intended purposes.

Alienable land rights can belong to individuals who are citizens of Tajikistan and to Tajik legal entities. Foreign individuals and legal entities can possess only non-alienable land use rights and only for up to 50 years. Also, agricultural lands cannot be in possession of foreign individuals and legal entities.

All these land use rights are primary land use rights are acquired upon decision of the Government. Land use rights of individuals can also be inheritable. Secondary land use rights are based on the lease contracts and private partnership agreements. Land use rights can be of unlimited or of limited duration (short-term – up to 3 years and long-term – up to 20 years). Primary land use rights are certified by a certificate of land use right.

Transfer of land use rights

Transfer of ownership title over buildings and other immovable objects will result in the transfer to the acquirer, with no compensation, of immovable object of the land beneath it and also to the land adjacent to it, which is necessary for the use and maintenance of the immovable object. The land that is beyond the boundaries of the parcel necessary for the use and maintenance of the acquired immovable object is acquired for compensation.

Mortgage of land use rights

Primary land use rights can be granted as security (mortgaged) and the period of maturity of the secured obligations cannot be longer than the period for which land use rights over the respective land parcel has been granted, unless the land use right is in possession for unlimited period of time.

Mortgaged can be granted only over the whole land parcel. If the intention is to mortgage part of the land parcel that part will have to be registered as a separate parcel first.

Termination of land rights

Land use rights terminate in the following cases: 1) liquidation of the legal entity, possessor of the land use rights; 2) failure to use agricultural land for two years and for non-agricultural lands – suspending the construction project for three years; 3) failure to use land in accordance with its intended purposes; 4) use of land in such a way as to render it poor in fertility, or resulting in chemical, radioactive and other pollution and deteriorating environmental conditions; 5) expropriation of land for government or public utility.

Termination of land use rights on the above grounds shall be compensated on a market value basis. Termination of the land use rights on the grounds indicated in 2-4 above can take place only upon decision of a court and only following the three-month grace period in which the respective land user is to rectify the situation.

Expropriation

Expropriation of land for government or public utility is conditional upon the following: 1) granting to the respective land users of the land of equal value; 2) construction at a new location of the housing or other construction object suitable for similar purposes, or providing money value instead; 3) compensation for other losses including lost income. All damage is ascertained using marked based values.