IZhS, LPKh or SNT: what you can build and where to register
Three zonings compared: what you may build on residential (IZhS), smallholding (LPKh) and garden-plot (SNT) land, where you can register and which suits you.
The zoning of a plot determines what you can build on it, whether you can register your residence there and at what tariffs you connect electricity. The three most common options for a house plot are residential zoning (IZhS), smallholding zoning (LPKh) and garden-plot zoning (SNT). Here is how they differ in practice, not just on paper.
What permitted use means
Every plot has a land category (for example, residential-zone land or agricultural land) and a permitted use (VRI in Russian). It is the permitted use that answers the question “what can be done here”. It is stated in the title extract from the state title register (EGRN), so you can check it before you even call the seller.
Category and permitted use work together: LPKh on residential-zone land and LPKh on agricultural land are different sets of rights. In the first case you may build a residential house; in the second, as a rule, you may not.
IZhS: residential zoning
The most straightforward option for living. Permitted: a detached residential house of up to three above-ground storeys and up to 20 metres high, a garage, a sauna, outbuildings, a garden and a vegetable patch.
What IZhS gives you:
- residence registration with no restrictions;
- a mortgage for construction or for a finished house, including state-subsidised programmes;
- utility connections at residential tariffs;
- a postal address and municipal road maintenance.
What you cannot do: build a block of flats, a hotel, a production facility or a shop without changing the permitted use.
In Shchekinskie Berega the plots are zoned IZhS and LPKh on residential-zone land: land where you can build a house and live all year round.
LPKh: smallholding zoning
If an LPKh plot lies within the boundaries of a populated locality (a so-called homestead plot), you can build a residential house on it just as on IZhS, and in addition keep poultry, livestock or bees and grow produce for your own use. Surplus can be sold without registering as a sole trader: income from a smallholding is tax-exempt provided the conditions of Federal Law No. 112-FZ are met.
The important distinction: if an LPKh plot lies outside a populated locality (a field plot), you cannot build a permanent residential house on it.
Garden-plot zoning (SNT)
Federal Law No. 217-FZ has been in force since 2019: the old summer-cottage category has been abolished, leaving only garden and allotment plots. On a garden plot you may build a residential house, a garden house (for seasonal living), a sauna and outbuildings.
You can register your residence there, but only once the house is recognised as residential: it must be a permanent structure, comply with building regulations and be registered as a “residential house”. A garden house can be reclassified as residential through the local administration; the procedure takes a few weeks.
Garden-plot land is often cheaper than IZhS for the same area: the 850 m² plots in Serebryanye Prudy, with electricity being brought to the plots, are exactly this case.
Which zoning for which goal
| Goal | Suitable | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Year-round living with residence registration | IZhS, LPKh within a populated locality | Residential house and registration with no extra procedures |
| A house plus your own smallholding | LPKh | Poultry, livestock and bees are allowed directly under the permitted use |
| A summer home with the option to stay on | Garden-plot land | Cheaper; the house can be recognised as residential later |
| Farm, glamping, nursery | Agricultural land | A separate story: read the article on agricultural land |
What to check before buying
- Permitted use and land category, in the title extract, not by word of mouth.
- Boundaries: the plot must have had a boundary survey, with coordinates entered in the register.
- Encumbrances and zones with special conditions of use: protected zones around power lines and gas pipelines, water protection zones.
- The municipality's land use and development rules (PZZ), which set the limits: setbacks from boundaries, maximum height, building coverage ratio.
More on the paperwork in the article “What to check before the deal”.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I register my residence on an LPKh plot?
- Yes, if the plot lies within the boundaries of a populated locality and a residential house has been built on it and entered in the title register. Registration works the same way as on IZhS land.
- Is there a difference between a garden plot and a summer-cottage plot?
- Since 2019 the law no longer recognises summer-cottage plots as a separate category: all such land is either garden or allotment land. On a garden plot you may build a residential house and a garden house; on an allotment plot only outbuildings without foundations.
- How many storeys can I build under IZhS?
- No more than three above-ground storeys and no higher than 20 metres. The house must be detached and intended for one family; it cannot be divided into flats.
- Which zoning is best for permanent living?
- IZhS is the most predictable: a residential house, registration, a mortgage, utility connections at residential tariffs. LPKh within a populated locality gives the same plus the right to keep livestock. Garden-plot land suits a seasonal home, or a buyer prepared to have the house recognised as residential.
Read also
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