In the framework of agricultural land turnover, the use of the land redistribution fund is of particular importance. Its formation played a key role in the transfer of allotments belonging to state farms and collective farms, to numerous peasant farms and private farms. This became possible thanks to the publication of the Law of 1990 No. 374-1. This normative act launched land reform in the country. Subsequently, the process was improved through the adoption of the LC and other regulatory acts, including the Law "On the Turnover of Agricultural Land".
Positive aspects of the reform
The formation of the land redistribution fund was of particular practical importance. This is evidenced by statistical data.
The key goal of the reform was to create a peasant-farmer way of life on the basis of a massive, universal withdrawal of land owners from collective ownership of privatized allotments of state farms and collective farms with the allocation of these territories in kind. At the beginning of January 1995, about 270 peasant farms were registered with the land plot. About 1/3 of them were created on state and collective farm territories. 2/3 of allotments were allocated from the land redistribution fund.
Nevertheless, since the launch of the reform, people in droves began to form suburban, gardening, horticultural associations. By the mid-2000s, there were more than 80 thousand.
Sources of formation
Initially, the creation of the land redistribution fund was carried out in accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the Armed Forces of the RSFSR and the Council of Ministers No. 891-1 of March 15, 1991. The Land Code was not yet enacted. According to the specified act, 10% of arable land was withdrawn from state farms and collective farms for inclusion in the fund. From it it was supposed to provide the nascent peasant farms with land for haying and other agricultural needs.
Another source of allotments was the surplus of plots that arose after the formation of collective ownership during the privatization of state and collective farm territories, as well as their reorganization on the basis of the LC of 1991, Presidential Decree No. 323 and Government Decisions No. 86 of 1991 and No. 708 of 1992 According to these documents, the registration of ownership of land should have been completed before 01/01/1993.
The third source of creating funds in the first years of the formation of peasant farms, horticultural, summer cottage and gardening associations was the forest fund plots not occupied by plantations, and reserve territories.
Privatization procedure
First of all, on each collective farm, district, and state farm, on-farm and district commissions were formed. They were empowered to reorganize farms and privatize allotments.
The labor collective had to make decisions about:
- Land ownership.
- The rules for applying for allotment, redemption or rental of land in excess of the established norms. At the same time, a circle of entities entitled to receive land for free was to be determined.
- Determination of the total area of allotments assigned to collective ownership.
The average district rate of allotments provided free of charge was determined by dividing the total area within the territory of agricultural enterprises by the total number of citizens employed in agriculture or previously engaged in agricultural activities. The latter included pensioners, social workers, etc. The local administration, in turn, received the right to determine a differentiated rate of gratuitous transfer of land to property in zones with different population densities.
Due to the fact that the number of citizens varied significantly, and differentiation of the norm, as a rule, was not carried out, in some households the size of the land share turned out to be less than the normative one, in others it was equal to it, in the third it exceeded the indicator.
Termination of Rights
The land redistribution fund was also replenished at the expense of allotments ceasing to be property on the grounds enshrined in Articles 39, 40 of the LC of 1991. This, in particular, on
- Voluntary abandonment of the site or part thereof.
- The expiration of the period for which the allotment was granted.
- Termination of work of an enterprise (organization) or peasant economy.
- The exploitation of land not for its intended purpose. For example, on the land for gardening, an industrial enterprise is being built.
- Irrational use of the allotment.
- Systematic non-payment of tax for two years and non-payment of arrears before the expiration of the next year.
- Unused allotment for a year. For example, the subject intended to exploit the land for grazing, but failed to develop livestock farming.
- Alienation of the site to the local council.
But soon, the indicated grounds lost their force, since the articles that enshrined them became invalid by virtue of the Presidential Decree of 1993.
Legislation Adjustment
The legal regime of allotments has changed significantly with the introduction of the new edition of the LC and the law "On the circulation of agricultural land."
Initially, there were only 3 ways to create a fund. In paragraph 2 of Art. 80 of the LC RF, in particular, the following grounds were established:
- Voluntary abandonment of the allotment.
