LITHUANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Evaldas Klimas and Mantas Lideika, WALLESS
The retail segment took the lead but the biggest transaction was in the office sector: the pur - chase of the Technopolis Lietuva campus (more than 106,000 square metres of office space) in Vilnius by Lords LB. Also noteworthy is the sale of an office building owned by Northern Horizon Capital. Real estate investors, developers and lenders in Lithuania have not yet adapted to the recent emergence of blockchain, decentralised finance, proptech and other disruptive technologies in the real estate industry, so none of these tech - nologies is expected to have a significant impact on the real estate market in Lithuania over the next 12 months. Alternative crowdfunding platforms are attract - ing more and more capital, which makes the real estate finance market more diverse and sustain - able in Lithuania. Crowdfunding platforms began to gain momentum in the second half of 2021 in particular, and offer possibilities to invest in vari - ous real estate assets. This trend continued in 2023, as crowdfunding platforms allow entities with smaller capital funds to make real estate In general, the real estate investment, owner - ship and development processes in Lithuania are quite clear and easy to implement, and the government is trying to enact more legislation to make the process more transparent, including the following. • The Law on Special Land Conditions was introduced in 2020. • A new Law on Municipal Infrastructure Devel - opment was enacted in 2021. • Amendments to the Law on Land came into force in March 2022, which have changed investments in bigger projects. 1.3 Proposals for Reform
the rules for developing on state-owned land – developers now pay huge fees (up to 75% of the value of the land plot) for development rights, which has prompted investors to buy- out the land plots from the state. • Amendments to the Law on Land came into force in January 2023, which allow the municipalities to gain rights over state-owned land in cities and smaller towns. These addi - tional changes to the regulations on leasing state-owned land were long awaited. The municipalities have been given more tools to plan and prioritise brownfield development in state-owned land plots leased by private parties. • Amendments to the Law on Construction will come into force in November 2023. These changes are designed to streamline permit - ting procedures, significantly reducing their duration, and to afford greater flexibility to industry professionals, empowering them to select the most efficient design solutions for building projects. • Further amendments in construction and spa - tial planning regulation are expected by the end of 2023 as the Codex on Construction is in the works. This codex is set to replace and simplify current construction and spatial plan - ning regulation. 2. Sale and Purchase 2.1 Categories of Property Rights The most common types of property rights are: • ownership; • lease (short- and long-term lease of state land); • mortgage;
• servitude; and • usus fructus.
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