Real Estate And Project Development News - May 2021

• Published date: 22 July 2021
• Law Firm: Cobalt Legal
• Author: Ms Dace Silava-Tomsone and Dita Bu'a

During the last few months number of laws and regulations have been passed in Latvia which have an impact on construction processes, investment in the Latvian real estate and project development.

Below is our summary of the most significant developments.

Overhaul of the Residential Tenancy Law

New Residential Tenancy Law entered into force on 1 May 2021 overhauling the old significantly outdated law on lease of residential premises which was in operation for more than 20 years. It is expected that the new law will provide a fair balance between lessors and tenants thus facilitating the availability of housing and encouraging developers to invest in residential buildings. According to some projections, an annual inflow of investments in range of EUR 100 million is expected in the Latvian residential tenancy sector.

The most significant changes concern the obligation to conclude the tenancy agreement with a fixed end date. In parallel the lawmaker has considerably eased the corroboration of tenancy agreements with the Land Register by making registration free of charge, and stating that the entries shall automatically cease on the fixed end date without any involvement by the parties. The agreements not registered with the Land Register will not be binding to the new owner in the event of change of title.

The agreements registered with the Land Register shall be subject to undisputed enforcement of obligations under the Civil Procedure Law, thus significantly relieving process of...