In Lviv, the Department of Natural Resources and Construction of the Lviv City Council has published a list of the five biggest debtors for the use of community land plots. The total amount of their arrears exceeds UAH 15 million.
Since the beginning of the year, the department’s lawyers have prepared 177 claims, 122 of which concern the recovery of arrears in land rent. Thanks to court cases won, UAH 43.3 million has already been received by the budget of the Lviv community.
The department notes that taking a case to court is used as a last resort: first, debtors are invited to pay rent, compensation or funds for unjustified use of land on a voluntary basis. At present, there are around 40 proceedings in the courts concerning community land plots, not including court orders, which can be issued within five days.
The following companies have been named among the largest debtors for land use:
- LLC “Ef Development” — UAH 4,156,097 in land rent arrears;
- LLC “Budinvest” — UAH 3,803,484 in land rent arrears;
- LLC “KONTYNENT-SK” — UAH 3,409,251 in land rent arrears;
- PE “Megadim” — UAH 2,918,193 in unjustifiably retained funds;
- PE “Grandbudservis” — UAH 714,694 in compensation for losses from shortfalls in payments for actual land use.
According to the department, the total arrears of all debtors over the past two years amount to around 3% of all revenues from rent and land tax. Just this year, as of October, the city budget has already received UAH 1,164,400,000 from land payments, and this amount may turn out to be a record for the entire period.
The department reminds the public that the usual limitation period for recovering arrears through the courts is three years. However, during martial law, as well as previously during the COVID-19 pandemic, these time limits were suspended at state level. Therefore, lawyers are able to apply to the courts regarding arrears under lease agreements for previous years, which are currently treated as outstanding debts.
Officials stress that the most responsible course of action for land users is to settle debts voluntarily without allowing the case to go to court. If a case does go to court, penalties and court fees may be added to the principal amount of the debt.