The situation has become even more complex as the Supreme Court continues to revise its approaches: what was considered “the classic scenario” yesterday — the automatic demolition of any structure without permits — no longer works today. Judicial practice is evolving, and with it, the strategies of legal defense are changing as well.
This is why the Juris Ferrum team continues to systematically study case law in the field of construction and land law. And then — to write and publish articles, because the volume of material accumulated in practice simply deserves to be shared.
The new issue of the Bulletin of the Odesa Bar Association (No. 2, 2025) features a joint article by Ganna Gnizdovska and Nadiia Gnizdovska, attorneys at Juris Ferrum LF, as well as associate Daria Stepanova.
Article title: “Recent Trends in Judicial Practice Regarding Unauthorized Construction.”
The authors analyzed how the Supreme Court is shifting from a formalistic interpretation of unauthorized construction toward a comprehensive assessment of the factual circumstances of each individual case.
Key insights from the article:
🔸 Demolition is an exceptional remedy. Courts apply it only when reconstruction is impossible or when the developer refuses to remedy the violations.
🔸 Priority of land use designation. It is the land’s legally established purpose — not local planning documents — that determines whether construction is permissible.
🔸 Developer’s good faith and the landowner’s will are essential. These factors may significantly influence the legal assessment of the structure.
🔸 Context matters more than formal criteria. Courts increasingly analyze the real conditions: duration of use, nature of the violations, and the impact on the parties’ interests.
Modern case law is moving away from automatic decisions — demolition is treated as ultima ratio, while the leading factors are the balance of interests, lawfulness of land use, and the good faith of the parties.
This publication continues the expert work of the Juris Ferrum LF team in construction law and case-law analysis, contributing to the development of new approaches to resolving real estate disputes in Ukraine.
📖 The full article is available in the Bulletin of the Odesa Bar Association, Issue No. 2 (2025).