The translation of this document is outdated.
Translation validity: 01.08.2007.–18.10.2011.
Amendments not included:
22.09.2011.,
28.11.2011.
Disclaimer: The English language text below is provided
by the Translation and Terminology Centre for information
only; it confers no rights and imposes no obligations
separate from those conferred or imposed by the
legislation formally adopted and published. Only the
latter is authentic. The original Latvian text uses
masculine pronouns in the singular. The Translation and
Terminology Centre uses the principle of gender-neutral
language in its English translations. In addition,
gender-specific Latvian nouns have been translated as
gender-neutral terms, e.g. chairperson.
Text consolidated by Tulkošanas un terminoloģijas
centrs (Translation and Terminology Centre) with amending
laws of:
25 September 1991;
22 January 1992;
25 February 1992;
27 April 1993;
10 November 1994;
28 September 2006;
8 January 2007 (Cabinet Regulation No. 27);
14 June 2007.
If a whole or part of a section has been amended, the
date of the amending law appears in square brackets at
the end of the section. If a whole section, paragraph or
clause has been deleted, the date of the deletion appears
in square brackets beside the deleted section, paragraph
or clause.
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Supreme Council
of the Republic of Latvia
21 November 1990
Law On Land
Reform in the Rural Areas of the Republic of Latvia
Chapter
One
General Provisions
Section 1. Objective of Land
Reform
The objective of the land reform is to reorganise the legal,
social and economic relationships of land property and the use of
land in the countryside during a gradual privatisation in order
to promote the renewal of the traditional rural lifestyle of
Latvia, to ensure the economic use and protection of natural and
other resources, preservation and raising of soil fertility,
increase of qualitative agricultural product production.
Section 2. Tasks of Land Reform
To establish legal grounds for protection of the rights of
users and owners of land.
To develop economic and territorial conditions for the
economic use and protection of land and other natural
resources.
To grant land for use to natural and legal persons in return
for payment but to the citizens of the Republic of Latvia, who
shall express such a wish, to restore land ownership rights or to
transfer land into ownership without or with remuneration in
accordance with the procedures prescribed by law.
To ensure the formation of farms1 and home
farms2 in conformity with a rational territorial
plan.
To retain such land area to the present land users without
which it is impossible to use the buildings, structures and
production facilities of public necessity for the intended
purposes.
To create pre-conditions for further consistency of land use
area and external boundaries, as well as for preservation and
restoration of farmsteads.
To determine the size of the sections of land to be granted
for non-agricultural purposes in accordance with the intended
norms or documentation of a project.
Section 3. Basic Provisions of Land
Reform
The land reform shall cover all the land of the Republic's
rural areas and the users thereof.
The land reform shall be performed integrating it with other
elements of agricultural reform.
On the ground of equal rights land use forms of natural and
legal persons or the property of citizens of the Republic of
Latvia to land may exist concurrently.
The land shall be granted for permanent use to natural persons
with a transition of rights to other persons or for permanent use
- to legal persons upon the request thereof.
The citizens of the Republic of Latvia have the right to
freely choose and to exercise ownership rights to land, forms of
land use and economic organisation, conforming to the interests
and possibilities thereof.
The rights to acquire land into ownership of the legal persons
registered in Latvia are regulated by other laws.
[22 January 1992; 10 November
1994]
Section 4. Procedures for the
Performance of Land Reform
Land reform shall be performed in two rounds: the first round
- from 1990 to 1996, the second - within a time period of 10 to
15 years commencing from 1 January 1993.
Within the scope of the first round of land reform - until 20
June 1991 - the former land owners or their heirs, all present
land users and new requesters of land shall submit the requests
regarding allocation of land for use in rural areas. The new land
requesters shall indicate the time period from which they wish to
commence the use of land, but it shall not be later than 1
November 1996. After examination of the land requests, for each
parish a land survey project shall be compiled according to which
the decisions regarding allocation of land for permanent use
shall be taken and the land boundaries on site shall be
determined.
During the second round of land reform the following shall be
performed:
- the restoration of land ownership rights or transfer of land
into ownership without remuneration or with remuneration to the
citizens of the Republic of Latvia;
- the inventory of the land undistributed during the first
round of land reform, the development of programmes for the
acquisition and implementation thereof;
- the survey of boundaries and territory of the granted land
and preparation of plans of land use units; and
- the cadastral survey of land and other natural resources and
evaluation of immovable property.
The granting of land for use and termination of land use
rights during the second round of the reform shall be performed
according to general procedures in conformity with the Law of the
Republic of Latvia On Land Use and Land Management and other
legislative enactments related to land.
