The Russian Government has approved new rules for maintaining the state information system supporting town-planning activities

Pepeliaev Group advises that on 25 March 2020 the Government’s Resolution[1] came into force establishing a procedure for maintaining information systems supporting town-planning activities (abbreviated in Russian as ISOGD), which contains town-planning information, documents and materials. The Resolution also defines the rules for providing such information, documents and materials to the entities involved in town-planning activities.

Please be reminded that amendments were made in the Russian Town-Planning Code (the “TP Code”) in August 2018. These stipulated that regional state information systems supporting town-planning activities (abbreviated in Russian as GISOGD) will be a key source of electronic information concerning town-planning activity. Competent executive authorities of Russian constituent entities or their subordinate state budgetary institutions will ensure that such systems are set up and operated. The above bodies or institutions will act as operators of the information systems.[2]

GISOGD should contain, among other things, the following information regarding land plots and capital construction facilities (article 56(4) of the TP Code):

• land-use planning documents of different levels;
• the land use and development rules;
• the land-use plan and survey for the area;
• information regarding the borders of areas to be used under special conditions (abbreviated in Russian as ZOUIT) and their characteristics;
• the resolutions for lands to be reserved, or land plots to be expropriated for state and municipal needs;
• information regarding existing and designed utility networks (heat, gas and water supply and water disposal), electrical mains, communications and other utility infrastructure.

According to the earlier version of the TP Code, local authorities were instructed to maintain the ISOGD. Most such ‘local’ ISOGD were maintained in hard-copy form.

Now, according to the website of the Russian Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation (abbreviated in Russian as ‘Minstroy’), Russian constituent entities must transfer information from the former ISOGD of municipalities and urban areas into the GISOGD by 1 January 2021.[3]

According to the procedure set out in Resolution No. 279:

• a GISOGD will be maintained in an electronic format: information must be posted only electronically, in the formats indicated in Resolution No. 279;[4]
• to the extent (in the working area) relevant at the state level, a GISOGD will be maintained by the competent executive authority of a Russian constituent entity (its subordinate state budgetary institution); while a local authority will be responsible for maintaining the GISOGD to the extent (in the working area) relevant at the local level. The Resolution has determined the relevant access rights of the bodies (organisations) authorised to maintain the GISOGD;^[5]
• the information system tools must provide for, among other things, search functions with respect to information, documents and materials contained in the information system based on their features (details, address, coordinates, cadastral number, name, etc.);[6]
• the automated collection of information should be ensured regarding the availability of information, documents and materials, including with respect to one or several land plots or a specified area;[7]
• the capability should be secured to submit information, documents and materials.[8]

It is a general rule that information from a GISOGD will be provided to individuals and legal entities for a charge.[9] To obtain relevant information, a request must be sent in hard copy via a multifunctional centre where various types of public services are supplied, or an electronic request via a personal account to the Federal Government's “Unified Portal of Government and Municipal Services (Functions)” Information System.[10]

Further to requests made before 1 January 2022, information, documents and materials will be provided by a local authority within 10 business days after the date of payment. Information requested after 1 January 2022 will be provided within 5 business days after the payment date.[11]

Information can be provided both in hard copies and electronically.[12] The amount of the charge for obtaining information from GISOGD has already been determined in Resolution No. 279 and ranges from RUB 100 to RUB 5,000.[13]

Resolution No. 279 stipulates that the following GISOGD information must be posted free of charge on the official websites:[14]

• all kinds of town-planning documentation, as well as regional and local town-planning standards;
• information regarding construction and reconstruction permits and permits for commissioning capital construction facilities;
• information regarding issued authorisations to deviate from parameter limits for capital construction facilities;
• information regarding an easement agreement or a resolution to establish a public easement;
• information regarding the boundaries of ZOUIT and their characteristics.

Depending on its type information can be posted on the Internet in the form of maps allowing for the characteristics of facilities to be viewed, or as text files.

With the adoption of Resolution No. 279, the Russian Government’s Resolution No. 363 “On information support for town-planning activity” dated 9 June 2006, which previously regulated the same relationships, has been repealed.

What to think about and what to do

We advise developers, holders of title to real estate and persons intending to acquire real estate should use the new instrument (primarily, information from a GISOGD which will be posted on the official websites) for the purpose of obtaining and analysing information regarding the real estate they own or intend to acquire (e.g. to analyse the town-planning potential of land plots).

Help from your adviser

Pepeliaev Group’s specialists are ready to provide legal support to companies with respect to all issues that may arise in connection with obtaining and analysing information from a GISOGD.