The judicial mechanism for establishing ownership in the absence of BTI records

Many people, especially internally displaced, face the same problem: the housing exists, the documents are also available, but there is no information about it in the State Register of Property Rights to Immovable Property. Usually, this concerns real estate formalised before 2013. Without this registration, it is impossible to submit an application for compensation under the eVidnovlennia (eRecovery) programme.

Nataliia found herself in this situation after her house was destroyed. She had ownership documents dating back to the 1990s, but when she tried to apply for compensation, it turned out that her property had not been entered into the register. The woman applied to a state registrar, but received a refusal. The reason was typical for many similar cases: the archive of the Bureau of Technical Inventory, where the old records had been stored, had been destroyed. This meant that it was no longer possible to confirm ownership rights through the ordinary procedure, even despite the available documents.

Nataliia then turned to lawyers from the Danish Refugee Council (DRC). After analysing the situation, they proposed another solution - applying to the court. A DRC lawyer helped prepare the necessary application and evidence, and the court established a fact which, in its legal significance, replaces the missing archival records of the Bureau of Technical Inventory, which is of key importance for the state registrar. This decision became the basis for entering the information into the state register, and the woman received an extract confirming her right to the real estate.

This was exactly the step needed to move forward. After that, Nataliia was able to submit an application for compensation under the eVidnovlennia (eRecovery) programme. This story shows that even if archives are lost or inaccessible, the situation is not hopeless. If you have documents, there is still a chance to restore your rights, and that chance can be realised.

The Danish Refugee Council provides free legal aid in Kharkiv region thanks to funding from the European Union.