The State Duma proposed a new procedure for terminating the sale of an apartment

On December 6, Vladimir Koshelev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services, proposed introducing a rule that would not allow the seller to return the property if he is unable to return the money to the buyer.

"If we talk about the act of buying and selling real estate that has already taken place and the subsequent demand of the seller to return the property under the pretext that he was not aware of his actions, then if the transaction is declared invalid, a rule of counter-enforcement should be introduced — if the seller is unable to return the money, the buyer is not obliged to return the apartment," he said in an interview with TASS.

The deputy noted that there are no special protection procedures in Russian legislation for transactions with an increased risk of fraud. Therefore, initiatives to introduce mandatory notarization of real estate transactions for the elderly or in case of other suspicious circumstances are being actively discussed in the State Duma and among experts. A notary could check the seller's legal capacity and the voluntary nature of his will.

The possibility of introducing guarantee mechanisms, such as escrow accounts or other ways to temporarily block funds, in transactions where there is a suspicion that the seller may be under pressure is also being discussed.

The problem of termination of transactions in the secondary housing market, when buyers lose both apartments and money, became widely discussed after the case of the apartment of singer Larisa Dolina.

The news is being updated