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Apartment transfer deed

As a rule, the main attention when selling an apartment on the secondary market is paid to the contract, as well as the procedure for transferring funds. It is important to draw up a coolie sale agreement correctly, otherwise it may be recognized by the court as invalid, which is grounds for cancellation of the transaction. In this case, the apartment automatically goes to the previous owner, but there may be some surprises with the money. But sometimes they simply forget about drawing up a transfer and acceptance certificate, although in some areas (for example, the Moscow region), without this document the contract will simply not be accepted for registration.

What does the law say?

First, we should consider what the law says regarding this document. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation contains Article 556 “Transfer of Real Estate”, which states that the transfer of real estate occurs exclusively under a transfer deed (or other transfer document), and the moment of signing this act is the moment of transfer of the apartment. The key emphasis should be placed on the concept of “moment of transfer” - only after this document is signed, the property is considered transferred, and the obligations of the parties under the purchase and sale agreement are considered fulfilled. Not after signing the contract and not after the actual transfer of housing, and not even after registering the transaction, but only after signing the acceptance certificate.

So, the mentioned legislative act makes it clear that without signing the act, the transaction is not complete, since the parties have not fulfilled their obligations to each other. What consequences may occur? In most cases, there are no consequences; the new owner of the apartment can live comfortably in it all his life, without ever knowing that he did not do something. However, unfortunately, this is not always the case...

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The law requires that the sale of housing must be accompanied by the preparation and signing of the necessary documents.

One of them is the act of acceptance and transfer. Without it, the transaction will be considered invalid.

Let's figure out what this document is, why it is needed and how it is drawn up and signed by the parties.

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Unpleasant consequences for the seller

The fact is that, in addition to failure to fulfill obligations (which until now sounded like some kind of theoretical abstraction), the buyer, according to the law, cannot assume obligations regarding the maintenance and servicing of the apartment, and also cannot bear the risks of its accidental damage and death. All of the above risks continue to be borne by the seller. To illustrate this point, let us give the following example: a year after the purchase (the transfer and acceptance certificate was never signed), the apartment was severely damaged by a fire.

Firstly, since the real estate was not officially transferred, the new owner can go to court, claiming that the former owner transferred the apartment to him in a condition that was not specified in the contract (he promised, they say, to sell the whole apartment, but now it is burnt down ) or did not transmit anything at all. Secondly, if neighbors were injured in a fire, they will be forced to file claims for the restoration of property. And, since there is no transfer and acceptance certificate, then all risks continue to be borne by the previous owner. That is, the neighbors’ claims, according to logic, should be addressed to him. In practice, of course, this cannot happen; a trial will arise, and the court will be on the side of the former owner of the apartment, but he will most likely not be happy with the possibility of opening a trial.

Unpleasant consequences for the buyer

Drawing up and signing a transfer and acceptance certificate is especially important for the buyer when it comes to purchasing an apartment in a newly built building. So, in addition to handing over the keys to the apartment, no less important is the moment when it is time to record the complete fulfillment of the developer’s obligations to the client. The only tool that allows you to do this is precisely the act of acceptance and transfer of the apartment.

Yes, the construction company built the house and put it into operation, but how well was the work carried out? Practice shows that when inspecting a new home, the developer’s clients are sometimes not very happy with the way the finishing is done, how the utilities work, and also notice other shortcomings. While the contract (if we take into account the standard shared participation agreement, which stipulates that the work must be performed not only taking into account accepted building codes and regulations, but also be of adequate quality) excludes the possibility of such shortcomings. That is, it turns out that the developer did not fully fulfill his obligations.

Instructions for compilation

The document must contain the following information:

Read more: How to find out the readiness of citizenship of the Russian Federation

The parties put their signatures under the text of the document ; if the seller or buyer, for example, having the status of a legal entity, has a seal, then its imprint should appear on the paper.

To sign or not?

