The collapse of the Soviet Union and destabilisation of Russia as a whole left many legal loopholes  – and whilst most problems have been sorted with the centralised government and improving economy, there are still a few remnants of laws from the days of Communism and de-centralisation. For example, there are rights for Russian citizens such as “an individual's local residency registration”, which basically means that a person may have a right to live in or on a property without actually owning it. This is called ‘propiska’. As always, any potential problems should be checked with a lawyer or real estate agent, as problems can come seemingly from nowhere. Common checks carried out when buying any property in Russia include the tenant’s rights to propiska, spousal approval of the sale, the owners history of the property, and whether children are registered as living in the property that have special issues related to moving them out – this rather complex regulation relates to Russia’s strong social laws.

Foreigners have no restrictions placed on them whatsoever for purchasing property in Russia, and are covered by the same laws and regulations as all native citizens. Land ownership can prove to be more complex, due to the former Communist rule not allowing any one person to own property, though these cases have been sorted out in the majority. It should also be noted that a person cannot own a building until construction has finished completely, as buildings in progress are not considered private property, which is an issue off plan investors would have to tackle.