Uylari.uz editorial

How to check registered residents before buying an apartment in Tashkent in 2026

A practical process for checking registered residents, occupancy rights, notarial information and vacant-possession terms before payment.

Checking who is registered at an apartment is a distinct part of preparing to buy a home in Tashkent. Everyday Russian often calls it a propiska check, while current Uzbek law speaks of registration at a place of residence or a place of stay. A buyer needs more than a list of names. The practical questions are who is registered at the address, whether anyone has a separate ownership or occupancy right, when the home will be vacated, and how those facts will be reflected in the transaction documents.

Search results place this topic alongside questions about apartment documents, notaries and deregistration. Public search pages indicate practical interest but do not provide reliable monthly volumes. This guide therefore makes no invented demand claim. It concentrates on a check that the Ministry of Justice’s official home-buying guidance expressly tells purchasers to consider.

Registration, ownership and occupancy rights are different

Law No. ZRU-1074 defines registration as the recording of information about a person’s residence or place of stay. It also says that registration is not a permission-based system. That does not mean that every entry can be ignored or cancelled through a single routine request. A transaction requires separate checks of title, people registered at the address and any right a particular person may have to use the home.

Owners are identified through title documents and the state real-estate register. Registered residents appear in residence-registration data. A right to occupy the home may arise from law, a court decision or an agreement between the parties. One person may belong to several categories, or only one. A seller’s statement that somebody is “only registered” is not a substitute for documentary review.

Minors, co-owners and people whose occupancy right was established by a court require particular attention. A child’s registration does not automatically prove that the child owns a share. However, when a minor does have a property right, the official buying guidance separately points to guardianship requirements. The buyer should not infer legal status from age or family relationship; the documents for the particular home must establish it.

What to request before a deposit or non-refundable payment

Begin by matching the exact property: address, apartment number, cadastral number and owner details. Ask the seller for current information about people registered in that specific dwelling. The government page on transferring an apartment lists a certificate concerning permanently registered persons among the transaction materials. The official home-buying guide also explains that a notary obtains information on registered residents through inter-agency electronic exchange.

Do not ask the seller for a OneID password, an SMS verification code or access to a private account. The seller can obtain and show information available to them, or clarify it through the notary and the migration and citizenship registration office. A working copy needs to identify the property and the date to which the result relates. Do not circulate residents’ personal data outside the review of the transaction.

Create one row for every person shown: name or initials, type of registration, known basis for living there, proposed deregistration date, the document that will confirm completion, and who is responsible for obtaining it. If the seller says that a person has already registered at another address, ask for an updated official result rather than relying on a message or an unrelated document.

Why one certificate is not the whole answer

A certificate describes a system entry on a particular date. It may not explain why the person is registered or whether that person will retain an occupancy right after the sale. The Ministry of Justice guidance recommends considering both registered residents and people who retain the right to use the premises. If such people exist, the sale contract should identify them.

Review the owners, the seller’s basis of title, shares and restrictions separately. This is not a duplicate of the residence check. If a registered person also owns a share, the issue cannot be resolved by changing an address record alone: the transaction requires the relevant owner’s participation and the notary’s review.

If someone does not appear in the current certificate but is living in the apartment, ask about the basis of occupation and the move-out date. Conversely, if the system still shows someone who moved away long ago, the record needs an official update. The documentary and physical situations should be reconciled before the principal payment and handover.

The current 2026 framework

Law No. ZRU-1074 was adopted on 10 July 2025 and entered into force on 12 October 2025. In May 2026 the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution No. 224 on residence registration, registration at a place of stay and removal from the register. A 2026 transaction should use the current texts and the selected notary’s current process, not an old online explanation built around earlier procedures.

Article 14 of the law lists different grounds for cancelling a citizen’s residence registration. They include registration at a new residence, the person’s own request, an owner’s application in circumstances defined by law, and judicial grounds. An owner’s route is subject to conditions involving property rights, family relationship, an agreement between the parties and an occupancy right established by a court. Where a person’s right to use the dwelling was established by a court, cancellation without that person’s consent requires a court decision.

The buyer should therefore reject a casual promise that “everyone will be removed automatically after the sale.” It is equally unhelpful to treat every registered person as an impossible obstacle. The useful approach is to establish each person’s status, identify the applicable legal route and obtain updated confirmation before the agreed payment stage. A notary or independent lawyer should assess a difficult case from its actual documents.

How to verify the seller’s actions

If the seller plans to cancel registrations before the transaction, ask for the legal basis and the authority receiving the request. The law states that an owner applying for cancellation presents an application, identity document and a document proving ownership and supporting the cancellation. A receipt showing submission is not the final result. Ask for a fresh record after the authority has considered the request.

Do not set your own deadline where there is a dispute over occupancy, missing consent or a court issue. The outcome may depend on judicial proceedings and may not fit the preferred transaction date. Do not make a non-refundable payment against an oral promise to resolve the matter later. If the parties link a payment to a future event, a professional familiar with the transaction should review the condition, evidence of completion and consequences of non-performance.

Repeat the residence check as close as practical to the notarial appointment. The data may change between the first viewing and signing. Ask the notary which information has been obtained through inter-agency channels and which people must be identified in the contract. A screenshot in a message thread does not replace the notarial check.

Document vacant possession separately

Deregistration and physical departure are separate events. People, belongings or unreturned keys may remain even where a certificate is clear. Conversely, a person may have moved out while the system entry is still awaiting correction. The parties should separately define the date for vacant possession, removal of belongings, delivery of every set of keys and signing of the handover record.

The official buying guidance recommends putting the release of the premises, delivery of keys and acceptance process in writing. The handover record can note who was present, the number of key sets, the condition of rooms, meter readings and any belongings left behind. The appropriate wording depends on the deal and should be agreed with the notary or lawyer.

Where suitable for the particular transaction, relate payments to verifiable stages: notarisation, state registration of title, updated residence information and physical handover. There is no universal payment sequence to copy. The bank, notary and parties may use different mechanisms, and wording carries legal consequences that depend on the documents.

Warning signs in a resident-registration check

Pause and ask further questions if the seller provides a certificate for a different address, hides the date, refuses to identify registered residents, promises to backdate deregistration, or proposes omitting a person who retains an occupancy right from the contract. A warning sign does not by itself prove that purchase is impossible, but it needs resolution before another payment.

Other issues deserving review include a mismatch between the seller’s account, the people actually living there and the notarial data; an unknown location for a registered person; pending litigation; a minor’s ownership share; or a power of attorney with unclear authority. Do not attempt to obtain another person’s private data through unofficial channels. Give a structured list of questions to the notary.

If the data contains an error, the authorised applicant should use the official correction route. Obtain a new document after the correction and compare it with the earlier version. A notice that an application was accepted does not show that the record has actually changed.

A practical buyer’s checklist

1. Select candidates in theUylari apartment catalogueand save the listing number. 2. Match the address, apartment number, cadastral number and owner. 3. Before a deposit, request fresh information about registered residents. 4. Establish the type of registration and possible occupancy basis for each person. 5. Review owners, shares, restrictions and minors’ property rights separately. 6. Have the seller complete promised changes officially and provide a new result. 7. Repeat the check shortly before notarisation. 8. Compare it with the information obtained by the notary. 9. If anyone retains an occupancy right, identify that person and the release terms in the documents. 10. Sign the handover record after checking physical possession, keys and occupants.

The central principle is to avoid treating resident registration in isolation from ownership and occupancy rights. A current certificate, the notary’s electronic check, a clear status for each person and documented handover form one process. When the official record, actual occupation and the seller’s explanation do not align, the next step is formal clarification before payment, not an assumption.