Some happy owners of new apartments turn a blind eye to various shortcomings due to the fact that they consider such phenomena to be a common practice; a number of shortcomings can actually be tolerated, since they are insignificant, and some citizens are still going to do a major overhaul, which includes redevelopment to the tastes of the new owner. The deed is simply signed, and based on its signing (and the agreement), the shareholder issues a certificate of title to the property. However, what should you do if there are serious shortcomings, the correction of which at your own expense can cost a pretty penny?

It would be logical to assume that since the developer began to build a house, promising the proper quality of apartments, then it is he who must correct everything that does not correspond to the concept of “proper quality.” That’s right, the developer must fix everything, as quickly as possible and at his own expense. To achieve this, you need to wait until the very moment comes when a representative of the developer arrives to sign the deed. If the client does not agree to fix everything himself, waste time and waste money, it is necessary to indicate the identified defects in the inspection sheet and refuse to sign the acceptance certificate (until the listed defects are eliminated).

However, the inspection report with a list of identified deficiencies must also be signed by the developer - in fact, the developer’s signature means his agreement with the presence of defects, which automatically leads to an obligation to eliminate them. But the developer is usually in no hurry to sign this document, since correcting the defect may lead to additional costs, which can be very significant, especially if the owners of other apartments do the same.

Step-by-step instructions for compiling

Required papers

In order to draw up an act, the parties will only need documents identifying the parties and their powers (for example, if the buyer or seller is a legal entity, statutory documents for the manager or a power of attorney for the representative will be needed). All documents that confirm ownership rights are presented when signing the contract itself, and are not separately required when drawing up the deed.

However, if the agreement provides for special conditions for the transfer of an apartment, then documents confirming their existence will be required. For example, if the parties have agreed on full prepayment, then the buyer must present a payment document.

In the event that the contract itself also acts as an act of transfer, the documents required for signing the contract will be required.

Information to be provided


The legislation does not indicate what information must be included in the contract. However, practice shows that the contract must contain the following information:

  • Title of the document. It is best to simply indicate “Acceptance and Transfer Certificate”.
  • The place where the document was signed and the date of signing. This is important if the agreement contains conditions regarding the procedure and timing of the transfer of the apartment.
  • Information about the parties indicating from whom the housing is transferred to whom. For citizens, the full name and passport data are most often indicated, for legal entities - organizational and legal status (LLC, JSC, etc.), name and, if desired, OGRN. In addition, for organizations it is indicated who signs the document on their behalf and on what basis (for a manager - that is on the basis of the Charter, for a representative - that is by proxy).
  • A complete description of the apartment in the condition in which it is at the time of transfer. In addition, its full address is indicated, and, if necessary, the cadastral number. It is also advisable to indicate data on the number of storeys, living and total area and other technical information - this will avoid disputes about which apartment the act was drawn up in respect of.
  • Claims of the parties to each other. The buyer, according to Art. 556 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, he has the right to accept an apartment that has defects - but then this fact must be reflected in the transfer deed. If there are no complaints, this fact is indicated in the document.
  • Signatures of the parties (for organizations - also a seal impression).

Read more: Application for purchase of land from the administration

Separately, it should be said that in order to protect against possible claims, the condition of the apartment should be described in as much detail as possible. The relevant section of the act must contain at least the following information:

  • The condition of the room itself. If there are noticeable defects (leaks from above, cracks in the walls, etc.), a note should be made about this.
  • The condition of the water supply, sewerage, electrical wiring, and other communications, if any.
  • The safety of doors and locks on them, windows and frames, the serviceability of switches and sockets.
  • Description of furnishings and household appliances, if they are transferred along with the apartment. For them, existing defects must also be indicated if the buyer has discovered them.

Is it possible to sign it by proxy?

Often in practice there are situations when their representative acts instead of one of the parties. He can be:


  • vested with powers by virtue of law (for example, parents in relation to their children);

  • appointed by means of a power of attorney.

