Buying state property in Uzbekistan: auctions and payment

State-owned buildings, structures, property complexes and unfinished construction are sold to individuals and non-state companies through electronic bidding. The highest bid wins an auction, the deposit is 3–15% of the starting price, and notice is published at least 30 days in advance. The purchase concludes with a contract, a state warrant and registration of title.

In brief:

• An applicant may be an individual or a non-state legal entity, including a foreign person, unless a specific prohibition applies.
• The lot notice must be published at least 30 days (Article 35 of Law No. ZRU-907) before bidding starts or applications close.
• The deposit depends on the starting price and is 15%, 10%, 5% or 3% under the statutory scale.
• The winner has 10 working days to sign the contract; refusal causes forfeiture of the deposit and the contract is offered to the reserve winner.
• The buyer becomes the owner after satisfying the conditions, obtaining the state warrant and registering the transfer of title to the real estate.

Updated: 05 September 2026

Properties and eligible buyers

Which state-owned properties are sold

State-owned real estate comprises state-owned property complexes, buildings and structures (Article 3 of Law No. ZRU-907), including unfinished construction. The law permits a state asset to be privatised in whole or in part. State shares and state institutions are also privatisation assets, but this article concerns real estate and does not cover the purchase of shares or an enterprise through an equity interest.

Only an asset included in a privatisation programme and outside the non-privatisable categories (Article 10 of Law No. ZRU-907) may be sold. A separate law contains the complete exclusion list. It includes:

• land, except in cases expressly permitted by law, subsoil, reservoirs including those filled by floodwater and snowmelt, large and especially important water-management facilities, airspace, and flora and fauna;
• tangible cultural heritage sites, archival records, state museums, protected natural areas, nature and national parks, botanical gardens, public gardens, parks of culture and recreation, alleys and boulevards;
• enterprises and organisations that produce banknotes, securities, orders, medals and postage stamps;
• enterprises, institutions and military-technical property of the Armed Forces, State Security Service, National Guard, Ministry of Internal Affairs and State Security Service of the President;
• enterprises and facilities that conduct research and development, develop, manufacture or sell X-ray equipment and equipment using ionising-radiation sources, handle radioactive elements, waste, uranium or other fissile materials, or develop, manufacture, repair and sell weapons, ammunition, protective equipment, military equipment, spare parts, components and instruments, pyrotechnic products, and special materials and equipment used in their production;
• enterprises producing potent poisons, narcotic and toxic substances, or cultivating and processing crops containing those substances;
• state reserves, civil-defence and mobilisation facilities and property, nuclear installations, storage sites for nuclear materials, thermal-insulation assemblies for nuclear reactors and spent nuclear fuel, nuclear fuel, reactor thermal-insulation assemblies, spent nuclear fuel, natural uranium, uranium enriched in uranium-235, uranium-233, all isotopes of plutonium, americium and californium, neptunium-237 and compounds containing them;
• specialised enterprises transporting explosive and toxic substances, public roads, sanitary and epidemiological stations, the Republican Scientific and Practical Centre for Forensic Medical Examination, and environmental monitoring and protection services; and
• the Republican Special Communications Centre, Military Unit No. 15361, the Electromagnetic Compatibility Centre and burial places.

This statutory exclusion list (Article 19 of Law No. ZRU-821) covers every category named in the law, but the President may additionally designate other state property as non-privatisable. A building’s presence in a state register therefore does not itself make it available for purchase: the privatisation programme and the seller’s decision provide the basis for sale.

Who may participate in the purchase

An individual or a non-state legal entity, whether resident or non-resident, may participate. The statutory definition of an applicant expressly includes a foreign individual or legal entity (Article 3 of Law No. ZRU-907). A foreign buyer need not establish an Uzbek company solely to bid for a building unless the conditions of a particular lot impose a lawful eligibility criterion.

Persons whom legislation prohibits from participating are ineligible. The same applies to an applicant whose participation could cause unfair competition (Article 11 of Law No. ZRU-907) and to its affiliates. The criteria of a particular competitive tender are also binding: where the property carries conditions, the applicant must demonstrate compliance with the tender documents.

Land is the main separate issue for a foreign buyer. Foreign nationals, stateless persons, foreign companies and foreign-invested enterprises may not privatise a land plot. Eligibility to buy the building therefore does not automatically confer ownership of the underlying land.

