Non-tilled or abandoned lands to be able to be leased to local public authorities of Moldova

Chisinau, 22 November /MOLDPRES/ - The non-tilled or abandoned lands will be able to be leased to local public authorities for a period of at least five years. The provision is included in the new Land Code. A government decision on the approval of the new code will be published in Moldova’s Official Journal (Monitorul Oficial) on 23 November.

Under the document, the contract could be signed with owners who do not cultivate the farmland for more than two years in a row. In this case, the mayoralty will open a special account, in which it will transfer 70 per cent of the lease’s payment to the owner; the rest of 30 per cent will remain for administrative expenses. The owner will be able to return to cultivating his/her land at any time, through a written statement addressed to local public authorities.   

At the same time, the decision sees that the farmlands, as well as the ones of the forest fund could be bought and sold only by Moldova’s citizens. Thus, foreigners and stateless people will not be able to buy these lands and if they become owners through inheritance, they will be obliged to sell it in an one-year period.  

The document also regulates the relations between the landowners and public authorities, as well as the duties of owners – they will be obliged to register the title on the land in the Real Estate Register. The Code will also include a new classification of lands, depending on their purpose. Thus, the lands are classified into farmlands, lands with special purpose, lands from the forest fund, from waters fund, lands for constructions and arrangements and lands meant for the protection of nature and of historical and cultural value.   

The control over the use and protection of public and private lands will be taken over by the local public authorities (APL). Thus, APL representatives will check the lands, in order to discover infringements in their maintenance and prevent their degradation.

Another novelty of the Code deals with the use of the automated information system for the preservation of data on lands. The information within the system will be updated in a 30-day after the taking of the decision on the change of the land’s purpose or the way of its use. Presently, the information is collected by APL on paper and is annually submitted to the Land Relations and Cadastre Agency.

The document will be submitted to parliament for consideration.