Buying Moscow Real Estate: Due Diligence Essentials

Before you pay for a Moscow apartment or commercial unit, you need three answers: who has the right to sell it, what burdens sit on it, and whether the transfer can be undone later. Legal due diligence gives you those answers from registers, archives and the seller's own papers, before a single rouble leaves your account.

Attorney Elena Petrova reviews Moscow property for buyers who live in California and elsewhere abroad. The work is done remotely, with documents collected through a Russian notary or a trusted representative under a power of attorney.

Tracing the Chain of Previous Owners

A clean current owner does not guarantee a clean object. The risk usually hides one or two transfers back. We look for purchases by gift or inheritance shortly before the sale, transfers between relatives, and prices far below market. Each of these can signal a future claim by an heir, a creditor or a former spouse.

For privatised flats, we check who was registered in the apartment at the moment of privatisation. A person who declined to take a share keeps a lifelong right to live there, and that right survives a sale.

Reading the EGRN Extract Correctly

The Unified State Register of Real Estate (EGRN) is the core source. An extract shows the cadastral number, area, current owner, registered encumbrances and pending claims. It is ordered shortly before signing and again on the day of the deal, because entries can change within days.

An extended extract on the history of transfers helps with the chain review above. Buyers often misread one point: the register shows only what has been registered. Leases under a year, unregistered occupancy rights and family claims may never appear there.

Hidden and Registered Encumbrances

Registered burdens include mortgages, arrests imposed by bailiffs or courts, long leases and trust management. Unregistered ones are harder to find and cause most disputes.

Where maternity capital funded the purchase, children must receive shares. A sale that ignores their shares can later be challenged in court.

Checking the Seller as a Person or Company

For an individual, we verify identity documents, marital status and the need for a notarised spouse consent under the Family Code. We also search for bankruptcy filings and enforcement proceedings. A seller facing bankruptcy is a serious risk, since a trustee may try to reverse recent transactions.

For a company, we review the registry file, the authority of the signatory and whether the deal requires shareholder approval as a major or interested-party transaction.

Structuring the Transaction Safely

Payment through a notary deposit, a bank letter of credit or a secure escrow account protects both sides. Funds reach the seller only after the register records your ownership. Cash hand-offs before registration should be avoided.

We also align the contract with the checks: seller warranties, a deadline for residents to deregister, handover terms and liability if a hidden burden appears. A notarised contract is mandatory for some deals, such as sales of shares in a flat.

Special Points for Foreign Buyers

Non-residents can generally own Moscow flats, but currency rules and counter-sanction restrictions may affect payment routes and approvals. These rules change often, so we check the current regime for your citizenship before you commit.

You will need a Russian tax number and, in practice, a Russian bank account. Documents signed abroad must be apostilled or legalised and translated into Russian.

Working With the Attorney Remotely

We start with a list of documents to request from the seller, then order the register data and run the court and bankruptcy searches. You receive a written risk memo in English with clear next steps.

The main channel of communication with the attorney is email: attorneypetrova1@gmail.com.