Removal of seizure from property in Ukraine

The seizure of any property, including an apartment, is a necessary precautionary measure taken by the state enforcement officer to prevent the possibility of its alienation and the chance to avoid fulfilling financial obligations assumed before a bank or any other institution.

Lifting a seizure from real estate is typically done in the borrower’s interest and is aimed at obtaining official documents that confirm the lifting of the seizure. Such documents include: a court decision on lifting the seizure from real estate, an order on lifting the seizure from a state enforcement officer, and an extract from the state register.

Lifting a seizure from immovable property requires a comprehensive examination of all collected documents related to the credit history, which also include court decisions and papers concerning the actions of the enforcement service. As a result of the analysis, the optimal and most reliable way to lift the seizure is determined. Therefore, it is important when dealing with the process of lifting a seizure from an apartment to carefully choose a lawyer whose competence will allow them to handle the task.

The seizure of property may be applied to ensure the subsequent actual enforcement of a court decision and results in the inability to fully dispose of one’s property. A seizure may manifest as an inventory, the imposition of a prohibition on alienation, seizure, and transfer to storage by other persons.

Lifting a seizure from a vehicle is carried out only by a court decision. In the case of a criminal investigation, an application is filed with the court to resolve issues related to enforcing the sentence concerning the previously seized vehicle, as well as documents confirming the absence of necessity to keep it and the reasons to return the vehicle to its lawful owner. If the matter is civil, the documents submitted to the court to lift the seizure from the vehicle include an application to cancel the measures of the previous seizure, as well as evidence of compensation to the vehicle owner as confirmation that the need to enforce the measures of the previous court decision has ceased.

How to lift a seizure and a prohibition on alienation of property depending on the authority that imposed it?

• How to lift a seizure from an apartment imposed on property by a court decision.

The lifting of a seizure from property that was imposed by a court as security for a claim occurs in accordance with Art. 154 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine. For this, it is necessary to justify in court the absence of need for the seizure, a change in the circumstances of the case, due to which the grounds for securing the claim have disappeared.

In addition, the seizure of property is possible in criminal proceedings by decision of an investigating judge (court) based on an agreed motion of the investigator with the prosecutor or by the prosecutor alone, as well as by a civil plaintiff. Accordingly, a motion to cancel the seizure must also be filed with the investigating judge (if the case is at the pre-trial investigation stage) or with the court (if judicial proceedings have begun). The motion is filed in accordance with Art. 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

If you find yourself in such a situation, contact the legal association “Nakaz”. Our specialists will help you resolve this issue, competently draft a claim to lift the seizure from property, and provide comprehensive support to protect your interests, freeing you from unnecessary problems.

• How to lift a seizure from property imposed by the GIS.

Removal of a seizure from property that was imposed by a state enforcement officer is possible:

1. by decision of the GIS authority:

• pursuant to Art. 40 of the Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”, upon completion of enforcement proceedings the enforcement officer makes a decision to lift the seizure that was imposed on the property;
• if violations in the procedure of imposing the seizure are identified – the seizure is lifted based on an order of the head of the GIS department;
• if a decision is made on the impracticality or impossibility of realizing the seized property (excessive wear, unprofitability of sale) – the seizure is lifted based on the state enforcement officer’s order approved by the head of the department.

In these cases the GIS representative independently makes a decision to lift the seizure; if you disagree with his decision or his inaction, it is necessary to appeal his decision by applying to the head of the department, the head of the higher GIS body or to the court. The debtor can only challenge the actions of the enforcement officer in court.

2. by court decision:

• filing a lawsuit by the person who owns the property and is not the debtor.

It is not uncommon that when attempting to carry out a transaction with property, the owner learns that a seizure has been imposed on his property under circumstances completely unknown to him.

Such a confusing situation is quite possible and your actions should be the following:

1. obtain from a notary an extract from the Unified Register of Prohibitions on Alienation of Real Estate, where you will see on the basis of which document the seizure was imposed;
2. contact the department of the State Executive Service that imposed the seizure and obtain a written refusal (the most common situation is that materials in the enforcement service are destroyed after 3 years);
3. file a statement of claim in court. A detailed instruction on how to file a claim yourself is here.

