Tag Archives: Secured Transactions

Basics of Land Pledges

Any individual or legal entity may pledge as collateral land they own or possess. If the land was transferred to an individual or a legal entity based on a valid legal agreement, the person receiving such rights has the ability to legally pledge those rights so long as the legal claim to the land rights remains valid. Registration of a pledge of land will require presentation of documentation including the cadastral, and a copy of the land ownership, possession, or utilization certificate along with the pledge agreement.

A bank or a person authorized to conduct credit activities may also receive a pledge to land based on rights granted by a loan agreement. Such rights may be registered by the bank or creditor as pledgee as with any pledge.

Land may be pledged separately from the buildings that are constructed on it, or even which are in the process of being constructed. A pledge agreement must stipulate the land and buildings may not be pledged separately, if this is the intention.

In case of disagreement between a pledgee collecting on pledged rights to land, and an owner of buildings on the land, parties should seek to reach a mutual agreement between themselves, or in extreme cases seek resolution at court.

Can Immovable Property be Pledged Twice?

A owner of immovable property (usually real estate or buildings) is entitled to dually promise collateral to others as a pledge on satisfaction of debt. Previously, double collateral was not allowed, if it was prohibited by the agreement between parties. The Constitutional Court made a resolution #11 to repeal this regulation in 2015. Therefore, it is now possible to dual pledge the collateral several times.

When concluding a contract with a subsequent pledgee, the pledgor is obliged to inform the pledgee that the pledge item has already been pledged. If not informed, pledgor should liable for the damage that a subsequent pledgee suffers. A subsequent pledgee has the right to terminate the pledge agreement and may demand compensation for damages. As a best practice, it is recommended to describe the initial pledge within the pledge documentation for a subsequent pledge.

If the previous pledge agreement states terms and conditions of a subsequent pledge agreement, such terms and conditions must be included in a later pledge agreement. If these terms and conditions are not reflected in the next pledge agreement and the previous pledgee submits a claim to the court to invalidate the subsequent pledge agreement, the court will likely consider the later pledge agreement as invalid regardless of whether the secondary pledgee knew or did not know about the original pledge. If the original pledgee and the secondary pledgee are the same, this regulation will not apply.

A dual pledge must be registered at the Mongolian State Registration Office. All subsequent pledges of such property shall be recorded along with the original pledge.

In case collateral is somehow pledged by several persons, a pledgee’s demand will be satisfied via the collateral in the order registered with the State Registration Office. In other words, in satisfying the pledgee’s demand, the pledge item shall be secured in the order registered in the state registry.

If a previous pledgee did not enjoy a preemptive right to demand the secured obligation, first priority right over the collateral will be transferred to next pledgee. A Pledgee shall be obliged to notify other pledgees prior to demanding to satisfaction of a secured obligation from such property. The reason for notifying to other pledgee is, if any of pledgees demanded to satisfy secured obligation from the collateral, other pledgees may demand simultaneous satisfaction although previous and next security period is not due. If other pledgees approve, each secured demand shall be satisfied in order of its performance date.