[22 January 1992]
Section 5. Land Commissions
The co-ordination of work and ensuring of the lawfulness of
land reform shall be performed by the Central Land Commission of
the Republic of Latvia and land commissions of districts,
parishes, as well as the land commissions of such villages and
cities under the administrative jurisdiction of which is also
land of rural areas3, in accordance with the Law of
the Republic of Latvia On Land Commissions.
Section 6. Legal Grounds for Land Reform
Land reform shall be performed in compliance with this Law, as
well as the following laws in force in the Republic of
Latvia:
- Law On Land Use and Land Management,
- Law on Environmental Protection,
- Law on Land Commissions and
By-law regarding Implementation of Land Reform, as well as
other legal enactments.
[22 January 1992]
Chapter
Two
Submission and Examination of the Requests for Granting of
Land
Section 7. Land Requesters
Citizens and residents of legal age of the Republic of Latvia,
as well as the former land owners of the Republic of Latvia
residing abroad (according to the situation on 21 July 1940) or
their heirs have the right to submit a request for allocation of
land for permanent use for the maintenance, restoration of farms
or home farms or for formation of new ones, for the maintenance
or construction of residential houses, summer cottages, the
maintenance of individual orchards or formation thereof or for
other purposes. If land has been also requested in other
parishes, the place of submission of such requests, the aim of
use and area of land shall be indicated in the application.
The Executive Committees of the parish or district Councils of
People's Deputies shall submit land requests for the purpose of
local government and individual subsidiary farms.4
Legal persons shall submit requests regarding allocation of
land for permanent use for the purpose of activities thereof.
Section 8. Content and Justification
of the Request
Within the request for allocation of land for permanent use,
in conformity with Section 12 of this Law the area of land under
request and the aim of its use shall be indicated.
The justification of the size of the land area and economic
activities, as well as a site plan or scheme of the land shall be
appended to the request.
Section 9. Deadline and Place for
the Submission of the Request
The requests for allocation of land for permanent use shall be
submitted to the Council of People's Deputies of such parish, in
the territory of which the section of land under request is
located, until 20 June 1991.
Any other previously announced deadlines for submission of a
land request shall be harmonised with the provisions of this
Law.
Section 10. Legal Consequences of
Non-compliance with the Land Request Deadline
Former land owners or their heirs, present land users or the
new land requesters, who have not requested land for use until
the time period specified in Section 9 of this Law, lose the
priority specified in Section 12 of this Law and may receive land
for use according to general procedures.
Section 11. Land Term Requests
The requesters of land referred to in Section 7 of this Law
may make a request regarding allocation of land for use,
indicating a time period from which they wish to commence the use
of the land, but it shall not be later than 1 November 1996.
If the land requester wishes to receive the land in several
rounds, the initial area of the requested section of land, areas
of sections of the land to be requested in the next rounds and
preferable time periods for allocation shall be indicated in the
application.
Section 12. Sequence for
Satisfaction of Land Use Requests
1. Former land owners (according to the situation on 21 July
1940) or their heirs have the priority of receiving the land for
use to the whole previously owned area regardless of the fact
whether the land has or has not been allocated to them in
perpetuity or permanent use at the moment of coming into force of
this Law, except for the cases when on the land area previously
owned by them or on a part thereof legally:
- farms or home farms have been established, if within the
boundaries thereof there are no buildings owned by the former
owners of this land;
- residential houses have been purchased or built or the
construction thereof has been commenced, retaining land for a
home farm to the owners of such houses;
- such nature protection sites of national significance have
been established, the land of which has been transferred for use
to nature protection institutions, and other national specially
protected nature objects (or the parts thereof) have been
established, the list of which shall be approved by the Presidium
of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia at the request
of the Environmental Protection Committee of the Republic of
Latvia;
- historical, cultural and archaeological monuments are
located;
- exist deposits of mineral resources of industrial
significance the list of which shall be approved by the Council
of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia;
- the land requested by local governments is located;
- the land necessary for selection, experiments, scientific
research and education is located; or
- such structures, buildings or orchards of industrial and
public significance owned by natural or legal persons are
located, for use of which in accordance with building projects
and other agricultural enactments in force a minimum land area
shall be kept, if the former land owners or their heirs, as well
as natural persons, who wish to establish new farms upon mutual
agreement, do not compensate owners the value of such immovable
property.
If it is not possible to assign for use the land previously
owned by the former owners (according to the situation on 21 July
1940) or their heirs or a part of it, due to the referred to
exceptions, then, with their consent, they shall be granted an
equivalent land area within the boundaries of a parish or
district.
