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- Dacha redevelopment: how new amendments will change the rules of life for summer residents
Dacha redevelopment: how new amendments will change the rules of life for summer residents
Disputes in horticulture over roads, fences and gas networks have long become the norm, and the "overlap" of plots goes back to the 1990s, when land was allocated without clear coordinates and cadastral registration. In 2026, Rosreestr, on behalf of the government, is working on amendments to the law on horticulture, which should simplify the design of the boundaries of farming co-ops and common property. The government's plans envisage submitting the draft to the government in the spring and submitting it to the State Duma towards the end of the year. Experts are debating whether they will remove the chaos on the ground or add new obligations to summer residents. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
The "legal vacuum" and the digital foundation
In March, the government plans to send to the State Duma a bill designed to simplify the registration of rights to common property in horticultural associations and resolve the issue of annexation of adjacent territories, the relevant State Duma committee told Izvestia.
One of the key changes concerns lands located near suburban settlements: often plots that look no different from ordinary dachas do not actually fall within the boundaries of a gardening non-profit partnership. Another innovation is the simplification of the procedure for registration of rights to public property. These are lands within a farming co-op that do not belong to separate garden plots, which contain roads, utility networks, garbage dumps, and gyms necessary for the general needs of gardeners.
Many farming co-ops arose in the Soviet and post-Soviet times without surveying and precise boundaries, which gave rise to "floating" zones and adjacent areas of different status.
— Why have neighboring areas remained in a legal vacuum for so long? One of the key reasons is the result of the rather spontaneous formation of gardening territories in the 1990s and early 2000s," said Oleg Valenchuk, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Russian Horticultural Union.
Galina Zemskova, a member of the Union of Blogging Lawyers at the AYUR, adds that in Soviet times, borders were defined vaguely ‑ "from a pillar to a tree," and adjacent lands could have a different status, which complicated their inclusion in the farming co-op.
— Today, Rosreestr is actively implementing the National Spatial Data System (NSPD). It combines information from different departments, clarifies the coordinates and information about the owners," Valenchuk emphasizes.
According to him, this digital foundation allowed us to come up with an initiative on a simplified procedure for changing the boundaries of farming co-ops and registering common property, especially in the context of the social gasification program.
Boundaries of a farming co-op: only with consent
One of the key innovations is the opportunity to expand the boundaries of an existing farming co—op at the expense of a "foreign" site, but only with the written consent of the owner.
— Now the logic is this: when the territory of a farming co-op is created, its borders cannot include the plots of people who were not founders of the partnership (there are exceptions for individual cases with the land of the state or municipality). In the projected scheme, it is proposed to leave the ban on new farming co—ops, and for the existing territory to add the opportunity to expand the borders at the expense of a "foreign" site only on one condition: the owner of this site agrees in writing," explains Sergey Gavrilov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Property, Land and Property Relations.
Maria Gavrilyuk, Head of the Department of Land and Environmental Law at the State University of Land Management, emphasizes that this innovation protects the rights of owners and reduces the risks of challenging decisions of general meetings.
— Firstly, the bill will clarify the procedure for including new land plots within the boundaries of existing farming co‑ops, but subject to the consent of the owner. This innovation will protect the rights of land owners and avoid challenging the decisions of general meetings," says Gavrilyuk.
Nadezhda Loktionova, chairman of the Sverdlovsk regional branch of the Russian Horticultural Union, notes that it is the "floating" borders that most often lead to conflicts between neighbors.
— As shown by the statistics of appeals to our regional branch of the Union of Horticulturists of Russia in the Sverdlovsk region in 2025, land issues have become the most frequently asked. And here, more often, the issues relate to disputes between neighbors, especially when new owners become neighbors," says Loktionova.
She adds that without established boundaries of common lands inside the farming co-op, driveways and passageways are narrowing, and new owners are putting up fences "as is" without understanding the legal boundaries.
Common property without unnecessary meetings
The right to roads, driveways, playgrounds, dumpsters and utility networks should arise automatically as soon as the objects are registered, experts say.
— The right of common shared ownership of common—use property will arise from the owners of garden plots automatically, in proportion to the area of their land, - says Maria Gavrilyuk.
The expert of the "Popular Front. Analyst Tatiana Mironova emphasizes that this will save the farming co-op from having to hold general meetings every time to register rights to common property.
— The planned simplification of the procedure for registration of common property in a farming co-op will not only reduce bureaucratic procedures, but will also have a positive impact on relations between land owners. There will be no need to hold a general meeting of farmers, which, even with the use of modern technologies, is not always easy to organize," says Mironova.
According to her, the automatic emergence of the law will reduce the risk of conflict situations and minimize the need to explain to the owners the legal grounds for their actions.
Old farming co-ops and technical difficulties
Associate Professor of the Department of Environmental and Land Law, Faculty of Law, Moscow State University. Lomonosova Elena Efimova recalls that the simplification mainly concerns the registration of rights, but does not remove the need for land surveying and general meetings.
— Does this simplify the procedure of registration of common property so that summer residents can breathe a sigh of relief? It seems that not completely, since only part of the problems is being removed — the registration of the right to a public land plot in the Unified State Register of Real Estate, says Efimova.
She recalls that the registration of a land plot on cadastral registration requires the approval of boundaries by a land surveying project, coordination with neighbors and a decision of the general meeting.
