The Land Law: Who is Now Protected from the Return of Property to the State.

The Law on the Protection of the Rights of Good-Faith Purchasers Has Come into Effect

On April 9, 2025, Law No. 4292 'On Amendments to the Civil Code of Ukraine on Strengthening the Protection of the Rights of Good-Faith Purchasers' came into force. This law has sparked discussions among human rights defenders and experts due to potential risks of legalizing illegally appropriated state lands.

'A good-faith purchaser is a person who did not know and could not have known that they acquired property from a person who had no right to alienate that property. Suppose someone illegally seized something and then sold it to you,' journalist Serhiy Korobkin explains.

One of the main changes introduced by the new law is the alteration of the statute of limitations for the state or local community to reclaim property. Now, if more than 10 years have passed since the acquisition of property by a good-faith purchaser, the state loses the right to return it. In cases where less than 10 years have passed, the state is obliged to compensate the good-faith purchaser for the market value of the property upon its return.

The draft law was proposed by MP Ihor Fris, who argues that civil and criminal matters should be separated. He asserts: 'If there are schemes, if there is a crime, there is a criminal code for that, which has no statute of limitations and which protects the interests of the state and society.'

The Federation of Employers of Ukraine supported the new law, claiming that it ensures business stability and reduces investment risks. However, critics of the law see serious threats in it. A petition was registered on the official website of the President of Ukraine requesting to veto this draft law, but it was ignored.

The author of the petition, Mykhailo Tereshchenko, claims that the law 'is aimed at protecting dishonest purchasers, those who illegally acquired forests, bodies of water, shorelines, archaeological monuments, defense land, etc. through solicitors.'

The Anti-Corruption Center points to the widespread scheme using fronts: 'Numerous investigations show that schemes for alienating land are initially designed so that the land passes through several layers of owners before ending up in the hands of the final beneficiary, who was initially in the know and 'in on it'. The latter is formally the same good-faith purchaser.'

According to the State Property Fund, in 2024 the value of the plots subject to court claims exceeded 407 billion UAH. By enacting this new law, the state commits to relinquishing part of these plots and corresponding funds.

It is worth noting that the law does not apply to critical infrastructure facilities, strategic facilities, defense land, protected natural areas, hydraulic engineering structures, and cultural heritage sites, provided they had that status at the Time of disownership from the state. However, there are many objects that were not considered critical, strategic, or protected ten years ago.