- Transfer of land to the state in the absence of successors or their refusal to inherit.
- Forced removal of the allotment in cases stipulated by law.
The introduction of a new regulation on the creation of a redistribution fund — a replacement with the wording “acquisition by the constituent entity of the Russian Federation or the Russian Federation of property rights to the land on the grounds provided for in the Federal Law” - is due to the open nature of the list of methods defined in the previous version. It did not cover circumstances that did not fall under “forced removal”.
Subsequently, Article 80 of the Code was supplemented by an indication that the fund includes territories that, at the date of the introduction of the Land Code, were in previously created funds on the basis of Presidential Decree No. 323 of 1991.
According to lawyers, the new version of the norm needs to be clarified. The fact is that the beginning of the creation of the fund is associated with the implementation of the first legislative acts on reform. In addition, the bulk of it was allotments that were not affected by privatization (for example, 10% of arable land taken from enterprises).
Situation today
Allotments are included in the reallocation fund, which for some reason turned out to be unused or received by state authorities as part of the transaction. In accordance with the current LC, the territories are included in the fund:
- In the absence of the subject who planned to acquire land for agricultural production. In such a situation, the allotment is acquired by the municipality at a market price.
- Upon alienation of land owned by a foreign citizen, legal entities, including the authorized capital of which consists of more than half of the contributions of foreigners or entities without citizenship.
- When selling a plot whose area is larger than the maximum allowable size for one person.
- In case of voluntary abandonment of the site. In this case, the allotment becomes ownerless. All rights held by the owner terminate. Accordingly, the land passes to the state or the Moscow Region.
In case of alienation of the allotment, the municipality shall have the preemptive right to purchase.
Legal regime
State ownership of the fund’s land is not differentiated. Allotment and management of allotments is carried out by local authorities.
It is allowed to transfer plots from the redistribution fund to rent, property (free of charge or for a fee) to legal entities and citizens in cases provided for by law.
Regional authorities have the right to independently determine and change the boundaries of agricultural land plots, to vest local authorities with separate powers in the field of land relations. In addition, they can set:
- The circle of individuals having rights to the lands of the fund.
- The list of specific allotments to be leased or transferred to the property.
- The maximum and minimum parameters of the plots.
- The total area of the fund’s territories within the boundaries of one MO.
- The procedure and grounds for the provision of land owned by entities to the municipality.
- Rules for making proposals regarding the fund.
Use of allotments
In paragraph 3 of article 78 of the LC provides for the operation of sites allocated from the redistribution fund. Sites temporarily dropped out of circulation may be transferred for:
- Conducting agricultural production activities.
- Creation of strips of protective stands.
- Implementation of educational, research and other activities.
- Fishing.
- Agricultural needs during the construction of power lines, roads, pipelines.
- Creation of a hunting economy.
Subjects of law
From the redistribution fund allotments can receive:
- Business companies and partnerships, individuals.
- Municipal and state unitary enterprises.
- Consumer, production cooperatives.
- Non-profit, commercial enterprises.
- Religious associations.
- Experienced, educational, pilot production units engaged in training.
- Communities of the peoples of the North, Siberia, the Far East.
- Cossack societies.
To obtain the allotment, an interested person contacts the local authority authorized to fulfill the functions of regulatory regulation in the field of land relations.
Information on fund allotments
In accordance with the provisions of Article 80 of the LC, information on sites is placed in open access sources. The administration of municipalities must notify all interested parties of the availability of plots, publish data on the lands entering the fund in local media.
Communities, citizens, partnerships and other persons included in the list fixed by law are entitled to apply for a plot for free use. Enterprises and farms, in turn, can apply for the purchase of additional plots.
Additionally
An authorized local authority at the request of an interested entity is required not only to provide information on the presence / absence of plots in the fund, but also to show (if there are territories) a full description of their characteristics.
The decision on the allotment is made in each case individually. The law does not prohibit local authorities from seeking justification for the appropriation of land.