<\/p>\n
Compensation for the expropriation of property<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Under Article 21(1) of the Municipal Property Act, property belonging to individuals may be compulsorily acquired to meet municipal needs that cannot otherwise be met. Acquisition must be based on a detailed development plan in force providing for the construction of facilities that will be public municipal property, and equivalent monetary compensation must be paid in advance. Under Article 25(2), the mayor issues the expropriation order.<\/p>\n
Article 22(5) to (12) sets out how equivalent monetary compensation is assessed. The assessment takes the property\u2019s designated use before the plan under Article 21(1) came into force and uses market prices for nearby properties with similar characteristics. If no transactions at the relevant registry office allow such prices to be established, compensation for property in urban areas is determined under Annex No. 2 to Article 20 of the Local Taxes and Fees Act. Paragraph 1 of the supplementary provisions of the Municipal Property Act defines equivalent monetary compensation as the price of the property or part being acquired, determined under the Act. Under paragraph 1, point 2, market prices for similar properties are the average prices of all qualifying transactions involving nearby properties with the same specific or predominant use, the same type of development and identical or similar planning and building parameters and\/or established long-term use. Transactions include sales, exchanges, creation of rights in rem or transfer of ownership in return for an obligation to build, mortgages, auctions held by state or private enforcement officers, state institutions or municipalities, and other transactions for consideration between individuals and\/or legal entities where at least one party is a trader. The transactions must have been concluded within the 12 months preceding the date the valuation was commissioned and registered with the registry office for the property\u2019s location. If more than twenty transactions were registered during those 12 months, only the last twenty registered are taken into account.<\/p>\n
Under paragraph 1, point 3 of the supplementary provisions, nearby properties in urban areas are those in the same price zone as the expropriated property. Under paragraph 1, point 7(b), equivalent urban properties differ in value by no more than ten per cent, share the same specific or predominant use, lie within the same urban area in a planning zone with identical or similar planning and building parameters, and have the same type of development.<\/p>\n
This article is not a legal opinion or advice on a particular situation or person. The author makes no claim to cover compensation for expropriated property exhaustively. For legal assistance in a similar case, consult a civil lawyer.<\/em>
\n