Russians were warned about new rules for real estate transactions from July 1

From July 1, 2026, a new mechanism for remote real estate transactions will begin to operate in Russia. It will be possible to confirm your identity when registering rights using biometrics, Ivan Volkov, head of the information security department of the Granel Group of Companies, told RIA Novosti.

According to the expert, this will allow transactions to be carried out completely remotely. To do this, the parties will need electronic documents, an electronic signature and verified biometrics in the Unified Biometric System.

“If the parties want to conduct a transaction completely remotely, they will need an electronic package of documents, an electronic signature and confirmed biometrics in the Unified Biometric System. At the same time, offline transactions do not disappear anywhere,” explained Ivan Volkov.

You need to prepare for such a deal in advance. A citizen will need to undergo personal identification at the bank to confirm biometrics, as well as issue an enhanced qualified electronic signature. An electronic signature certificate is valid for 12 months, verified biometrics is valid for 5 years.

The main advantage of the new mechanism is the opportunity to buy or sell housing in another city without a personal trip. At the same time, the expert also warned about the risks. These include possible hacking of an account on State Services, theft of electronic signature data, and phishing sites.

Ivan Volkov emphasized that biometrics confirms the identity of the participant in the transaction, but does not guarantee the legal purity of real estate. Therefore, before purchasing, you still need to check the USRN extracts, the history of the apartment and other documents.