The Bureau’s attorney defended the Client before the Arbitrazh Court of the City of Moscow in a suit filed to Rosimuschestvo (Federal State Property Management Agency) seeking to recognise title to a segregated industrial building. The main difficulty in these proceedings was that the quite large building was erected by the Client without sufficient initial permit documentation. At the time of construction, the Client only had the design, which was later lost.
The Arbitrazh Court accepted the position of attorney Timur Onikov who argued that the building was erected by the Claimant with his own means and funds, while complying with all applicable legal requirements and construction practices.
In the proceedings, the attorney successfully pleaded that the building is not unauthorised construction.
The Arbitrazh Court also found convincing the attorney’s arguments that the Claimant had no opportunity to undertake the full commissioning into operation procedure for the building erected with own means and funds, neither under applicable law nor under the procedure effective at the time of construction – therefore the Claimant was not able to proceed with the registration of title to the disputed property, unless the basis for such registration is a court judgement that has taken legal force.
It is worth noting that all cases relating to recognition of title to Moscow properties built without adequate permit documentation packages, are in practice quite difficult. It must be remembered also that the above judgement was issued at the height of the active campaign undertaken by municipal authorities aimed at removing unauthorised buildings in Moscow.
