Unmanned surveillance: land plots will be monitored using drones
Starting from October 1, 2026, Rosreestr and Rosselkhoznadzor will have the right to rely on data from drones and spacecraft when conducting control measures. Images from drones and from space will acquire the status of proper evidence — based on them it will be possible to initiate cases of administrative offenses in the field of land supervision. Until that date, such materials were of an auxiliary nature, and in court, a competent lawyer often questioned them. Details about what will be checked and who is at risk are in the "Izvestia" material.
What will be checked from the air starting from October 1
Starting from October 1, drones will be used to detect several types of violations: illegal changes in the boundaries of the site, the presence of uncoordinated buildings, the work of equipment removing the fertile soil layer, and the abandonment of the site. All of them are fixed in the decree of the Government of Russia dated 07/01/2026 No. 811. At the same time, experts say, the accuracy of such a survey is comparable to traditional methods.
"The accuracy of drone shooting is plus or minus half a meter. ""That is, the accuracy is no less than that of manual geodetic survey," the head of the cadastral company "Cadastre" told Izvestia.‑About" Pavel Chernov.
The expert stressed that many details are clearly visible in the drone images.
"You can see everything there — the fence, and even the garden beds. It is very clearly visible. The purpose of the object is not always clear, but the boundaries of the object, the boundaries of the fence, almost any elements, some kind of landscape design ‑ it's all well readable," explained Pavel Chernov.
Only capital buildings that are firmly connected to the land come under control. Light greenhouses, canopies and prefabricated gazebos will not be checked.
How will violations be detected at the polling stations
Experts emphasize that the drone will not issue a fine automatically, like a traffic police camera. The device takes pictures of the territory and records the sign of a violation, then specialists study the materials. If a deviation is detected, it becomes an indicator of risk, and a warning is sent to the owner with a recommendation to eliminate the violation.
If the violation has not been eliminated, an on-site inspection is scheduled in consultation with the prosecutor's office. The inspector arrives at the site, takes measurements, draws up an act in the presence of the owner. Next, an order for elimination is issued, then an administrative offense case is initiated.
Ilya Martazov, a lawyer and member of the St. Petersburg Bar Association, explained to "Izvestia" that the drone's image of the land plot itself is not a reason for imposing a fine. But starting from October 1, it may become the basis for an audit.
"Previously, the legislation did not know such evidence as a picture from a drone. Now, if a violation is detected from a drone, the inspector is obliged either to issue a warning about the inadmissibility of the violation, or to initiate an administrative offense case and conduct a full-fledged check: go to the place, establish the boundaries, the owner, the composition of the fault, the composition of the administrative offense and draw up a protocol. A picture from a drone will be the basis for the inspector to do this," the expert explained.
According to Martazov, such a procedure may be due to imperfect technology. There is an error both in the drone image itself and at the boundaries of the land plots contained in the register: 10 cm is officially allowed for plots within the city and 20 cm for plots outside the city.
"It is also not yet clear how the drone system will work in areas where borders overlap. And this is often due to errors in the registry or actions of the owners 10-20 years ago. Disputes over land boundaries between owners are a fairly popular category of disputes. It is still unclear how the drone will work with this problem. Perhaps, after the drone fixes the overlap, the inspector will go to the place and determine whether the boundaries are imposed or not and how well the drone sees them correctly," the lawyer said.
How will owners be notified of violations?
The owners will be notified through "Gosuslugi", and they will find out about it after the fact. If a violation is first detected, there will be no fine — they will be limited to a warning.
"First, there will be a precautionary step — they will ask you to bring everything into line. It doesn't matter what it is — borders, the intended use of the land plot or the non—use of the land plot for its intended purpose," Pavel Chernov explained.
What is the threat for violations
For violations in the field of land use, the owner faces fines, and in extreme cases — the seizure of land or criminal liability. At the same time, they usually give the opportunity to eliminate the violation first.
Unauthorized seizure of land, for example, the removal of a fence, entails a fine under Art. 7.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation: from 5 thousand rubles for citizens, from 25 thousand rubles for officials, from 100 thousand rubles for organizations. The owner will be obliged to dismantle the buildings and restore the borders at his own expense.
