A deputy assessed the effect of mandatory notarization of gift agreements by a notary public

The adoption of the law on mandatory notarization of real estate donation agreements will affect the reliability of this method of acquiring the right to housing. This was told to "Izvestia" by the Chairman of the State Duma (GD) Committee on Property, Land and Property Relations Sergei Gavrilov.

Earlier in the day in the GD adopted a law on the mandatory notarization by notaries of gift contracts of any real estate, regardless of between what subjects such contracts are concluded. This follows from the data of the system of ensuring the legislative activity of the Parliament.

"It's not just about some sects, where the givers are dragged in or delusions on the part of the giver, not in some deceptions of close relatives who give each other an apartment or a summer cottage, and not in the fact that a person does not have or has full legal capacity when giving a gift, because it should be understood that this never excludes the presence of a defect of his will in the transaction," - said Gavrilov.

He emphasized that the new law, in addition to the fact that it creates an opportunity for accelerated registration of the transaction through a notary, has a number of other advantages. At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that, according to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the right to own free real estate comes from the moment when it was actually transferred from the giver to the giver.

"What is meant is that it was possible to sign a deed of gift but not register the transfer of ownership for some time. Since the gift agreement has no expiration date, it could have been submitted for registration at any time. The notary immediately after verification, if there are no problems and objections, passes all documents to Rosreestr for registration. If the giver and the giftee are not close relatives, the person who accepted the gift will have to pay income tax," - said the deputy.

According to him, earlier some people simply did not register these contracts in order not to pay taxes on the transaction - up to 13-15% personal income tax from the cadastral value, and for tax non-residents up to 30% personal income tax. The givers could, for example, reason that since there is a contract and it is valid, it can be registered sometime later.

"Another important point to consider is the consequences of the further purchase of an apartment whose seller's basis for acquiring ownership is a gift agreement. If it was a donation between close relatives, then in principle the buyer could at best dispel his fears if he simply contacted the donor and found out whether everything was in order, whether the apartment was transferred without coercion and pressure. But even here he needs a notary to help him," Gavrilov said.

As he explained, in this case, the notary when checking the transaction will look at all the bases and will be able to understand whether the donor does not have a large debt or overdue debt, whether there are no signs of bankruptcy, in connection with which he could give the apartment, for example, to his son, so that it was not taken away or not taken into account in the collection of debt. Otherwise, such a gift transaction will be challenged in the future.

"And if the gift was not between close relatives, but between strangers, then such apartments no reasonable person before the expiration of the three-year period of ownership from the seller does not buy. If less than three years have passed, and the apartment is sold, and even at a favorable price, it is very suspicious. And it is unlikely that, having received an apartment as a gift yesterday, someone will want to sell it in a month and pay personal income tax again, "- added the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Property, Land and Property Relations.

He emphasized that if transactions are notarized by a notary, he sees all the persons involved in the process, knows about their transactions, can check everything thoroughly and track everything in advance, identify unscrupulous and suspicious citizens and even hand over the fraudsters into the hands of law enforcers.

"Here now after the adoption of such a law, we can confidently say that thanks to notaries, the gift contract becomes one of the most reliable ways to acquire the right to real estate," concluded Gavrilov.

Earlier, on December 7, the General Director of the professional legal group AID, lawyer David Adams told "Izvestia" that before buying an apartment should carefully check all documentation related to the property. At the same time, he noted that buying a gift apartment has its own risks.