And in the latter case, one should be guided by the standards established by Chapter. 10 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to them, the power of attorney must meet the following requirements:

  1. It must indicate the authority of the representative to perform specific actions. In relation to the situation described, this means that the text of the document must directly indicate that the representative has the right, on behalf of the principal, to accept the purchased property and sign the corresponding act.
  2. The power of attorney must be notarized. This requirement is established by Art. 185.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, since we are talking about rights subject to state registration - in this case, the right of ownership of residential real estate.
  • power of attorney for signing the transfer and acceptance certificate
  • power of attorney for signing the transfer and acceptance certificate

State registration

Neither the agreement nor the act to it are themselves subject to state registration . However, due to the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Law “On State Registration of Real Estate”, the rights to the purchased apartment need to be registered - and among the documents, an acceptance and transfer certificate is also submitted to Rosreestr. It is not required in all cases, but if the act is signed at the time of registration, it must be submitted.

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In addition to the act, the buyer will additionally need for registration:

  1. Application for registration.
  2. Identification documents of the applicant.
  3. The purchase and sale agreement itself (you can read about the state registration of the apartment purchase and sale agreement here).
  4. Act (if required).
  5. Payment document confirming payment of the duty (its amount is established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Deadlines and costs

The moment when the act is signed is determined by the parties in the terms of the agreement. The following options are possible:

  • immediately after signing the contract, if the contract does not say anything about prepayment;
  • after paying the full amount;
  • after making the first payment, etc.

What to do if the developer refuses to sign the deed?

The developer’s avoidance of signing the acceptance certificate can, in principle, relieve him of the need to correct any defects (and incur costs for this). According to the law, if the shareholder does not sign the deed within two months, the developer can sign the document on his part, and his obligations will thus be considered fulfilled. Therefore, if defects are discovered during an inspection of a new apartment, it is not enough to simply refuse to sign the act, just as it is not enough to provide a written argument for this refusal with a list of defects included in the inspection sheet.

The shareholder needs to sign the inspection sheet on his part and send a formal claim to the developer, demanding that the necessary corrections be made. After waiting a certain period, you need to go to court with a corresponding application.

Punishment for evading signing the act

However, evasion from signing the transfer acceptance certificate (both on the part of the seller and the buyer) is also considered by the Civil Code, which provides for penalties in this case. In the case of apartments in new buildings, the clause on the procedure and terms for transferring the apartment according to the deed must be indicated in the contract, and in the case of selling real estate on the secondary market, there may be no talk about signing the deed, only the date of transfer of property is indicated, but this is precisely the procedure required by law.

Since the transfer deadlines are specified in the contract, violation of these deadlines by the developer entails the application of penalties (which may not be specified in the contract, but are quite clearly defined by law). The amount of the fine is one three hundredth of the Central Bank refinancing rate (the current figure is taken as a basis) of the contract price. Thus, if an apartment costs about 3 million rubles, and the Central Bank rate is, for example, 15%, then the seller of the apartment (developer) is obliged to pay 4,500 rubles per day for each day of delay in the transfer of real estate (and the transfer of the apartment, as we remember , occurs precisely at the moment of signing the act).

Signing the Apartment Acceptance and Transfer Certificate

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS – continued:

…Go ahead.

Now we (the Buyer) have to take the last step in purchasing an apartment on the secondary market.

Registration of the transaction (more precisely, registration of the transfer of rights) ensured that the ownership of the apartment was transferred to us, in other words, the apartment was legally transferred to us.

The physical transfer of the apartment occurs by handing over the keys to the apartment and signing the Transfer Deed .

The deed of transfer or the deed of acceptance when purchasing an apartment is intended to record the fact of fulfillment of the obligations of the parties under the purchase and sale agreement. Despite the fact that the Transfer Act is regulated by law, it is drawn up in any form, in two copies (for the Seller and for the Buyer), signed by both parties, and is not registered anywhere (although in some regions the local Federal Registration Service may require a signed Act to register the transfer of rights according to the transaction).