Listing and property checks

How a property is listed on E-auksion

A property is listed only after it enters a privatisation programme and is prepared for sale. State and local authorities, individuals and non-state companies may submit privatisation proposals. The State Assets Management Agency prepares the national programme, while its territorial offices prepare municipal programmes; the approving authority depends on the level of ownership. The law allows a person to propose an asset but does not entitle that person to compel its sale.

The State Assets Management Agency acts as the seller of national property (Article 13 of Law No. ZRU-907), and its territorial offices sell municipal property. Programmes may also be formed from private proposals (Article 15 of Law No. ZRU-907). Once approved, the programme must be published on the competent authority’s website within 10 days.

An individual may use the State Property information system to propose direct online bidding for a state-owned property measuring up to 2,000 square metres. This route does not replace the programme or the title review: the authority first decides whether the property may be privatised, prepares the documents and only then sends the lot to the E-auksion operator.

What to check in the lot record and documents

Before bidding, compare the lot record, cadastral documents, bidding conditions and draft contract. The notice must disclose the type of property, business activity, industry, financial indicators, land area, building area and technical condition, utility connections, the date, subject and procedure for bidding, the application procedure, applicant criteria, the starting price and other conditions. The results, price and buyer details are published within 3 working days after the transaction, subject to contractual confidentiality terms.

During preparation, the balance-sheet holder submits inventory and title documents (Article 16 of Law No. ZRU-907), land information, details of operating units and utility networks, and audit materials where required. The current regulation additionally lists:

• cadastral documents, a cadastral map or plan and other documents evidencing title to the property;
• documents evidencing the right to the land plot and other natural resources;
• details of encumbrances and restrictions on disposal;
• the principal property data in the Agency’s prescribed form; and
• an opinion from the cultural-heritage authority, where required.

These documents form the balance-sheet holder’s package (paragraphs 22–29 of the Regulation approved by Cabinet Resolution No. 279). The law does not promise that every internal document will be attached to the public record. The buyer should request the available material and verify that the address, area, cadastral number, land boundaries, utilities, encumbrances and physical condition agree.

The Agency or its territorial office sets the starting price. An independent valuation report is a reference point, but the seller may set a different starting price (Article 18 of Law No. ZRU-907) after considering the market and other valuation factors. The appraised, book and starting values may therefore differ; the bid concerns the price stated in the notice.

Application and bidding

Auction and competitive tender compared

An ordinary auction is used for property that does not impose special conditions on the buyer. State-owned real estate sold subject to construction under a design based on urban-planning standards is an exception and may still go to auction. Bidding raises the price, and price determines the winner.

If other specified conditions are imposed on the buyer, the property is sold by competitive tender. The offered price is then assessed together with qualification criteria, supporting documents and the terms of the tender proposal. The tender is also electronic, and its deposit follows the same scale as an auction deposit. This is a separate tender procedure (Article 21 of Law No. ZRU-907).

The label used for the lot does not override its terms. If the record requires retention of a business profile, a stated investment, jobs or another measurable outcome, read the tender documents and draft contract even if the platform uses the general word “bidding”.

How to apply and calculate the deposit

The application, admission, bidding, winner selection and protocol are processed on E-auksion. A contract for state-owned real estate sold there is executed electronically on the platform using an electronic digital signature (EDS). The operator issues participants, including foreign nationals, a free remote EDS certificate for the auction. The notice for the particular lot sets the application deadline and payment details.

The deposit is calculated from the starting price. If the participant submits its own price offer before bidding starts, the deposit is calculated from that offered amount. The statutory thresholds are expressed in BRVs; one BRV, the base calculation unit, is rendered below in its current soum amount.

Example. A building has a starting price of 2.200.000.000 soums. This falls above 440.000.000 and at or below 4.400.000.000, so the deposit is 5%: 2.200.000.000 × 5% = 110.000.000 soums. If the participant makes an advance offer of 2.640.000.000 soums, the deposit is based on that amount: 2.640.000.000 × 5% = 132.000.000 soums.

At least two participants are required before an online auction can produce a sale and contract. If only one applicant applies, the auction is unsuccessful. A participant should keep the required amount in its platform account and check which price the system used to calculate the deposit.

How bidding works and the winner is selected

An auction increases the starting price. The highest bidder wins, while the participant one increment below the winning price becomes the reserve winner. From publication of the notice until bidding ends, a participant may enter a price offer that is not tied to an auction increment and remains undisclosed to other participants before the auction starts.

