Residents of two buildings in Sochi have reported violations of their rights.

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The land on Tsyurupy Street in Sochi, on which the two-story building that burned down in 2016 and the 12-story building built in 2014 are located, is municipal property. The owners have reported a violation of their rights, and residents of the apartment building fear the building may be declared unauthorized and demolished.

As reported by Kavkazsky Uzel, a fire occurred in apartment building No. 4 on Tsyurupy Street in 2016. According to authorities, the wiring fire occurred in the artist's studio, but the residents of the building believe that the developer, who built the high-rise building dangerously close to their home, should be held responsible for the fire. In September 2025, residents of the burned-down building received lawsuits for its demolition. They believe the demands are related to the actions of the developer, who built the high-rise building dangerously close to their home.

On January 16, residents of the dilapidated building at 4 Tsyurupa Street in Sochi, which burned down in 2016, as well as apartment owners in a high-rise building built nearby at the same address in 2014, received a response from Rosreestr regarding who owns the land beneath their buildings and on what basis. A copy of the response is in the possession of the "Caucasian Knot."

The response was signed by I.V. Domracheva, Deputy Head of Rosreestr's Department for Methodological Support and Analysis in the Field of Registration of Rights and Cadastral Registration. The document states that the 2,100 square meter plot of land, on which two apartment buildings are located—an old two-story building and a 12-story building built in 2014—is still registered as municipal property of the city of Sochi. Rosreestr acknowledges that "the legal status of this plot is unresolved" and points to the need for "further discussion of the plot's status with local government authorities."

"The land plot [...] is registered as the property of the municipality of the resort city of Sochi," the response states. The agency also cites the provisions of Article 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, according to which "the land plot under an apartment building is the common property of the owners of the premises."

According to residents of the new building, the developer's father "privatized the non-residential building at 4 Tsyurupy Street in the 1990s, after which he converted it into residential use and sold off the apartments." However, despite the construction of the apartment building, the land beneath it has never been transferred to the residents, which, according to the owners, violates Article 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation and Federal Law No. 189-FZ "On the Implementation of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation."

In 2014, the developer itself, with the consent of city officials, erected a high-rise residential building on an adjacent municipal plot. The total area of municipal land on which the two buildings are located is 2,100 square meters.

"The apartments in the high-rise building were sold, but the land beneath the building has never been transferred to us, its residents, which deprives us of the opportunity to formalize the common property and creates the risk of the building being declared an unauthorized construction," Elena Potapova, a resident of the building, commented on the situation to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

What is happening fits into a typical pattern for Sochi, according to Andrei Puzanov, a lawyer by training, a former city administration employee, and a resident of the burned-down building.

Officials transfer building plots without legal grounds, turn a blind eye to the construction of apartment buildings, then the apartments are sold, and years later the same administration goes to court with lawsuits Demolition

"For years, conditions have been created in Sochi for fraud involving municipal lands. This has become especially true since the introduction of the law on the privatization of municipal and private property in the 1990s. Officials transfer land for development without legal grounds, turn a blind eye to the construction of apartment buildings, then the apartments are sold, and years later the same administration files lawsuits for demolition – either against the developers or the residents," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to him, a "legal collapse" is being deliberately created, in which citizens' money disappears without a trace, the "scapegoats" are nowhere to be found, the courts and law enforcement defend the administration's rights, and people are left homeless.

Puzanov claims that it was precisely because of the exposure of such schemes that he left the administration, and his family soon faced a similar situation. "My sister and I saved for years for a separate apartment, got into debt, and ended up with nothing and living with our parents," he lamented.

Independent lawyer Semyon Kostyuchenko believes the key problem is "the deliberate fraudulent actions of government agencies over a long period of time, for which a number of Sochi officials are serving sentences for fraud, bribery, abuse of power specifically in land matters, and illegal development of the resort."

Allowing the construction of private apartment buildings on municipal land without transferring this land to the common ownership of residents is expressly prohibited by law.

"Allowing the construction of private apartment buildings on municipal land without transferring this land to the common ownership of residents is expressly prohibited by law. "This isn't a mistake, but a systemic practice that creates corruption risks for convicted officials who trade their offices for prison bunks," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Apartment owners in a high-rise building fear for their future. Marina K., a resident of the building, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that they are being denied land titles because the plot size is insufficient. "They tell us outright: 'The plot is too small.' But the building is already built, and we bought the apartments legally. The building was built with the permission of the same mayor's office. Now we're afraid we'll be found in violation, and the building could be torn down. We're now being told that new mayors aren't responsible for the actions of the old ones. When we bought our apartments, the administration was headed by the "Olympic Mayor" Anatoly Pakhomov, and there were no restrictions on construction or sale of apartments. Now Sochi has a new mayor, and it's unclear what's going on in his head [...] The city's real estate situation is very unstable. Many buildings like ours are simply being bulldozed," she said, adding that the cadastral value of the land beneath the building at the time of the apartment's purchase exceeded 250 million rubles.

As usual, it will be us, not the officials or the developer, who will be held accountable.

Another owner of an apartment in the new building, Igor S., admits to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the building's residents understand the essence of the problem. "We understand that we are standing on land that, according to regulations, is not intended for such a building. And, as usual, it will be us, not the officials or the developer, who will be held accountable. "There are plenty of examples of this in Sochi," he noted.

A hearing is scheduled for January 20th in the Sochi Central District Court for a lawsuit filed on behalf of high-rise residents against fire victims demanding that the owners demolish the burned-out building. "This absurd lawsuit has been accepted for proceedings," said Andrei Puzanov.

Meanwhile, residents of both buildings are questioning how the plot can be considered municipal property if the old two-story building has stood there for over 35 years, and the new 12-story building has been there since 2014. Both buildings share the same address—4 Tsuryupy Street—and are located right next to each other. Residents of the new building fear that the current situation could become a pretext for demolishing both buildings, evicting residents into nowhere, and then redeveloping the site "according to regulations."

The response from Rosreestr is "not just a formal reply, but proof that the legal status of the land has been deliberately left in limbo for decades," according to Igor S.

Andrey Puzanov said he no longer knows where to write or who to complain to. "There's a conspiracy of mutual responsibility everywhere. I've been to the offices of prosecutors, investigators from the Investigative Committee of Russia, and even the FSB, and police officers... I've copied and brought documents, explained everything personally, shown them the legal framework... And yet, there's been zero response for exactly 10 years! All the employees of these agencies either pretend they don't understand anything or openly make it clear they don't want to understand anything. So what can be done in this situation? I went to Moscow, but from there, everything trickles down. And below us, there are empty replies, or recognition of our rights, as in the Rosreestr response, while at the same time trying to say that Rosreestr has nothing to do with it. But how could it have nothing to do with it, if they were the ones who registered the ownership of our land for the municipality," he asks.

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