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- I'm sorry, I can't handle it: experts talked about the dangers of refundable transactions
I'm sorry, I can't handle it: experts talked about the dangers of refundable transactions
Rosreestr recorded an alarming trend: in 2024 alone, more than three thousand transactions involving elderly sellers were invalidated. There are now over 10,000 similar cases in the courts of first instance. Experts say the number of such solutions has increased by 15-20% in two years. Read more about the problem in the Izvestia article.
The trend of distrust
There are hundreds of stories of people who checked all the seller's documents, took out a mortgage, and still found themselves without housing or money. Meanwhile, the owners of the disputed housing, acting allegedly under the influence of telephone scams, get away with it. Due to the volatility of transactions, the situation in the secondary real estate market has acquired the features of a systemic crisis.
The precedent that changed the rules
In December 2025, the Supreme Court put an end to the high-profile "Dolinoy case." The apartment was left to the buyer Polina Lurie. It seemed that the highest court had made it clear that a bona fide buyer could not be responsible for the seller's motivation. Earlier, the courts of three instances sided with the star saleswoman, and after her, with the pensioners who acted similarly to Dolina. In fact, Themis was guided by a kind of "social justice" — they say, they feel sorry for pensioners, but not so much for faceless customers, they themselves are to blame, says lawyer and public figure Ekaterina Krasnova.
Apartment buyer Polina Lurie and her lawyer Svetlana Sviridenko (from right to left) during the consideration of a complaint against the decisions of lower courts on the claim for invalidation of the sale of singer Larisa Dolina in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation
— It was the most important signal for the whole system. But the problem is not solved. The scammers have already reformed: now they put pressure on the mental state of the seller, using art. 177 of the Civil Code. Local courts continue to make contradictory decisions.
A new trick: instead of deception, "inability to understand"
After the December Supreme Court ruling, unscrupulous sellers promptly changed tactics. Previously, transactions were challenged through Article 178 of the Civil Code (Invalidity of a transaction made under the influence of a significant misconception), but now Article 177 has been used — inability to understand the meaning of one's actions due to stress, medication, or pressure from fraudsters.
"Courts often accept out—of-court psychological certificates instead of prescribing a comprehensive forensic psychiatric examination," explained Maxim Peshkov, a lawyer and expert at the Foundation for the Support of Citizens Affected by Crimes. — This directly contradicts the position of the Supreme Court. There is a procedural impasse: the police refer to the need for a judicial decision, the court to the lack of evidence of intent without operational search measures. The prosecutor's office redirects appeals to the police, the police to the court, and the court back to the prosecutor's office. While this interdepartmental document flow continues, families with young children are forced to live in hostels.
"We shouldn't be responsible for someone else's psyche"
Nino Tsitlidze, who lost an apartment she bought with a mortgage, heads an initiative group of victims today — Izvestia previously covered the situation with her deal in detail. It includes thousands of citizens across the country.
— We are conscientious buyers. We have collected all the documents. We paid off our last money and took out loans. We haven't violated anything," she said. — Today, we, the victims of fraudsters, for some reason must be responsible for the motives of the seller! For his emotional state! The person came to the notary's office, signed the contract, took the money — and for some reason we will be responsible for this. And do you know what the scariest thing is? Someone is already using this scheme as a reliable way to save money and real estate. You need to wait a bit, take your time in the courts, say, "Oh, I wasn't myself," and that's it.
According to Tsitlidze, there are thousands of similar cases in courts at different levels, and people are just waiting for solutions. "This is a planned criminal scheme," she is convinced. — We were deceived. We were thrown out into the street through the courts."
Restitution on paper is the taking of property in practice
The main paradox, which is noted by almost all experts, is the fictitiousness of a refund upon cancellation of a transaction. According to the law, if the contract is declared invalid, a two—way restitution should work: the apartment is returned to the seller, the money is returned to the buyer. In practice, the seller is already bankrupt by this point, the money has been spent or withdrawn.
— The court returns the apartment to the seller, obliging him to return the money, but the seller is bankrupt by this time. Formal restitution discredits justice,— stated Matvey Goncharov, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Support of Victims of Crime.
The example of Nino Tsitlidze is an illustration of this conflict: the buyer remains without housing and without money, continuing to pay off the mortgage loan.
Possible solutions?
Sergey Sayapin, Vice President of the Guild of Realtors of Moscow, reminded Izvestia about the bill of deputy Alexey Chepa, who proposes to oblige the plaintiff in restitution cases to deposit the amount to be refunded to the buyer. If there is no money on deposit, there is no claim. The initiative has already been submitted, but received a negative conclusion. The professional community asks to return to her.
Lawyer Igor Baranov, co-author of the draft law on the protection of the rights of bona fide purchasers, reported on amendments to art. 179 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. It is proposed to fix the rule: if the buyer did not know and could not have known about the deception of the seller by third parties, the transaction cannot be declared invalid.
"A similar legal position has already been contained in the explanations of the Supreme Court in 2015, but in practice it is applied inconsistently," Baranov said.
A detailed discussion on the resolution of problematic transactions will take place at the Izvestia press center on April 24, 2026.
A powerful blow to the market
According to experts, the situation has already led to a crisis of confidence in the secondary housing market. People massively refuse transactions, fearing that in a year or two the "mistaken" seller will appear and the court will take away the apartment.
"This undermines trust in the law and the state," Sergei Sayapin summed up. — The buyer has one duty — to pay. The seller has a set of responsibilities: reliable information, cleanliness of the object, absence of rights of third parties. In practice, the opposite is true. The prosecutor's office, the police, the courts, even psychiatric clinics take the side of the unscrupulous seller. A conscientious buyer remains extreme.
The Crime Victims Support Fund offers a radical solution: to create a state compensation fund at the expense of deductions in the amount of 0.1% of each transaction, contributions from market participants and fines. This will allow you to compensate any bona fide party affected by fraud.
Meanwhile, more than a million people who watched the live broadcast from the Supreme Court on the Dolina case continue to ask the same question: does justice work for an ordinary honest person? The answer to it, it seems, will be sought by the deputies of the new convocation. If, of course, the real estate market waits for their decisions.
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