The winner’s deposit is credited towards the purchase price. The operator returns deposits to the other participants within 5 working days after announcing the result and returns the reserve winner’s deposit within 3 working days after signing with the winner.

The auction is unsuccessful if there are no applications, only one applicant, or both the winner and reserve winner decline the contract. A repeat auction is held once every 10 days. If the asset remains unsold for 3 months, the seller may set a new starting price; after 6 months of unsuccessful auctions, it may select another privatisation method. All these consequences, including the reserve-winner process, appear in the statutory auction procedure (Article 20 of Law No. ZRU-907).

Payment, documents and land

Payment period and instalments

As a general rule, the buyer pays for the state property within one month. Legislation may allow a longer period, which ordinarily does not exceed 3 years. The contract must contain the particular schedule, and the winner’s deposit is credited towards the purchase price.

This statutory timetable (Article 31 of Law No. ZRU-907) applies unless legislation provides otherwise. If the first payment made within a month is below 35%, annual interest at the Central Bank’s policy rate accrues on the balance, except where a Presidential decision provides an exception. A buyer that pays at least 35% may mortgage the property to secure a loan but must secure the future instalments with non-payment insurance or a bank guarantee.

Example. The winning price is 3.520.000.000 soums and the deposit is 176.000.000 soums. The maximum period under the general scale is 12 months. To reach 35%, the buyer must bring the total paid during the first month to 1.232.000.000 soums by paying 1.056.000.000 in addition to the credited deposit. The balance is 2.288.000.000 soums and is paid under the contractual schedule.

Documents completed after winning

Four different documents follow bidding: the protocol, contract, handover act and state warrant. They do not replace one another.

The sale contract for a state-owned property may be electronic. It must state the parties’ names and addresses, the transaction basis, the payment amount, procedure and deadlines, the parties’ obligations and sequence for transferring title, liability, the amount and terms of the penalty, dispute resolution, termination, applicable law, force majeure, language and number of copies, amendment procedure, effective date and party guarantees in appendices. The balance-sheet holder must sign the handover act (Article 30 of Law No. ZRU-907) within 5 working days after the contract is signed.

After full payment, performance of the obligations and payment of any penalty, the buyer receives a state warrant within 5 working days. The Privatisation Law ties transfer of title to receipt of the state warrant (Article 32 of Law No. ZRU-907). If the contract has not been fully performed, the warrant bears a restriction on disposal of the property.

Real estate also requires state registration of the transfer (Article 481 of the Civil Code). Performance of the contract before registration does not alter the parties’ relationship with third parties. The buyer must therefore confirm both issue of the warrant and entry of the transfer in the State Register of Rights to Real Estate.

What happens to the land under the property

As a general rule, a state-owned building and its underlying plot are privatised together under the simultaneous privatisation principle (Article 8 of Law No. ZRU-728). The Agency identifies the relevant plots in the programme, after which the land is offered together with the real estate (Article 26 of Law No. ZRU-728) through an electronic auction or other public bidding.

That rule applies only to a buyer eligible to privatise land. Uzbek nationals and Uzbek legal entities are eligible to privatise non-agricultural plots. Foreign nationals, stateless persons, foreign companies and foreign-invested enterprises are not eligible (Article 13 of Law No. ZRU-728).

When title to the building is registered, the existing right of permanent possession, use or lease over the land occupied by and necessary for the property is also transferred and registered. If the seller owns the land, the contract must provide for ownership, lease or another permitted right to the corresponding part. This link between building and land (Article 32 of Law No. ZRU-803) must be examined before bidding, particularly by a foreign participant or a buyer of part of a building.

This article does not cover obtaining an undeveloped plot, privatising land already in use or construction deadlines. The article on land for business explains land auctions, leases, purchase of the plot under a privately owned building and development requirements. It is relevant when the lot’s value depends on both the building and future land use.

Continuing obligations and buyer risks

Which obligations continue after purchase

The contract may preserve environmental requirements, obligations to maintain civil-defence, social, environmental or mobilisation facilities, and easements for passage, transport, boundary and geodetic markers, electricity and communications lines, pipelines, water supply, sewerage and irrigation. Legislation may impose other requirements. If the building is resold, these requirements bind the next buyer (Article 28 of Law No. ZRU-907).