Due to the simple written form of the Deed and the lack of registration, some mistakenly consider it a “frivolous document”. However, there is a nuance here - if, for example, the Sale and Purchase Agreement for an apartment is lost, it can be easily restored from the Rosreestr archive, but if the Transfer Deed you will have to look for and persuade the previous owner of the apartment.

According to the law, until the signing of the Transfer Deed, the Seller is responsible for the apartment, and from the moment of signing , the Buyer is responsible. Therefore, the Seller is interested in removing this responsibility as quickly as possible. On the contrary, we should not rush here, and it is better to sign the Transfer and Acceptance Certificate at the very last phase of purchasing an apartment.

In addition, if the transaction is contested, a correctly drawn up and signed Apartment Acceptance and Transfer Certificate will be important in court.
What grounds may there be for declaring an apartment purchase and sale transaction invalid - see the link in the Glossary.
As a rule, the Transfer Deed is signed after the registration of the transaction is completed. In the terms of the Apartment Purchase and Sale Agreement, we indicated the period for its physical release . On this day, we meet with the Seller in his now former apartment, and check the general condition of the premises, windows, doors, electrical and plumbing at the moment, as well as other elements, if agreed upon (for example, built-in furniture and household appliances ).

When signing the Acceptance and Transfer Certificate for the apartment, the keys and utility receipts are handed over, from which it is clear that payment for utility services has been made in full to this day, and there is no debt . Although we checked the absence of utility debts before signing the Apartment Purchase and Sale Agreement, some time has passed since then, and we are checking this again.

It is recommended that after signing the Transfer Deed, do not delay the transfer of your financial and personal account (at the local REU / EIRC / MFC), enter into an agreement with the energy sales company, and also re-register your landline telephone number at the telephone exchange.

What to do if you bought an apartment with utility debts? See this post at the link.

In practice, the signing of the Transfer and Acceptance Certificate when purchasing an apartment occurs after the Seller receives money for it. Then in the Act it would be justified and logical to insert a separate paragraph not only confirming the actual transfer of the apartment to the Buyer, but also confirming the money actually received by the Seller.

Thus, the signatures on the Act indicate mutual fulfillment of the terms of the purchase and sale agreement, thereby closing the mutual obligations of the parties to the transaction. The act of transferring an apartment may end with a phrase like this: “The parties have fulfilled their obligations under the purchase and sale agreement in full, mutual claims, incl. financial, they have no relationship with each other.”

A sample Certificate of Acceptance and Transfer of an Apartment (Deed of Transfer) can be downloaded here.

What if we have complaints about the condition of the apartment?

Then we can still sign the Transfer and Acceptance Certificate , but we include in it a list of detected defects, with the note “considered valid after the specified claims have been eliminated.”

If the Seller refuses to voluntarily eliminate them, then we have the right to go to court. Indeed, according to the law, “Acceptance by the buyer of real estate that does not comply with the terms of the sales contract is not a basis for releasing the seller from liability for improper performance of the contract.”

In addition to the Transfer Deed, the Seller's receipt of money for the apartment also serves as an important protection for the Buyer . In this receipt (more about it - follow the link), the Seller in any form confirms receipt of the full amount for the sold apartment, and indicates this amount in numbers and words. Even if the actual receipt of money by the Seller is confirmed in the Transfer Deed, this receipt will definitely not be superfluous for the Buyer.

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Such a receipt covers the risk of possible claims from the Seller for deception, for not receiving money for the apartment, for an allegedly unpaid amount by the Buyer, etc. In judicial practice, there have been cases when the court terminated the purchase and sale of an apartment if the Buyer could not confirm the fact of payment of the full amount under the contract.

