Real Estate and Construction, Latvia

Introduction

As many companies across industries report real estate as the asset underlying their business, the importance of real estate law cannot be underestimated.

Real estate purchase and sale transactions involving cross-border element have become commonplace across the EU. Companies and individuals alike continue to purchase real estate for investment purposes.

Each development project involves a range of complex legal issues, including obtaining of development permits, handling of planning inquiries and overcoming a variety of ad hoc legal challenges. In addition, large development and infrastructure projects can require environmental consents or come across protestor action.

In providing real estate services our law firm draws upon cross-border experience and in-depth knowledge of the real estate industry.

Our real estate practice embraces all major areas of real estate law, including acquisition, due diligence, investment, financing, construction, construction procurement, development, letting, management and sale.

We have advised and represented real estate owners, purchasers, developers, investors, lenders and tenants. In addition, our lawyers possess extensive expertise in preparing and processing local and municipal permit applications required for land use and development projects.

We approach real estate projects with carefully designed strategies which enable our clients to achieve their long-term goals.

Services

Our principal real estate and construction law practice areas include:

• Real estate asset purchase and sale
• Corporate real estate acquisitions, dispositions and divestitures
• Drafting, negotiating and closing planning agreements and assuring regulatory compliance
• Obtaining requisite governmental and local authority permits and approvals
• Due diligence of real property and technical projects
• Construction operational issues and land rights agreements
• Mortgages and other interests in real estate
• Land use regulations
• Renting of commercial premises
• Real estate planning and zoning
• Real estate finance
• Land use and natural resources
• Construction contracts and subcontracts
• Privatisation
• Property tax structuring
• Environmental compliance
• Real estate restructuring
• Utilities issues
• Tax in estate planning
• Real estate and construction litigation and dispute resolution

Our Experience

We pride ourselves in having represented and advised our clients on a number of transactions involving real estate and construction law issues. The track record of our real estate practice includes, among others, the following landmark transactions:

We routinely support the city council of one of Latvia’s major towns with respect to legal aspects of its real estate development projects. In addition, we provided litigation support, namely, we represented the authority in litigations concerning a series of property rights disputes.

We advised and acted on behalf of a large international transportation company in a complex transaction which involved a land lease arrangement with a certain local municipality. More specifically, we rendered advice to the on the legal aspects of territorial planning, local construction regulations, environmental impact and forest treatment requirements.

We have assisted the city council of Riga in developing the binding regulations on territory exploitation and construction for the territory of Riga and the historic centre of Riga.

We routinely represent in legal matters a multifunctional culture events and communications operator engaged in a wide range of purposeful development projects.

We advised a large supplier of renewable energy with respect to its multi-million investment in renovation of a leased real estate belonging to a local municipality and construction of a renewable energy supply station.

We represented the interests of the local subsidiary of a leading international real estate developer and operator in administrative courts in connection with a litigation which sought to challenge the validity of a construction permit granted to our client.

Ilze Kramiņa

Senior Partner
+371 6728 0102
E-mail

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Eversheds Sutherland is the name and brand under which the members of Eversheds Sutherland Limited (Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP) and their respective controlled, managed and affiliated firms and the members of Eversheds Sutherland (Europe) Limited (each an "Eversheds Sutherland Entity" and together the "Eversheds Sutherland Entities") provide legal or other services to clients around the world. Eversheds Sutherland Entities are constituted and regulated in accordance with relevant local regulatory and legal requirements and operate in accordance with their locally registered names. The use of the name Eversheds Sutherland, is for description purposes only and does not imply that the Eversheds Sutherland Entities are in a partnership or are part of a global LLP. The responsibility for the provision of services to the client is defined in the terms of engagement between the instructed firm and the client.