Investment obligations may require cash investment and reinvestment of profits and dividends; supply of raw materials, equipment, spare parts and components; repairs and construction; reconstruction; repayment of budget, credit and other debts; launch of production; introduction of know-how and intellectual property; staff training; retention of an operating profile; and other lawful forms. Social obligations may concern production volumes, jobs, the export share, supply to specified users, working conditions, the environment and employee welfare. The regulatory list is open, but the contract must define the content and period, and an investment obligation must have a monetary value.

The ordinary period for investment obligations is no more than 5 years (paragraphs 3–7 of the Regulation approved by Cabinet Resolution No. 279). It starts after the permits and project documents are completed, but no later than 6 months after the contract. Such conditions ordinarily shift a sale from a price auction to a competitive tender, so the buyer must assess the lot using both the purchase price and the obligations.

Winner refusal, breaches and disputes

The winner must sign the contract within 10 working days after the protocol. On refusal, its deposit is forfeited and the contract is offered to the reserve winner. If the reserve winner also fails to sign within 10 working days, its deposit is retained and the auction is unsuccessful.

After the contract is signed, the law and contract govern the consequences. If payment is late or a condition is breached, the Agency sends written notice. The parties may use mediation, the contract specifies the penalty, and the limitation period for claims concerning performance of the conditions is 3 years (Article 34 of Law No. ZRU-907).

If the bidding rules were breached, an interested person may ask a court to invalidate the bidding. Invalid bidding causes the winner’s contract to be invalid (Article 381 of the Civil Code). This does not contradict the protection of completed privatisation: lawful privatisation results (Article 24 of Law No. ZRU-336) and the resulting private ownership are not subject to arbitrary review.

Buyer checks before placing a bid

The review must answer five questions: what is being sold, which land right transfers, which restrictions continue, how much money the full schedule requires, and which act completes registration. Review the documents in the order of the transaction:

1. Match the lot record against the cadastral number, address, area, plan, photographs and physical condition.
2. Check the privatisation programme, seller, starting price, bidding method and application deadline.
3. List the encumbrances, tenants, utilities, easements, and construction, investment and social conditions, but only where they are evidenced by the lot documents and draft contract.
4. Calculate the deposit, first payment, interest on an initial payment below 35%, and the security required to mortgage the asset.
5. After winning, track the protocol, electronic contract, handover act, full payment, state warrant and registration of the transfer in the real-estate register.

This sequence separates eligibility to bid from the right to use and dispose of the property. The bid price is only one component of the purchase; the land regime, contractual restrictions and registration determine what the buyer actually receives.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign company buy a state-owned building on E-auksion?

Yes. A foreign individual or legal entity may apply to privatise state-owned real estate unless a specific prohibition or lawful criterion of the particular bidding applies. A foreign company and a foreign-invested enterprise cannot, however, privatise the land plot. Before bidding, establish which land right will be registered with the building and whether it permits the planned use.

How much is the deposit for state-owned real estate bidding?

The deposit is 15% for a starting price up to 44.000.000 soums, 10% above 44.000.000 and up to 440.000.000 soums, 5% above 440.000.000 and up to 4.400.000.000 soums, and 3% above 4.400.000.000 soums. If the participant submits its own offer before the auction starts, the deposit is calculated from the offered price rather than the starting price.

Is an unsuccessful bidder’s deposit returned?

Yes. The operator returns the deposits of participants who did not win within 5 working days after announcing the results. A separate period applies to the reserve winner: 3 working days after the contract with the winner is signed. The winner’s deposit is credited towards the price. If the winner or then the reserve winner refuses the contract within the prescribed period, that party’s deposit is forfeited.

When does the buyer own the state property?

The parties first complete the electronic contract and handover act, after which the buyer fulfils the payment and other obligations. Following full payment, the Agency issues a state warrant with a QR code, and the Privatisation Law links transfer of title to that warrant. Because the asset is real estate, the transfer must also be registered. Before entry in the register, performance of the contract does not change relations with third parties.

May the buyer mortgage the building before paying in full?

Yes, if the property is sold by instalments and the buyer pays at least 35% of the price within one month. The remaining instalments must be secured by non-payment insurance or a bank guarantee. With a smaller first payment, the property may not be mortgaged until all obligations have been performed, and interest at the Central Bank’s policy rate ordinarily accrues on the balance.