2. After satisfaction of the requests of former land owners
(according to the situation on 21 July 1940) or their heirs and
satisfaction of the requests received in the exceptional cases
referred to in Clause 1 of this Section, the land shall be
allocated for use in the following sequence:
1) for enlargement of the existing farms and home farms;
2) for establishment of new farms and home farms, if on the
section of land under request a residential house and production
buildings of the land requester are located or the construction
thereof has been commenced;
3) for establishment of new farms and home farms, if on the
section of land under request there is not a residential house
owned by the land requester, the preference shall be given to the
inhabitants of that parish;
4) for construction of individual residential houses;
5) for the other needs of inhabitants;
6) to legal persons - land, which is in their permanent use at
the moment of coming into force of this Law; and
7) to legal persons - the land, which is being requested for
permanent use anew.
[25 February 1992]
Section 13. Further Procedures for
Examination of Unsatisfied Requests of Land
If it is not possible to satisfy all land requests regarding
granting of land in the territory of the relevant parish, the
parish land commission shall, with the consent of the requesters,
submit the unsatisfied requests to a district land
commission.
The district land commission, with the consent of the
requesters of land, shall send the requests to other parishes,
the territory of which includes free land.
The Land Commission of the Supreme Council of the Republic of
Latvia shall compile the unsatisfied requests regarding the
allocation of land in the territory of the district and after
co-ordination with the requesters of land shall send to
districts, the territory of which includes free land, or organise
the development of programmes for the acquisition of areas
necessary for the satisfaction of requests.
Section 14. Further Use of
Non-requested Land
The land not requested during the first round of land reform
shall remain under the supervision of the relevant Councils of
People's Deputies.
The State Land Service shall perform the inventory of such
land and with the local Councils of People's Deputies shall
jointly develop programmes for acquisition and further use
thereof.
[27 April 1993]
Section 15. Taxation of Term Request
Sections of Land with a State Fee
A single State fee of the following amount shall be applied to
natural and legal persons, for whom the land is reserved with an
indicated term for commencement of use of land:
- up to 1 year, in the amount of 30% from the annual land
tax,
- for 2 years, in the amount of 55% from the annual land
tax,
- for 3 years, in the amount of 75% from the annual land
tax,
- for 4 years, in the amount of 90% from the annual land tax,
and
- for 5 years, in the amount of 100% from the annual land
tax.
Provisions of this Section do not apply to former land owners
(according to the situation of 21 July 1940) or their heirs.
Chapter
Three
Land Survey Work
Section 16. Procedures for
Development, Co-ordination and Approval of Parish Land Survey
Projects
Parish land survey projects shall be developed by the State
Land Service in co-ordination with the parish Councils of
People's Deputies.
The parish land survey projects shall comply with the
requirements specified in this Law and in the by-law regarding
implementation of land reform in the Republic of Latvia, as well
as in the Republic of Latvia Law On Land Use and Land Survey.
Development of parish land survey shall be completed until 31
January 1992. The schedule for project development within a
district shall be jointly compiled by the district land
commission and the State Land Service and submitted to the Land
Commission of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia.
The parish land survey project shall be put out for public
inspection at least two weeks prior to the examination thereof at
the parish land commission. The beginning of the inspection shall
be duly announced in a district newspaper.
If land users, land requesters and inhabitants of the parish
have objections to particular project solutions, they shall
submit them to the parish land commission in writing within a
period of 10 days after expiration of the project inspection
term.
The parish land survey project shall be examined by the parish
land commission, and after co-ordination with the parish land
commission it shall be approved by the parish Council of People's
Deputies.
[22 January 1992; 27 April
1993]
Section 17. Allocation of Land for
Use
Decisions regarding granting of land to land users shall be
taken by the parish Council of People's Deputies on the basis of
the approved parish land survey project, but in non-contentious
cases - also on the basis of the primary land survey project. In
particular cases provided for in the Republic of Latvia Law On
Land Use and Land Survey, the decisions regarding granting of
land may be also taken by other national and administrative
authorities.
The sections of land wherein national specially protected
nature objects, cultural historical and archaeological monuments
are located shall be allocated for use only on condition that
legislative enactments regulating the legal regime of such
objects shall be observed. The relevant State institution shall
conclude an agreement regarding it with the land user.
To a natural person land may be allocated for the
establishment of one farm only.
Within the decisions regarding granting of land only that area
of sections of land and boundaries of land shall be included,
which are provided for immediate use.
In cases of land term requests the area and boundaries of land
to be reserved shall be indicated within decisions.
The land of a term request shall be transferred to a former or
another user of land for limited use until the time of expiration
of the request.
[25 September 1991; 22 January
1992]
Section 18. Allocation of the
Granted Land
Land users shall be familiarised with the boundaries of land
granted during the first round of land reform within a period of
two months of the decision granting land being taken.
The establishment of boundaries of the granted land, affirming
the boundaries of the established plots of land with boundary
marks and compiling acts of determination of boundaries, shall be
performed by persons certified in land cadastral surveying.
