Vasil Kisil & Partners has represented Rele Construction Company, which specializes in the construction of residential and commercial property, in the successful resolution of its dispute with the Kyiv City Council involving the termination of a land lease agreement made for 50 years.
According to VKP, "Courts of all three instances acknowledged that the builder reasonably claimed terminating the lease agreement for the land plot made available to meet the construction needs as the construction had been completed and the title to the constructed premises had passed to investors and buyers."
VKP Counsel Oleg Kachmar, who led the firm's team on the case, explained the nature of the dispute: "Ten to fifteen years ago, in the times of the building boom, builders tried to obtain land plots for their construction projects for as long as possible. However, after completing the construction and selling the property, builders still had to pay the rent until the lease period expired, while local councils did not agree upon terminating such agreements early without making similar agreements with new owners of the property, as they were interested in getting revenues to local budgets. In turn, new owners were not interested in entering new land lease agreements and paying the rent. This problem has become particularly pressing for property developers in the recent two years as the normative valuation of land and rent rates increased significantly. In such a situation, property developers who act as lessees, after completing the construction and commissioning the property, must resort to court to seek the termination of the land lease agreement,"
In addition to Kachmar, the Vasil Kisil & Partners team included Senior Associate Yuriy Kolos and Associate Oleksandra Bortman.
