Foreigners not to be able to buy farmlands in Moldova, according to new Land Code

Chisinau, 14 November /MOLDPRES/ - Foreigners, foreign investors or stateless persons cannot get right to property over the lands with agricultural purpose or from the forest fund, according to a new draft Land Code, approved at a cabinet meeting today. Thus, the interdiction contained in the present Land Code was maintained in the new document.   

Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Minister Nicolae Ciubuc has recently said that there is no document, no initiative on the liberalization of the sale of farmlands, after information had appeared in mass media alleging that the authorities plan to give foreigners right to buy farmlands. “The legal framework provides for a string of possibilities which guarantee to foreign investors the carrying out of investments, such as, first of all, the grant, such as the right to lease for a long period,” the minister said.   

According to the draft, the right to private property over farmlands can be got, under the law, by private persons and legal entities from Moldova. If foreign citizens acquire farmlands by inheritance, they are obliged to sell them in a one-year period; otherwise, the local public authorities purchase the land at the market price.

The Land Code, adopted in 1991, the main goal of which was the privatization of farmlands, is obsolete.  New land relations have been created, which are not seen by the document in force, which has been repeatedly amended; thus, the need to adopt a new Land Code, in new version, appeared.   

The draft Land Code regulates the legal regime of the land fund, land relations established between people and the land relations established between owners of lands or public authorities. The draft has 12 chapters and 86 articles, which regulate a new classification of lands, classification of lands with agricultural purpose, lands of the forest fund, lands meant for constructions and arrangements, lands with special purpose and lands meant for the protection of nature and of the historical and cultural value.  

Under the document, the payment for lease is set by negotiations between sides. The term of lease is from one to 30 years. If the owner does not till the land during two years in a row, the local public authority can reserve the right to manage the concerned land, instructing its leasing in certain conditions. The Agriculture Ministry also finds out an excessive division of lands into lots; with about 167,000 hectares due to be consolidated. The draft’s authors suggest that this consolidation be made with the acceptance of 70 per cent of the owners involved in the consolidation process.    

The draft law is to be submitted to parliament for consideration. The new Land Code will enter into force 12 months after the date of publication in the Official Journal. The draft sees also the abrogation of legislative and normative acts.