Based on the approved construction project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs will carryout the acquisition of state-owned land for the construction of the railway. The project specifies the exact locations of the railway and the facilities necessary for its operation. Each case of land acquisition will be approached individually, and an agreement satisfactory to all parties will be sought.
When initiating the procedure for acquiring land for the state, an expert assessment is ordered from a licensed and certified land appraiser to determine the market value of the land required. During negotiations, the landowners' explanations and justifications are heard, the content of the expert assessment prepared by the land appraiser is presented, and the conditions for acquiring the land are specified (price, time of transfer of possession, possibility of harvesting crops and cutting down trees, other conditions). The negotiations will clarify the landowner's wishes and the conditions of acquisition. If the landowner's wishes and requests are justified and an agreement is reached on the acquisition of the land, a notarized contract for the transfer of the land to the Republic of Estonia will be concluded. All costs related to the acquisition of land (land surveying, notary fees for sales contracts, and state fees) are paid by the interested party, i.e., the state.
If negotiations for voluntary transfer do not yield the desired results and the landowner refuses to transfer the land, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has the right to initiate compulsory transfer proceedings. Compulsory expropriation is carried out in accordance with the law and is conducted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. Upon initiation of compulsory expropriation proceedings, the owner of the immovable property is notified of the intention to submit an application for compulsory expropriation. The owner has the right to submit objections to this. The application for compulsory expropriation is sent via the Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure to the Government of the Republic, which has the authority to make the decision on compulsory expropriation. This decision is sent by registered letter to the owner of the immovable property to be expropriated and to the holders of limited rights in rem.
After the decision on compulsory expropriation has been made, an extraordinary valuation of immovable property is carried out, which is regulated by Regulation No. 203 of the Government of the Republic of 19 June 2001, "Procedure for Extraordinary Valuation of Land." The extraordinary valuation is carried out by a land appraiser licensed by the Land Board in cooperation with the bailiff of the location of the immovable property. The valuation is carried out as of the date of the decision on compulsory expropriation.
After an extraordinary assessment, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure will organize a settlement procedure with the aim of reaching an agreement with the owner. The agreement covers the amount of compensation to be paid for the expropriated immovable property and compensation for damage caused to other persons by the expropriation, as well as the terms and conditions of payment and transfer of possession of the immovable property. In the settlement procedure, the owner of the immovable property and other persons have the right to report damages caused by the compulsory expropriation that are not reflected in the valuation report prepared during the extraordinary valuation.
If the owner of the immovable property does not agree with the decision on the compulsory expropriation fee and compensation, they have the right to challenge it in court.
See the Rail Baltic route on the Land Board website