[27 April 1993; 28 September
2006]
Section 19. Sequence and Terms for
Delimitation of the Granted Land
The sequence for delimitation of the granted land shall be
specified by parish land commissions, but terms - by the Land
Commission of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia.
Section 20. Cadastral Survey of Land
and other Natural Resources and Evaluation of Immovable
Property
During the first round of land reform the existing land
evaluation data shall be used, but during the second round of
land reform, the cadastral survey of land and other natural
resources, as well as evaluation of buildings, structures and
other objects upon the granted land shall be performed in
compliance with the by-law regarding cadastral survey of natural
resources and evaluation of immovable property.
Section 21. Development,
Registration and Issuance of a Land Use Plan
After the granted land has been delimited and surveyed, a
person certified in land cadastral survey shall compile a land
boundary plan and, having registered it in the information system
of the State Cadastre of Immovable Property, shall issue such
plan to the land user.
[28 September 2006]
Section 22. Financial and Material
Provisions for Land Reform Work
(1) The procedures for and sequence of the examination of
applications and performance of land cadastral survey from the
State budget funds, if it is related to restoration of land
ownership rights or compensation of a land property by land of an
equivalent value for the former land owners, who owned a land
property in the Republic of Latvia on 21 July 1940, and their
surviving spouses, children and grandchildren, politically
repressed and disabled persons belonging to Group 1, shall be
specified by the Cabinet. The land cadastral survey shall be
performed from the State budget funds, if it is related to
restoration of land ownership rights or compensation of a land
property by land of an equivalent value, only within such
administrative territory, in which the former land properties are
located.
(2) The land cadastral survey work to be performed for the
State budget funds shall be performed in accordance with the
procedures specified in regulatory enactments by the State
limited liability company "Latvijas Valsts mērnieks" [Latvian
State Land Surveyor], which is institutionally subordinated to
the Ministry of Justice. The State limited liability company
"Latvijas Valsts mērnieks" [Latvian State Land Surveyor] shall
take decisions regarding cadastral survey of land from the funds
of the State budget.
[14 June 2007]
Section 23. Performers of Land
Reform Work
Work of the land reform shall be performed by the State Land
Service and persons certified in land management and land
cadastral survey according to the competence in co-operation with
the local governments.
[28 September 2006]
Chapter Four
General Provisions for Restoration of Land Ownership Rights or
Transfer of Land into Ownership of Citizens
[27 April 1993]
Section 24. Holders of Land
Properties
[27 April 1993]
Section 25. Procedures for Taking a
Decision regarding Restoration of Land Ownership Rights or
Transfer of Land into the Ownership of Citizens
[27 April 1993]
Section 26. Maximum Size of the Land
Area to be Transferred into the Ownership of a Farmer
[27 April 1993]
Section 27. Legal Grounds for Land
Privatisation
[27 April 1993]
Transitional
Provisions
1. The Cabinet shall issue the regulations referred to in
Section 22, Paragraph one of this Law by 1 October 2007.
2. Until the day of coming into force of the Cabinet
regulations referred to in Section 22 of this Law, but not later
than until 30 April 2007, Cabinet Regulation No. 16 of 26 October
1993, Regarding Procedures for Financing of Land Reform and Land
Privatisation Works, shall be in force insofar as it is not in
contradiction to this Law.
[14 June 2007]
Chairperson of the Supreme Council
of the Republic of Latvia A. Gorbunovs
Secretary of the Supreme Council
of the Republic of Latvia I. Daudišs
Rīga, 21 November 1990
1 Farms are regarded as agricultural holdings, the
land users (owners) of which have been granted the land upon the
decision of local government for the development or maintenance
of farms.
2 Home farms are regarded as agricultural holdings
in the ownership of the user (owner) of which there is a
residential house or structures necessary for the work of a
craftsman, and these holdings are of a subsidiary farm character.
This definition shall be also applied to the newly established
home farms in which the referred to structures are not yet
present, but which shall be built within the time period
specified in the document of granting of land.
3 As the People's Deputy Councils and the land
commissions of villages and cities thereof, under the
administrative jurisdiction of which is also land of rural areas,
in implementation of land reform perform the same functions as
the parish People's Deputy Councils and the land commissions
thereof, hereinafter in this Law the word parish shall also refer
to villages and cities under the jurisdiction of which also lies
the land of rural areas.
4 Individual subsidiary farms are farms (including
gardens and service land) which are granted for limited use on
the basis of a rental contract by local governments or other
legal persons from the land thereof to the citizens of the
Republic of Latvia who live in State or co-operative apartments,
as well as in personal apartments or houses, if they do not use
land usable for agriculture on a permanent basis or there is not
enough of it, and the basic occupation of at least one family
member able to work takes place outside the subsidiary farm.
Translation © 2008 Tulkošanas un terminoloģijas
centrs (Translation and Terminology Centre)
