A bill on the conditions for registration in apartments has been submitted to the State Duma

What kind of registration in the apartments is possible?

Apartments are non-residential premises. This seemingly insignificant nuance entails many legal consequences and directly affects the possibility of obtaining registration. Everything is very simple: in non-residential premises, including apartments, you cannot .

The owner has two options to solve the problem:

Apply for temporary registration for 5 years and renew it each time. This will give you the legal right to be in the region of temporary registration and will help you register at work, but will not give you the opportunity to receive social benefits.
Convert the apartment to residential status and register as if you were in an apartment. This is long and expensive, but in the end it gives the right to all social benefits at the place of residence. The ability to change legal designation depends on individual circumstances.

Read in detail:

What is the difference between an apartment and an apartment?

Registration in the apart-complex

The concept of “registration” has been abolished in Russia. Today, “registration at the place of residence” is required, which is functionally not much different from the old system. You can register in the apartments, but not in all of them and only temporarily.

Apartments are classified as commercial real estate. There are hotel-type and office complexes. In the first, you can get temporary registration, which differs from permanent registration only in the need for renewal every 5 years. Residents will not be registered in an office building, even if in fact they live in a full-fledged apartment.

Lack of registration in the apartment entails the following difficulties:

deprives people of the right to use social facilities at their place of residence;
vote in elections and get a tax identification number;
apartments cannot be purchased with a mortgage;
The Russian Pension Fund does not allow the use of maternity capital for this housing;
you can’t join the labor exchange;
You cannot take advantage of government programs to improve housing conditions.

Temporary registration is possible for 5 years, but only in complexes that have the status of a hotel - temporary housing. It allows you to take advantage of the state social infrastructure, but does not affect the ability, for example, to borrow money from a bank or open an escrow account. The issue of “equalizing status with the housing stock” is acute, since this type of real estate is confidently developing in large cities.

Why can't I register in the apartment?

It is impossible to obtain a residence permit (permanent registration) in the apartment, since this is a non-residential premises.
You can register temporarily or re-register your legal status as residential.

My apartment is located in a residential building

Unfortunately, if an apartment is located in a residential building and has all the necessary configuration for living, this does not automatically make it residential. When applying for registration, it is important what is written in the documents. If the extract from the Unified State Register or the certificate of ownership indicates the purpose is “non-residential”, then you will either have to be content with temporary registration, or be puzzled by transferring it to residential. There are no exceptions.

New law on registration in apartments in 2021

In the summer of 2021, there was talk again that in the near future the Government plans to allow official registration in apartments. This is connected with the implementation of the national policy in the field of economic recovery. There are indeed such plans, but in 2021 there are a number of more pressing problems: supporting the population and business during the pandemic, assigning and paying child benefits, ensuring state subsidies for mortgages. Therefore, there is no need to talk about a new law that would allow permanent registration in apartments.

No new law on registration in apartments is expected in 2021.

Pros and cons of registration in apartments

Check-in to the apartments is only possible for a short period of time. Permanent registration is impossible and this is a significant disadvantage for those who purchased this property without much interest in its legal status. Even Russians, let alone foreigners, cannot obtain permanent registration here.

The downside for the owner is that such housing will have to pay increased utilities and property taxes. Plus, this property can be sold at any time, because many are interested in non-residential status for opening offices or apart-hotels.

Another way to solve the problem: change the status of the apartment from non-residential to residential. To do this, contact the local administration. If she approves such actions, then after the change of status you can easily obtain permanent registration.

Registration in apartments is only possible if they are hotel-type. In all other cases, you will not be able to be registered even temporarily, since the premises are not considered residential. But in 2021 the situation may change and the status of the apartments will still be determined by law.

Permanent registration in apartments through transfer to residential status

Permanent registration in the apartment is possible if the premises are converted to residential status in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation and Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated January 28, 2006 No. 47.

The short order is:

Carefully read the requirements for residential premises and determine whether, in principle, transfer to residential premises is allowed for these apartments.
Collect consent from all owners of adjacent premises (immediate neighbors) for the transfer to residential use.
Conduct a general meeting of the owners of the building in which the apartments are located and receive a protocol stating that the general meeting also agrees to the transfer.
Collect documents (title, technical) for the apartments.
Submit an application to local authorities, who decide whether transfer of status is possible.

The procedure for converting apartments into housing is quite complicated, so we recommend that you consult a practicing lawyer directly on our website RENOVAR.RU. The specialist will assess whether it is possible to translate in your case and how to do it faster.

After transferring the apartments to residential status, you can obtain permanent registration for all residents.

Permanent registration can be obtained only after the apartments have been transferred to the status of residential premises according to housing legislation.
The application for transfer is considered by the local administration, provided that the premises meet all the conditions and there is the consent of the owners of other premises in the house.

What are apartments?

