The lawyer warned about the consequences of giving false testimony in court by apartment sellers

If an elderly real estate seller who claims to be insane after the transaction gives false testimony, he may face criminal liability. Lawyer Andrey Knyazev told Izvestia about this on January 17, commenting on a new scheme to deceive real estate buyers.

Earlier, information appeared on the Web that after the court decision on Polina Lurie's lawsuit against singer Larisa Dolina, fraudsters began to use a new scheme: instead of accusations of deception, they file lawsuits under art. 177 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the invalidity of a transaction made by a citizen who is unable to understand the meaning of his actions.

"The person claimed that he was healthy, brought a certificate, and later claims that he was insane at the deal — this is at least, from my point of view, a crime if it is proven," the expert noted.

According to Knyazev, real estate sellers should be required to provide a certificate of sanity.

"It is worth requesting a certificate from a neuropsychiatric and narcological dispensary, certifying everything with a notary, and showing prudence and prudence when buying real estate," the lawyer advised.

The expert stressed that only a court can establish incapacity, and it does not always take the side of an elderly person. At the same time, if it is proved that the seller initially gave false testimony, he may face criminal liability.

Residential block: the number of bans on real estate transactions has increased in Russia

How can I secure the purchase and sale of housing

On November 29, 2025, real estate lawyer Oleg Silkin reported that in order to avoid losses when buying real estate with the risks of fraud under the "granny apartments" scheme, lawyers offer two ways of insurance, the principles of which are also described in the novel "12 chairs". The lawyer called the mechanism by which the apartment is returned only after the money is refunded fair. According to him, when canceling a deal, the parties must return everything that was received under the deal — this is called bilateral restitution.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.