Russian Authorities Have Started Mass Land Seizures In The Moscow Region

What's going on?

From January to April 2026, 12 agricultural land plots with a total area of 488 hectares were forcibly seized from their owners in the Moscow region. According to the Ministry of Property Relations of the Moscow Region, the lands were located in Klin, Shatura, Bogorodsky and Orekhovo-Zuyevsky districts. The reason - the owners have not cultivated the land for several years, because of which they are overgrown with weeds and young trees. The seizure was ordered by the court after the owners failed to remedy the situation within a set period of time. Later the plots were put up for auction and sold - the total cost amounted to 907.5 million rubles.

As RBC specifies, the seizure procedure is as follows: first, the municipal control fixes the abandoned plot and issues an order. If the owner fails to act, the information is passed to Rosselkhoznadzor, which fines the violator and applies to the court for compulsory seizure. After that, the land is sold at auction.

Last year, the government approved the grounds for confiscation of abandoned garden, vegetable garden and homestead plots from Russians. According to the document, the land may be recognized as abandoned if nothing has been grown on it for three years, if it is overgrown with weeds above a meter or if trees and shrubs (not related to landscaping) have appeared on it. Similar measures - in case of littering with waste.

Plots for construction are withdrawn if no registered buildings have appeared on them for five years. Confiscation is also threatened if the roof or walls of already built objects have been destroyed, windows or glass have fallen out. A Rosreestr inspector assesses the use of land and compliance with its intended purpose.

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