Therefore, we need to agree on this receipt with the Seller at the stage of placing money in the cell (see the corresponding step of the INSTRUCTIONS), and it is better to prepare a receipt template in advance.

Do you now own an apartment? Don't forget about real estate taxes. When and how much to pay - see the link.

In general, a good rule for all types of transactions is to always keep ALL documents related to the transaction, including certificates, contracts, receipts, permits, and even the lease agreement for a bank safe deposit box and an additional agreement to it.

The more of our words and actions we can support with documents, the safer the consequences of the transaction will be for us.

And don’t forget, the law takes into account the interests of the bona fide purchaser!

And in order to protect the acquired property rights from fraudulent actions and from claims of third parties, we should be aware of the possibility of prohibiting the registration of any actions with our apartment without our personal participation, and about title insurance of property rights (for more information about these actions, see the links).

In the secondary housing market, competent legal support is especially important for the Buyer. Specialized lawyers will help you check the Seller and the documents for the apartment, reduce risks and support the transaction - HERE.

So, the last ritual action has been completed, and the apartment has become our full use, possession and disposal. We are now the owners.

We rejoice at the new apartment and accept well-deserved congratulations!

Difficulties in filing tax deductions

It is also necessary to mention that a buyer who did not ensure that the transfer and acceptance certificate was signed may have real complications with the registration of a tax deduction. If housing was purchased from a developer under an equity participation agreement, then, as we understand, the existence of such an act is determined by the order of relations between the developer and the shareholder. If housing is purchased on the secondary market, then this act, in principle, is not required, but the tax service will require a certificate of registration of property rights, and in order to obtain this document in a number of regions, the presence of a transfer act is a prerequisite.

Complications during the sale

The absence of a transfer and acceptance certificate can lead to certain complications during the sale of an apartment. Let’s say that a potential buyer has been found, but he wants to take out a mortgage loan to purchase an apartment. In turn, some banks, in addition to the certificate of ownership, want to see an act according to which the living space was transferred to the current owner. This requirement is caused by the desire to exclude any possibility of the property, which is collateral, being released from the bank’s encumbrance (the risk of losing the collateral).

Thus, the seller loses part of the audience of potential buyers who would like to buy his apartment with a mortgage. This implies the need for the seller to reduce the price if he wants to sell the property quickly or increases the time frame for selling the property.

What should be the transfer and acceptance certificate?

The legislation does not contain a description of the form of the act of acceptance and transfer of an apartment; the only guidance for the seller and buyer in drawing up such an act is judicial practice. The document must reflect the following information:

— Date of signing and place; — Description of the property being transferred; — Cadastral data (address, area); — Condition of the apartment (reflected in the inspection report); — Additionally, photographs may be attached; — Details of the agreement (to which the act is attached); — Data of the parties (personal data, addresses); - Signatures of the parties.

Why do you need an apartment transfer and acceptance certificate?

An apartment acceptance certificate is a document confirming that the buyer has accepted the property and is satisfied with its condition. It is issued when purchasing housing both on the secondary market and from the developer. The legislation does not define the form of the act and the specifics of its drafting; the parties can leave this at their own discretion. The main thing is that the act reflects its essence.

The act of transferring an apartment upon sale establishes that:

  1. The seller fulfilled its obligations under the contract.
  2. The buyer accepted the apartment without any complaints.

Important! It is not necessary to submit the apartment acceptance certificate to Rosreestr when selling. It is not included in the list of documents approved by Art. 21 Federal Law dated July 13, 2015 No. 218-FZ. But if you have it and payment is made in full before registration, it is better to take it with you.

Certificate of acceptance and transfer for a mortgage

Drawing up a transfer and acceptance certificate for an apartment when buying with a mortgage is practically no different from buying for cash. The only exception is that settlements with the seller are made only after the transaction is registered, therefore, the act is signed at the same time.

Take the survey and a lawyer will tell you for free how to avoid mistakes in an apartment purchase and sale transaction in your case

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