In Vilnius, Lazdynėliai, next to the Bukčiai forest, the project "Be here by CITUS" has finally been formally completed, although its completion is 100%. reached as early as 2022 in January For the rest of the time, two years, bureaucratic puzzles were solved, cases were heard in courts, and the residents had to wait patiently until the bureaucratic knots were untangled.
The project "Be here by CITUS" was presented in 2019. in autumn, its construction began half a year later - in 2020. in June Two A+ energy efficiency class buildings were built in Lazdynėliai, popular with Vilnius residents, in a convenient location characterized by a cozy living environment, developed infrastructure and in the neighborhood of Bukčiai forest and Neris bend apartment buildings houses with 96 apartments (1-4 rooms, area - from 25 to 99 sq m) and 5 cottages (4 rooms, area - 90 sq m). The total area of the project was about 5 square meters. m; 600 parking spaces are available in the underground parking lot.
The total investment in the project was about 6 million. Eur.
It was the first sports and active leisure-oriented housing project in Lithuania, the infrastructure of which is not only for children, but also for adults. In the courtyard, a "sports arena" was established with "cross-fit" and outdoor trainers, a climbing area for children, a relay and running track, a fitness path, a long jump field, a drinking water fountain, a rest area, a bicycle repair station, board games and other exercise at home with helpful and encouraging means.
Clients positively evaluated the project concept - the last one House "Be here by CITUS" was sold in 2021. In the summer, the project was nominated for the Sustainable Development Awards of the Lithuanian Real Estate Development Association.
Bureaucratic traps at the end of registration procedures
After receiving the construction completion certificate, a formal procedure is required for the full completion of the project: 100 percent of the structures. registration of the completion in the Registry Center, to which it is necessary to submit the consent of all co-owners of the plot on which the buildings stand. At this point, the project had an unpleasant "surprise". A small part of the purchased project plot - just 52 square meters. m - was the property of the state, it was managed by the National Land Service (NŽT) in trust.
You register 80 percent. completion of construction, the co-owner of part of the plot - NŽT - in an official letter, agreed to such a plot plan, which up to 100% the ending did not change.
Until all the construction works were completed and the structures were handed over and the construction completion certificate was received, the 52 sq.m. m area, in accordance with the legal acts regulating land restitution, property was restored to natural persons.
"Citus" manager M. Galdikas emphasizes that a request was made to sell part of the NŽT plot, but the answer was received that it is too small to be formed for sale. However, the patch, which barely accommodates a two-room apartment and has essentially no practical value, was returned to as many as 23 people. Another aspect is that the initial consent of the NŽT and the procedure of use do not affect the new co-owners and the Center of Registers.
For this reason, many new co-owners of the plot appeared, whose consent is required for the registration of the completion of the project. In order to resolve the registration issue as quickly as possible, as early as 2021 in May, letters were sent to co-owners inviting them to sign the plot plan, but most of them refused or did not even respond. Therefore, the only remaining way was through the courts, which prolonged the registration procedure for more than 2 years.
Part of the plot was initially returned to 3 people, but as it turned out, some of them are dead. 6 heirs appeared, but some of them also passed away while we were communicating about consents. In this way, as many as 23 persons were formed - new co-owners.
"During the consultation with the new co-owners, it became obvious that they cannot be obtained without a court decision. Another company might even have given up and given up, but we couldn't leave the residents to their own devices. We thank them very much for their patience and trust", says Mantas Galdikas, director of Citus.
Last summer, the court recognized that 100% of the project registration of completion, in such a situation, can take place without the signatures of all co-owners. Such a decision was appealed and examined in the Court of Appeal, but this court also upheld the previous ruling last November. Therefore, at the beginning of this year, the "Be here by CITUS" complete registration procedures were finally completed.
"We had a lot of discussions with the institutions. Bureaucrats claim that "everything is legal" and we ourselves are to blame for not looking at such a nuance. In our opinion, the absurdity of this situation shows where and how taxpayers' money is wasted and how much time is spent unraveling bureaucratic traps," says the company manager.
However, he emphasizes that with the growing number of demands for development, communication between institutions, reduction of bureaucracy, proactivity and benevolence are very important. Since this year, the requirement to sign notarized contracts only after registering the complete completion of the project, such unexpected and difficult-to-predict situations may arise more.
"If we had found ourselves in such circumstances with a new project, the situation would have been critical, because apparently we would have had to terminate all the preliminary contracts, pay out the fees, and this would have caused simply colossal losses. The law does not reduce the risk of such cases in any way. And we know many such stories, unfinished projects due to bureaucracy and manifestations of corruption - if all companies wrote them down, an encyclopedia would come out. It's good that at least we managed to solve everything legally, but increasing risks also increase the cost of the final product, when it simply could not exist", concludes M. Galdikas.
