Important Changes in State-Owned Land Management Entered Into Force in 2024
Important changes in the management, use and administration of state-owned land entered into force on 1 January 2024: Part of the functions performed by the National Land Service (NLS) are taken over by the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate (STPCI); State land in cities and towns shall be transferred to municipalities by the right of trust.
These changes aim to make state-owned land management and administration processes more efficient, reduce administrative burden and make state-owned land management as transparent as possible.
Two NIS functions are transferred to the STPCI
On 1 January 2024, the STPCI will start performing two additional functions performed so far by the NLS - the function of state control of land use and the function of state supervision of territorial planning documents - land management schemes and rural development land management projects.
State control of land use means the control of the activities of the land owners or users aimed at ensuring proper use of land and legal protection, as well as identifying violations of legal acts and imposing, within the scope of its competence, the sanctions on violators provided for by law.
Another function - the state supervision of territorial planning documents - land management schemes and rural development land management projects shall be performed per the Law on State Supervision of Territorial Planning and Construction and other legal acts.
Organisers of land use schemes and rural development land management projects, institutions preparing and issuing territorial planning conditions, project developers, institutions coordinating and certifying projects, and other persons involved in the process of preparation of the said projects will have to apply to the STPCI. State supervision of territorial planning of land management schemes and rural development land management projects will be performed by the STPCI.
State supervision of territorial planning documents (land management schemes and land management planning projects for rural development) shall include:
• Verification of compliance with the legal acts regulating territorial planning of the procedures for the territorial planning process and administrative decisions related to territorial planning, including decisions setting new, amending or abolishing existing requirements for the management, use or protection of the territory, if the process of territorial planning is not carried out, amending or repealing territorial planning documents (parts thereof);
• Verification of compliance of solutions of territorial planning documents with the legal acts regulating territorial planning;
• Provision of mandatory instructions to provide the necessary information, documents, to eliminate violations of the legal acts regulating territorial planning established during the inspections;
• Examination of applications of persons, complaints related to the territorial planning process;
• Other actions of institutions of state supervision of territorial planning related to the state supervision of territorial planning specified in the Law on State Supervision of Territorial Planning and Construction and other legal acts.
Functions to be transferred to municipalities
From 1 January 2024, state-owned land that is not planned for state needs will be transferred to municipalities by the right of trust in cities and towns. Nearly 110 thousand hectares of state land shall be transferred to municipalities.
The functions of examining applications for lease and lending of state-owned land in cities and towns, taking decisions on the lease or use of state-owned land and concluding such agreements shall be transferred to municipalities. Also, the functions of transactions regarding the establishment of land easements on state land, the issuance of various consents related to state land, and some other land management functions will be transferred to municipalities.
From next year, residents will have to submit applications for the conclusion and modification of the lease agreements of state-owned land located in the territories of towns and cities to municipalities. Also, applications for the conclusion of state-owned land use agreements or amendments to such agreements will have to be submitted to municipalities by state institutions and other bodies.
One will need to apply to municipalities for the conclusion of transactions for the establishment of land easements on state-owned land, and for the coordination of the location or area of the underground surveys planned to be carried out on state-owned land. In addition, municipalities will also have to be contacted for the right to use fishing grounds without auction or through auction in state fisheries water bodies.
Municipalities will issue the following consents:
• Consents to the construction and use of temporary non-complex structures in surface water bodies of national significance;
• Consents to construct non-complex structures on state land on which land parcels have not been formed;
• Consents to the construction of transport communications, engineering networks and the construction of structures necessary for their functioning on state-owned land on which land parcels have not been formed;
• Consents to the temporary use of state-owned land during construction;
• Consents to the construction of structures on land parcels adjacent to state-owned land parcels or state-owned land on which land parcels have not been formed;
• Consents to the construction of various structures on state-owned land (e.g. hydrotechnical structures, other engineering structures, etc.).
It should be noted that these consents will be issued by municipalities only for state-owned land situated in the territories of cities and towns.
Municipalities will issue permits for the implementation of local projects financed by the State, a municipality or the EU Structural Funds on the state-owned land where no land parcels have been formed, the implementation of which does not result in the creation of immovable property on the state-owned land.
Changes in the structure of NLS
Since 2024, the structure of the NLS shall also change. The biggest structural change is related to the merger of 50 territorial divisions into 5 land management and administration divisions (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys counties).
Last updated: 08-01-2024