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1. Ownership document. There are three options:

   • Decision by the Land Commission. A decision by the land commission for restoration the right of ownership of agricultural land is the most common document for ownership as most of the owners are legitimized by this kind of acts. These decisions, according to the Law on the Ownership and Use of Agricultural Land, are documents of ownership without any need for the possessor or his inheritors to provide a notary deed. Resolutions for restoring the ownership issued after 01.01.2001 should be entered in the relevant Registry Office. If the seller does not have the prototype of the decision, he may receive a copy from the relevant municipal agricultural office. The price of the copy is 1.50 BGN. for one property.

   • Notary deed for ownership. Most often these are the so-called notarial deeds. They are issued on the basis of a decision of the respective Land Commission. If the land is restored to a deceased owner, it is then issued on the basis of the decision and a current certificate of heirs. Admittedly, though less often, there are usual notarial acts in which the current owner has acquired the land by purchasing it from the persons to whom it was originally restored.

   • Partition Agreement. The most common form is a voluntary partition protocol, but it can also be a decision by the court. With this document the heirs sharetheir property. It is a long-standing practice that this is a document of ownership. Sometimes, buyers who are aiming better security in a voluntary partition may also request the original documents with which the heirs have legitimized themselves in the partition itself – a decision of the land commission / notary deed and a heir certificate. In case of a partition, each participant receives a real share or a monetary or other equation, and the contract for partition (the court’s decision for partition) is entered in the registry office. If there is money equation, the property becomes a partially matrimonial property community for the payer. In this case, the respective spouse must also participate in the transaction.

2. Current sketch of the property. It is issued by the regional offices of the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre. The sketch is valid for 6 months from the date of issue or from the revalidation date. The price of the sketch is 10 BGN You can see the list of regional services to AGCC at http://www.cadastre.bg/contacts

3. Tax assessment of the property It is issued by the respective municipality. The price is different for each municipality, but is usually in the range of 5-10 BGN. In order to get the tax assessment it is necessary to present a certificate of property characteristics, which is issued by the respective municipal office of agriculture. The issue price is 4 BGN. If the map of the respective land is maintained by the Cadastre Agency, the certificate of property characteristics shall be issued by the relevant cadastre office.

4. Declaration under article 264 (1) of ДОПК Typically, a sample of the declaration form is received by the notary who confesses the deal and it’s signed manually by the seller. When a seller is represented by a proxy, the vendor’s declaration must be pre-certified by a notary.

5. Declaration under article 25, paragraph 8 of ЗННД. Typically, the sample of the declaration is received by the notary who confesses the transaction and it is signed by the seller himself. When the seller is represented by a proxy, the vendor’s declaration must be pre-certified by a notary.

6. Certificate of inheritance. The Certificate of Inheritance is issued from the respective municipality, where the deceased owner had his last registered address. The price is different for each municipality, but it is usually about 2 BGN.

7. Notary certified letter of attorney. Deals are made at the location of the property, and too often sellers are unable to appear in person so that this document occurs in almost all land sale transactions. It is important for vendors to bear in mind that providing a letter of attorney is not enough for the transaction, and the two declarations mentioned above should be enclosed.

8. Certificate for burdens. It is not required for the deal confession. However, it has been proven that such certification should be requested by the buyer in order to be sure about the status of the property, for example, whether a mortgage has been written on the property. It is issued by the relevant registry office within the scope of which the property is located. It is much easier to get up-to-date information about the current burdens on the property from the property register of relevant registry office via the Internet at www.icadastre.bg. The price of the report is BGN 1 per property.

9. Name identity declaration.Required only in case of differences in seller names in documents. It is usually filled in during the deal at the notary.

For your convenience, we recommend you to use the services of professional real estate agencies or a qualified lawyer to prepare the necessary documents. The information provided is a summary of common practice in the sale of agricultural land according to the applicable regulations.

Staven AD as is a full member of the Bulgarian Association of Agricultural Landowners (BAALO). Staven AD is Chairman of the Management Board of BAALO
http://www.baszz.net

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