Using a plot for other purposes, such as opening a store on the land for residential housing, is punishable under Part 1 of Article 8.8 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation with fines of 10 thousand rubles for citizens and above, and may also lead to the demolition of buildings or the seizure of land.
A three-year period for the development of the site has been in effect since March 2025. Signs of non-use are also fixed in the legislation. These include clutter, overgrowth, lack of buildings on residential housing plots, and others. For this, a fine is threatened under Part 3 of art. 8.8 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, and if the instructions are ignored, seizure through the court (art. 284 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, art. 54.1 of the CC RF): the plot will be sold at auction, the money, minus expenses, will be returned to the owner.
Failure to comply with the instructions of the regulatory authority entails a separate fine (Part 1 of Article 19.5 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation) — for citizens from 10 to 20 thousand rubles, repeated violations accelerate the withdrawal procedure.
Pavel Chernov added that a fine is not the biggest problem that a landowner who has a violation may face.
"After a fine of 10-20 thousand rubles, the owner may receive a claim from neighbors or from the administration, government agencies — for the transfer of the boundaries of the site, fence, buildings or for the demolition of unauthorized buildings, if any. This is already much more unpleasant than an administrative fine," the lawyer explained.
Since March 2026, the fine for non—destruction of hogweed is 20-50 thousand rubles, for violation of fire safety — up to 50 thousand rubles, for growing prohibited plants - criminal liability of up to 8 years in prison.
Who is at risk
Summer residents and owners of farming co—ops are at risk of new inspections if the fence is moved or there is an unregistered capital building on the site. Owners of agricultural land — in case of overgrowth, disuse or soil damage. Developers — during the construction of buildings not provided for in the land plan.
"First of all, they will look at the use of land, that is, the targeted use of land. An apartment building should be built on the site for residential housing. There can't be a business, a car service, a store, a cafe, or anything else. This is the first point. The second is to ensure that the legal and actual borders match, so that the actual borders do not exceed the legal ones. And the third is the clutteriness of the land. The land plots must be used. If the plot is in a farming co—op, it should not be abandoned - the land plot cannot be covered with weeds higher than one meter high, or there should be no old buildings in a dilapidated state on it. In this case, fines may be imposed on the owner, up to and including the seizure of the land plot," Pavel Chernov explained.
Special attention will be paid to borders. Many owners move fences towards the forest or the road, believing that since the site is not separated, nothing can be checked. Experts remind us that this is a dangerous misconception.
"If we are talking in the context of going beyond the boundaries of the land plot, then there is no risk for the owner only if the neighboring land plots are not separated," the expert explained.
According to Ilya Martazov, the least at risk are the owners of cottages and buildings in farming co-ops, who still have not bothered to demarcate their plots. The drone compares what it sees with the data in the registry, and such owners do not have data on the boundaries, which means there is nothing to fine them for, since it is impossible to determine where the boundaries of the site are.
However, this only works when neighboring territories are also not registered in the registry. If the fence encroaches on demarcated state or municipal lands, such as forests or roads, the violation will be detected even without surveying the site itself.
"If the owner has an uncoupled plot of land, and it borders not on the plots of other individuals, but, for example, on a forest fund or municipal lands <...> and he has climbed onto the demarcated borders of some state or federal lands, then this will also come to light," Pavel Chernov commented.
According to the lawyer, the current owners will be responsible for the actual location of the borders and bear all the consequences provided for by law if they bought a plot without checking the documents, without making a survey and without comparing the actual borders with the registry data. The heirs also face a similar responsibility if the previous owner did not carry out a land survey and did not check the boundaries during his lifetime.
How can owners check the boundaries of land plots?
To verify the correctness of the boundaries of the land plot, the owner can order an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and compare the actual boundaries with the cadastral ones. It is also worth checking the type of permitted use of the site: buildings and activities carried out on it must correspond to it.
For owners of agricultural land, it is important to confirm the use of the site for its intended purpose, for example, by the availability of cultivation or crops. If discrepancies with the EGRN data are found, the boundaries should be clarified. In addition, until March 1, 2031, it is possible to arrange buildings as part of the dacha amnesty.
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