According to Russian legislation, an apartment is a room of 40 square meters. m (at least two rooms). The purpose of such housing is to accommodate tourists or temporarily residing Russians.

In Russia, many developers offer such real estate for sale. They are in great demand among investors, as well as those who plan to rent out apartments to others.

How are apartments different from apartments (from housing stock)

The difference is very significant: permanent residence and registration are allowed in the apartment. The apartments currently have a different functional purpose. They are used for temporary residence, mainly for visitors, and are non-residential assets.

Main differences:

have the status of non-residential premises, but can be registered as property (there are a lot of such offers, for example, in the capital market);
apartments can be rented out as an office to legal entities (unlike a regular apartment);
the owner does not have rights to common property (corridors, staircase, etc.);
maternity capital cannot be used to purchase this housing;
In non-residential premises it is easier to carry out repairs, redevelopment and other transformations.

The apartments have different utilities (higher), a different cadastral value. These premises may be subject to property tax at a rate of 0.5% of the assessed price.

When renting out apartments, developers do not have to build social infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, clinics, etc.) or build access roads. SanPiN norms, which are mandatory for residential buildings, may not be applied when constructing a house in which all premises are non-residential.

Interesting article: Rules for registration in a communal apartment

Status of apartments under Russian legislation

The Housing Code (LC RF) does not contain such a concept as “apartments” at all. The status of this type of premises was previously regulated by the Order of the Ministry of Sports No. 35 of 2011, which listed them as hotel rooms on a par with a suite or studio. This order has now been cancelled.

In 2021, by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation N 158, provisions on the classification of hotels were adopted. This document establishes two definitions: “apart-hotel” (a type of hotel with “studio” and “apartment” rooms) and “apartment complex” (a type of hotel with rooms with a kitchen).

Legal requirements for apartments:

area of at least 40 sq. m;
2 or more rooms;
kitchenette.

In both cases, as we see, we are talking exclusively about tourist infrastructure, not intended for permanent residence. For now, the status of the apartments can be briefly described: part of a hotel or a complex consisting of premises with a kitchen for temporary residence.

The legal status of apartments is currently fixed at the legislative level only as hotel-type premises. In the capital, it is generally prohibited to build separate apartment buildings (they can only be located inside the hotel).

Step-by-step instructions for registering in an apartment

Let's look at how exactly people get registration in apartments today. The procedure is no different from registration in any other premises:

Collect the necessary documents.
Apply.
Wait for the police decision on registration.
Get a stamp in your passport (if your registration is permanent) or a certificate (if it’s temporary.

The procedure for obtaining permanent and temporary registration is approximately the same, the only difference is in the results.

Required documents

For registration you will need:

application (filled out in paper or electronic form);
passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation or international passport;
document on ownership of the apartment (certificate or extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate);
if the applicant is not the owner of the premises, the owners must be personally brought to the police or notarized consent for registration must be submitted on their behalf.

Parents can register their children under 14 years of age based on their application. Children from 14 to 18 years old apply independently.

You can download applications for free here: application form for permanent registration; application form for temporary registration.

Where to contact

Registration in apartments is issued at the local police department - the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which supervises the desired address. You can submit an application directly to the department or through the passport office, if the building where the apartments are located has one.

Is it possible to register in an apartment: review of legislation

As mentioned above, permanent registration is not possible in the apartments, since this is a non-residential premises. In apart-hotels, i.e. Temporary registration is permitted in hotel-type apartments.

This does not contradict Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 984, which allows registration in hotels, sanatoriums, holiday homes, campsites, boarding houses, and tourist centers. Apartments are included in this list only if they are aparthotels.

However, remember that hotel employees are required by law to monitor the expiration date of a foreigner’s visa or temporary residence permit. 10 days before their end, they are required to notify about the need for extension or departure. If a foreigner does not resolve the issue of legal stay in the Russian Federation, his temporary registration will not be extended.

What is your registration?

Registration at the place of residenceRegistration at the place of stay

New bill 2020

At the moment, there are a number of bills that are trying to streamline the status of apartments. The most promising of them: a bill from the Ministry of Construction, which may be approved before the end of 2020. It involves amendments to the law on the right of citizens to freedom of movement.

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However, what exactly the new status of the apartments will be after its adoption is still unclear. It is possible that they will be recognized as residential premises, but with a number of restrictions.

For example, the first version of the bill provided for allowing Russians to register at their place of stay in apartments, but only if they are included in special registers.

Another option is possible when they are recognized as structurally separate premises in a multifunctional building or divided into residential and non-residential. While the bill is still being agreed upon and what its final version will be is unclear.

Previously, the apartments were planned to be actively used during the commissioning of social housing. It was supposed to rent them out with the right to buy and, accordingly, provide for the possibility of registration for citizens. But so far all these plans have remained on paper.