Ilya Slesarsky, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Horticulturalists of Tatarstan, adds that unregulated plots and inaccuracies in cadastral records remain in the old farming co-ops.
— In horticulture, created before the beginning of the new millennium, there are still a number of unresolved issues, such as unresolved plots and inaccuracies in cadastral records, — says Slesarsky.
He emphasizes that registration of public lands will open access to state programs of support and pre-gasification, which are now often blocked by the lack of rights to public lands.
Conflicts, infrastructure, and orphan networks
Blurred borders and unformulated territories are one of the most frequent causes of disputes between neighbors.
— In practice, this is one of the most common causes of conflicts: blurred borders lead to self—seizure of land, improper installation of fences, and planting trees on someone else's territory, - says Galina Zemskova.
She notes that the issues of using common roads and driveways become especially acute if the land under them is not registered in common shared ownership.
— If the land under the road is not registered in common shared ownership, does the owner of the "adjacent" plot that is not part of the farming co-op have the right to drive through it? This is one of the thorny issues," Zemskova says.
As for infrastructure, engineering networks were often self-built and never put on balance, which led to conflicts over repairs and maintenance.
—Municipalities and resource supply companies were unwilling to accept such facilities, as this imposed maintenance obligations on them," Zemskova notes.
Alexander Okunev, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Resource Law Group, emphasizes that the registration of rights to storm and sanitary sewers, transformers, barriers and playgrounds is an important step for the environment and safety.
— The bill will create opportunities for the legal registration of territories that are already being cared for by bona fide dacha associations, for example, fighting hogweed and other weeds. It will also allow us to get closer to solving a common serious problem affecting the environment, safety, comfortable environment, etc.," says Okunev.
Are farmers co-ops ready for new responsibilities
The willingness of partnerships to the new rules varies greatly: large and active farming co-ops with a competent chairman, according to experts, will cope, while small and "sleeping" ones will not.
— They have no experience, personnel, motivation, — says Galina Zemskova. — Financially, the registration of rights is the cost of cadastre, geodesy, and state duties. Next is the tax on common property (land, roads), which will fall on the shoulders of all members of the cooperative through increased contributions. This can become an additional burden for pensioners.
Nadezhda Loktionova adds that, for example, in the Sverdlovsk region, the main difficulties are related to the search for owners and the lack of plans for organizing territories.
— As for bureaucratic issues, they will be, but how serious, practice will show. As a rule, in the issue of border coordination, one of the most troublesome is the search for owners, information about which is not always available in the Unified State Register of Real Estate (USRN). And not all farming co—ops have retained plans for organizing territories to prove exactly where their border runs, how wide the passage or passage should be," says Loktionova.
Elderly summer residents, municipalities, and resource providers
For older summer residents, simplification can be a relief if the design is handled by the board of Farmers and Farmers, but the growth of contributions and taxes requires government support.
— Will the law simplify the lives of elderly summer residents who do not understand cadastral procedures? Yes, but with caveats. If the management board of the cooperative handles the paperwork collectively, it will save the elderly from individual paperwork, which is easy to get confused without a lawyer. However, an increase in contributions for the maintenance of new common property and taxes may worsen their situation. Government support in the form of tax benefits or subsidies for registration will be important for them," says Galina Zemskova.
Zemskova notes that with municipalities, clear approved borders and formalized property will remove many controversial issues about the maintenance of roads and areas of responsibility.
However, the situation with resource-supplying organizations is more complicated, she notes.
— With public utilities, perhaps, the most painful issue. Registration of the networks in the ownership of the farming co-op will theoretically allow for the conclusion of direct service contracts. But the RSO will insist on bringing the networks in line with technical standards, which may require huge investments from summer residents," says Zemskova.
Skepticism and expectations from this reform
Not all experts share the optimism about the new amendments: some see them as a "legislative adjustment" rather than a kind of "revolution."
— There are several such bills per year. But when our lawyers, who specialize in gardening, begin to take the bill apart and ask questions to the authors, the "revolutionary" quickly disappears and another term begins to be used — "legislative adjustment," complains Andrei Tumanov, a member of the public council of the Federal Register, chairman of the Council of the Moscow Horticultural Union, ex—deputy of the State Duma.
He criticizes the lack of involvement of the professional community and notes that such lawmaking often goes hand in hand with pitch-ins about fines and drone control.
— When creating such bills, the professional community is almost never involved. They are discussed and accepted, as a rule, by people who are very far from the real problems of farming. More often than not, they allow what is allowed and forbid what is forbidden," says Tumanov.
At the same time, Alexander Okunev emphasizes that the bill creates real opportunities for the legal registration of territories and infrastructure, as well as an additional tax base for the state.
— The draft law is extremely important, and we can only welcome the government's proposals regarding supplementing legislative regulation with norms aimed at registration of such lands and territories, as well as common property. There are also positive aspects for the state and municipalities in this regard. First of all, this is the differentiation of responsibility for the maintenance of territories, the possibility of subsequently forming an additional tax base," says Okunev.
The government's plans envisage submitting the draft to the government in the spring of 2026 and submitting it to the State Duma towards the end of the year, and before that, the current rules continue to apply for the agricultural co-op, concluded State Duma Deputy Sergei Gavrilov.
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