Priorities for the development of land relations in Ukraine in the context of European integration — results of a public discussion

The key areas for the development of land relations in Ukraine over the next few years are the transparent recording of restrictions in the land sector, digital integration of cadastres and registers, transparent management of state land and the strengthening economic instruments for local land resource governance, ensuring equal opportunities in land use, and eliminating discretion in land use designation and management. These are the very priorities in the field of land relations that participants in the public discussion “From Strategy to Results: How Integrity Impacts Economic Growth — The Case of Land Relations in Ukraine”, organised by the NGO Together Against Corruption, outlined for the upcoming Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2026–2030.

To ensure transparent recording of restrictions in the land sector, the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers must adopt a comprehensive set of laws and resolutions to close gaps in the registration, synchronisation, and digitalisation of data, and to establish a single mandatory digital register of all public-law land use restrictions — from environmental zones to cultural heritage sites.

“Public access should be ensured to all information — from heritage protection and environmental requirements to water, forestry, and defence-related restrictions. Once these data are registered and made publicly available, the space for corruption will disappear,” emphasised Tetiana Chernyshenko, an expert with the NGO Together Against Corruption, during the presentation of an independent report on the implementation of the State Anti-Corruption Programme for 2023–2025.

According to experts, an equally important area is the digitalisation of services provided by the State Geocadastre and the full digital integration of data from various cadastres and registers — including the State Land Cadastre, Urban Planning Cadastre, Address Register, Register of Proprietary Rights, State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects, Unified State Register of Court Decisions, Register of Enforcement Proceedings, and other related registers, ensuring round-the-clock interoperability. In addition, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development must ensure the compulsory digitisation of urban planning documentation and provide public access to it, taking into account security restrictions.

“Digitalisation is not merely about transferring paper-based procedures into digital form. It is, above all, about re-engineering the process. We can simplify or remove certain steps and avoid asking citizens for information that the state already holds about them. After all, it is often in situations where a person must obtain additional information or certificates from another authority that the risk of corruption arises,” noted Denys Bashlyk, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine.

The introduction of modern computerised models for mass land valuation will also contribute to effective and transparent land management at the local level, and could in future replace the current methodology for regulatory monetary valuation.

Klaus Deininger, Lead Economist at the World Bank in the Sustainability and Infrastructure Team of the Development Research Group, and Head of the “Supporting Transparent Land Governance in Ukraine” Programme, positively assessed this year’s pilot project on mass valuation of agricultural land implemented by the State Geocadastre: “The fact that mass valuation has been completed for all 7.5 million hectares of agricultural parcels and the results have been published means that this approach can also be applied to the valuation of urban land parcels. Then, of course, changes to the Tax Code can follow to ensure that hromadas’ revenues from land payments are more balanced and reflect the real market value and characteristics of land plots. This is also an essential step towards aligning with European property valuation standards.”

In addition, to increase revenues, the Verkhovna Rada should, at the legislative level, introduce the mandatory use of competitive electronic auctions for all transactions involving state and communal land, instead of maintaining the extensive list of exceptions that currently exists. The Verkhovna Rada should also establish, in law, a single method for calculating and publicly disclosing information in cases of compulsory land expropriation.

Experts also positively noted the launch of the State Land Bank project, which began operating last year as a mechanism for subleasing state-owned agricultural land previously held by state enterprises under the right of permanent use. However, they recommended introducing legislative limits on the size of plots eligible for sublease, as well as preventing the withdrawal of land from educational, scientific, and other institutions without first publishing an assessment of the potential impact on the respective sector and communities.

According to Olena Shuliak, Member of Parliament of Ukraine, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, significant progress in land management at the community level will be impossible without the development of comprehensive spatial development plans. “Comprehensive spatial development plans must be transparent, accessible, and public. People should be able to go online and see how a community plans its development — where construction is planned and where it is not allowed, where green zones and cultural heritage protection areas are located, and so on. This way, investors coming to our country will not have to run from office to office or through back channels asking where they can build and what restrictions apply, because this information will be publicly available,” she noted.

Another important factor in preserving community land resources and reducing corruption risks is the reform of the free privatisation of agricultural land and its replacement with targeted support. “Ukraine, as a candidate country for EU membership, if we truly want to become a member of the European Union, must take into account many of the EU’s fundamental treaties and documents, including the provisions on the prohibition of discrimination,” emphasised Andrii Martyn, Senior Project Manager for land reform, Reform Delivery Office of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Among other topics, participants also discussed the need to introduce a unified system of spatial planning documents, to align socio-economic development budgets with urban planning documentation, to eliminate discretion in the powers of cultural heritage protection authorities, as well as to publish the current historical and architectural reference plans on the Ministry of Culture’s website and to update the List of Historic Settlements of Ukraine in line with EU requirements.

The event was organised with the support of the Supporting Transparent Land Governance in Ukraine programme, funded by the European Union and implemented by the World Bank.

Event recording: https://youtu.be/tWWYqW_hXq0