On July 3, 2025, the Law on Restriction of Transactions Threatening National Security came into force, prohibiting citizens of Russia and Belarus, as well as legal entities registered in these countries, from acquiring real estate in Latvia.
The law establishes that henceforth in Latvia it is prohibited to acquire real estate, participate in auctions for the sale of real estate, as well as to exercise the right of first refusal to real estate or the right to redeem real estate for the following categories of persons:
- the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus,
- citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus,
- legal entities registered in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus,
- legal entities in which 25 percent of the shares (stocks) of the share capital belong to legal entities registered in the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus,
- legal entities in which citizens of the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus directly or indirectly own at least 25 percent of the shares (stocks) in the share capital of the relevant legal entity, or the true beneficiaries of which are citizens of the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus,
- legal entities created in the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus, or the true beneficiaries of which are citizens of the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus.
Transactions concluded after the entry into force of this law, by which the above-mentioned individuals or legal entities acquire real estate in Latvia, are invalid and cannot be entered into the land register.
The law provides exceptions for individuals. In particular, the said prohibition does not apply to cases where a citizen of the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus acquires real estate or a share therein:
1) on the basis of a court decision that has entered into legal force, by which a dispute over the right of ownership of real estate has been resolved (this exception does not apply to a court-approved settlement agreement by which the dispute has been terminated by transferring the real estate or its share in favor of a person who is prohibited from acquiring real estate),
2) by inheritance, if the real estate is inherited by a spouse or relatives up to and including the fourth degree of kinship,
3) as a result of a transaction to terminate compulsory separate ownership, by attaching to his or her apartment ownership the corresponding ideal share of a functionally necessary land plot,
4) as a result of a transaction concluded to fulfill the international obligations of the Republic of Latvia,
5) as the only real estate intended for residence, if the person has been granted the status of a permanent resident of the European Union in Latvia or has a valid permanent residence permit issued before the date of entry into force of this law.
The law also provides for a three-month transition period, during which persons who are henceforth prohibited from acquiring real estate in Latvia have the right to submit documents to the land register to secure their ownership rights to real estate if the transaction was concluded or the inheritance case was initiated before the entry into force of this law. Transactions that are not entered into the land register during the transition period are not valid.
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