More than half of Ukrainian new construction projects are facing lawsuits over land issues

Out of nearly four hundred analyzed new construction projects, 214 residential complexes are involved in legal proceedings regarding the land on which they are being built. Additionally, developers of 22 residential complexes have not extended the lease of the land plots. However, the most critical situation is observed in 9 future complexes, where there is no information in the Register of Property Rights regarding the connection between the land and the construction.

«The absence of any permits, land rights, or improper land use at the time of construction of a new building creates opportunities for corruption when the building is put into operation. And even later, when people are already living in it. Because resolving such issues through legal means later, after people have already invested their money, is almost impossible.

Currently, the main risks we see are related to land, so the first study focuses precisely on these issues,», 

— commented Oleksiy Ivankin, founder of Opendatabot.

Currently, the main risks we see are related to land, so the first study focuses precisely on these issues,” commented Oleksiy Ivankin, founder of Opendatabot.

To obtain and gather information about all buildings currently under construction in Ukraine, Opendatabot analyzed data from the Register of Construction Activities, the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, the State Land Cadastre, financial reports, and public information from requests to the Unified State Register and the State Register of Property Rights to Real Estate in Ukraine. Data on all new constructions in the country have been collected in the project «Opendatabot. Corruption Risks in New Construction».

«Using open data to combat improper urban planning and corruption is a widespread and effective practice. Analyzing dozens of registers to identify violations requires a lot of time and professional expertise. Thanks to open data services, this can be done in a few clicks. Projects like ’OpenDataBot. Corruption Risks in New Construction’ enable property buyers to make informed investment decisions and control the reliability of developers, while allowing the public and journalists to monitor proper urban planning and timely detect violations,», 

— says Nadia Konashchuk, Head of the Open Data Unit at the USAID / UK aid project “Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/TAPAS.”

The OpenDataBot project tracks risks in real-time and generates information for journalists and the public.

Context

The main risks associated with residential housing not yet put into operation at any stage of construction, which create opportunities for corruption, include:

• Lack of construction permits.
• Absence of ownership or land use rights for the client on the land plot.
• Lease agreements for land plots expiring soon.
• Inappropriate land plot designation, meaning residential construction is not allowed in that area.
• Presence of lawsuits and arrests on land plots.
• Non-compliance of construction with urban planning conditions (floors and height).

The project of an analytical system for identifying corruption risks in construction, «Opendatabot: Corruption Risks in New Construction», was the winner of the national competition Open Datathon reUkraine. The competition sought solutions to increase transparency in the activities of government structures and prevent corruption. The project was created with the support of the USAID/UK aid project “Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/TAPAS” and with the assistance of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. The project’s partner is the East Europe Foundation.