In a context where real estate and housing rights remain among the most pressing issues in Ukraine, numerous misconceptions persist among the population. One of the most common and potentially dangerous beliefs is that registering a place of residence (the so-called 'propiska' or registration) automatically grants a person a share of ownership in the residential property. However, legal practice and expert clarifications indicate the opposite: these concepts have fundamentally different legal natures.
The Legal Nature of Registration and Ownership
Tatyana Ternavska, a lawyer at the law firm 'Prikhodko & Partners', emphasized in a comment to RBC-Ukraine that ownership rights to real estate arise exclusively on grounds directly provided by law. Such grounds include privatization, a purchase and sale agreement, a gift, inheritance, or a court decision that has entered into legal force. Registration of residence itself is not a legal fact that generates the right to own real estate.
If several people are registered in an apartment or house, it does not mean that each of them is a co-owner. The fact of registration merely confirms that a person resides at that address, but it does not grant them the right to dispose of the property. Legally, a 'registered person' and an 'owner' are different statuses that entail completely different scopes of rights and obligations.
Limitations on the Rights of Registered Persons
It is important to understand that persons registered in a dwelling but not being owners do not possess the right to independently dispose of the real estate. They cannot sell the apartment, give it as a gift, bequeath it, or pledge it. Such powers belong exclusively to the owner or co-owners within the limits of their shares.
Nevertheless, registration grants a person the right to use the housing. In certain cases, terminating this right or deregistering a person is possible only with their personal consent or on the basis of a court decision. This creates a certain level of protection for tenants but does not grant them ownership rights.
Consequences of Confusing Concepts
It is precisely because registration grants the right to use the property and protects against arbitrary eviction that, in practice, the concepts of 'registered' and 'owner' are often erroneously equated. This can lead to serious legal collisions and conflicts between family members or cohabitants. Lawyers remind that having registration does not grant the right to demand a share in the apartment upon its sale or division of property.
Digitalization of Housing Issues
Modern technologies simplify the process of interacting with the state regarding housing matters. Ukrainians can update data about their place of residence on the state platform 'Diia' with just a few clicks. It is also possible for students to register in a dormitory online, bypassing queues at the TCSP (Public Service Centers). However, despite digitalization, the legal essence of ownership rights remains unchanged: to obtain a share in real estate, corresponding transactions or legal documents are required.
