Land Code of the Republic of Moldova.

This Code embraces an extremely comprehensive range of issues relating to land use and management. The 16 Chapters are entitled as follows: General (1); Authority of the Parliament, Government and local self-administration bodies in the sphere of land relations (2); Allocation and alienation of land (3); Rights and obligations of landowners (4); Agricultural function land (5); Land within residential area borders (6); Land with industrial, transportation, communications and other specific functions (7); Land with nature preservation, health improvement, recreational, historic and cultural functions, suburban areas and green belts (8); Woodlands, land under water basins, reserve land stock (9); Land cadastre and land utilization system (10); Altering land functions (11); Land preservation and improvement (12); State control over and monitoring of the land stock (13); Settling land disputes (14); Responsibility for the violation of land legal acts (15); International agreements (16). Documents attesting the rights of landowners shall be as follows: (a) act certifying the right of the owner of land, issued by local public authorities in cases of granting by them of land plots in public ownership of administrative and territorial units (local government), or (b) by the Public Property Agency in cases where the state allots land plots pertaining to public property; (c) certificate of the right to inherit; (d) contract of sale; (e) gift agreement; (f) exchange agreement; (g) lease agreement and others. The form of the act certifying the right of the landowner shall be approved by the Government. The right of ownership and other property rights to the land plot shall be registered in accordance with the law. The land use fee is charged annually to local budgets and the state budget in the form of land tax or lease payment, established depending on the quality and location of land based on its assessment documents. Land plots allotted in accordance with the legislation in ownership as homestead land located outside a village (municipality) or town shall be classified as vegetable gardens. Local government shall have the right to purchase land at market price through a voluntary transaction with natural persons and legal entities. Land acquired on the basis of provisions of part one of the present article shall be included in reserve fund for the appropriate purpose. Payment for acquired land shall be made at the expense of the special fund of the mayor's office. The mayor's office shall have the right to sell the land of the reserve fund, grant on lease or allot to peasant farms, associations, cooperatives and other economic entities engaged in agricultural activities, in accordance with the current legislation.
Some interesting provisions: environmental preservation and protection of land enjoys a priority over other activities (art. 5); land operations causing a negative impact on agricultural, forest and other areas outside allocated land plots are inadmissible (art. 31); land plots for folk crafts and trades, market-gardening and horticultural associations can be allocated by the local administration (arts. 38-40).