When a Transaction Is Declared Void
Ownership registered in the Unified State Register of Real Estate appears unassailable. But courts are entitled to invalidate a transaction — in which case the new owner must return the apartment, and recovering the purchase price can be significantly more difficult.
Grounds for challenge:
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The seller’s legal incapacity. If the seller lacked legal capacity or had limited legal capacity at the time of the transaction, the court will declare it void. High-risk situations: an elderly seller showing signs of dementia, or a seller with alcohol or drug dependency.
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The transaction was made under duress. Threat, fraud, or abuse of trust are grounds for voiding a challengeable transaction (Article 179 of the Civil Code).
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The seller’s bankruptcy. If the seller is declared bankrupt within three years of selling the apartment, the insolvency manager may challenge the transaction as having been made at an undervalue or as a fraudulent transfer of assets.
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Violations of minors’ rights. If children were registered at the apartment and the sale took place without guardianship authority approval, the transaction is voidable.
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An inheritance dispute. If the apartment passed by inheritance but the will is being contested, a newly emerging legal heir may seek recovery of the apartment from an unlawful possessor.
Good Faith Purchaser Protection: How It Works
Since 2020, the Civil Code has included a mechanism for protecting a good faith purchaser (Article 302 of the Civil Code as amended; Constitutional Court Resolution No. 48-P). If a court recognises you as a good faith purchaser, the state pays you compensation from the Treasury for the difference between the lost apartment’s value and the amount you actually recovered from the responsible parties.
A good faith purchaser is a person who:
- acquired the apartment for value (for real money, not a token sum),
- did not know and could not have known of the grounds for challenge,
- exercised reasonable care in checking the property.
Treasury compensation is a safety net, but it does not return the apartment and does not always cover the property’s true value.
How to Check a Property’s History Before Buying
Order an extended EGRN extract showing the history of title transfers. If the apartment changed owners more than once every two or three years, this warrants caution.
Check the seller against the Arbitration Case Index (kad.arbitr.ru) and the Unified Federal Register of Insolvency Proceedings (fedresurs.ru) for signs of bankruptcy.
Request the underlying title documents. If the apartment was acquired through inheritance — ask for the notarial certificate of inheritance and check whether there are any inheritance disputes. If it was privatised — check who participated in the privatisation.
Obtain a notarially certified mental health certificate for the seller. A certificate from a psychiatric and drug treatment clinic significantly reduces the risk of challenge on grounds of incapacity.
Engage a lawyer for a legal due diligence review. Professional verification of a property’s history before purchase is significantly less expensive than losing the apartment.
Read Also
- The Bona Fide Purchaser: the Dolina-Lure Case and What Russia’s Supreme Court Decided for Home Buyers
- New Real Estate Transaction Safety Mechanisms in 2026
Planning to buy a secondary-market apartment and want to verify its legal purity? Contact us for a consultation — we will conduct a legal due diligence review of the property’s history and provide a written opinion.