Sample claim for recognition of ownership and lifting a seizure from property

4. with the obtained documents, contact the GIS department again (it is better to control everything yourself).

• In other cases when the enforcement proceedings are not completed.

For example, due to arrears in alimony, a seizure was imposed on the debtor’s property. Later the alimony debt was fully repaid, but the seizure was not lifted, which significantly infringes the rights of the owner. In this case it is also necessary to file a claim in court.

Sample statement of claim for lifting a seizure

• Removal of a seizure by a notary.

A notary has the right to impose a prohibition on alienation of property and register it in the respective registers in many cases. For example, at the time of certifying a life-maintenance agreement or an inheritance agreement, a pledge (mortgage) agreement for property subject to state registration. Accordingly, the person who has the right to apply to the notary to lift the prohibition on alienation differs in each case. For example, upon termination of a pledge (mortgage) agreement, the notary will lift the prohibition at the request of both parties to the agreement or at the request of the pledgor alone if he provides proper proof that the obligation under the agreement has been fulfilled; after the death of the alienator of property under a life-maintenance agreement (or inheritance agreement), the notary will lift the prohibition at the request of the acquirer of such property; if the life-maintenance agreement (or inheritance agreement) is terminated or declared invalid by a court decision, any of the parties may apply to the notary.

In addition, under a pledge (mortgage) agreement the debtor has another option to lift the prohibition on alienation at the notary. According to Art. 537 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, the debtor may deposit funds for his debt obligation into the notary’s deposit. In this case the debtor is obliged to provide the notary with evidence of the impossibility of fulfilling the obligation to the creditor due to the creditor’s (or his representative’s) absence or evasion from accepting the fulfillment of the obligation.

The imposition of a seizure on property is the most actively used type of securing claims, which can cause a lot of trouble for the owner in the future. In addition, the owner of the property may have absolutely no debt obligations, but upon wishing to carry out a transaction will learn about such an unpleasant situation. It should be noted that if we consider the provisions of Art. 60 of the Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”, then paragraphs 3 and 4 of the article (lifting the seizure due to identified violations by the enforcement officer, as well as the presence of a written expert conclusion on the impracticality of realizing the seized property) are very rarely applied in practice. The real possibility to lift a seizure from property in many situations remains the filing of a court lawsuit or judicial appeal of certain decisions and actions.

To carry out this procedure quickly and successfully, it is necessary not only to have certain theoretical knowledge in the field of jurisprudence, but also to possess a certain amount of practical experience to understand which methods of lifting the seizure will be effective in each particular case. In addition, it should be noted that if the seizure was applied as security for a claim, the person against whom the court applied the seizure on the property has only 5 days from the moment of familiarization with a copy of the court decision. For studying the issue, understanding all nuances and legislative norms, competently and convincingly drafting an application to cancel the seizure, collecting supporting documents and submitting everything to the court, this time will clearly be insufficient for a person who does not have experience in the field of jurisprudence. Therefore, given the seriousness of the consequences of imposing a seizure on property, we strongly recommend seeking help with this issue from the law firm “Nakaz” in Kyiv.

No one is immune from the procedure of property seizure in Ukraine. Any person, without knowing it, may find themselves in this unpleasant situation. Both residential property and an office can be seized. The amount of your debt is not a determining factor in this situation. Not to mention how often such actions are carried out against people who have no debts at all.

Seeking justice will in any case have to be done in court and the first thing you need to do is file a statement of claim to lift the seizure from the property. Attracting an experienced lawyer to protect your interests plays a significant role. The final result will largely depend on his knowledge of all the nuances and details of the enforcement process.

Our qualified lawyers will help restore your property rights as quickly as possible and will save you from dealing with such a problem as lifting a seizure from a debtor’s property on your own. The legal association “Nakaz” will confidently stand up for your interests and will guaranteedly achieve the desired result.