Staircases for sale: Karaganda court settles bizarre property case

A court in Karaganda ruled that the sale of common stairwells in a multi-story building is illegal. The case began when office owners on the second and third floors in 2025 realized that the staircases they had used for years had turned out to be someone’s private property. A new owner had restricted access to them.

Staircases for sale

It turned out that the common stairwells of the first, second and third floors had been sold as separate property units, changing hands several times.

«Investigating the case, the property designated in the disputed sales agreements as non-residential premises, are essentially the common stairwells of the first, second and third floors,» the court said in a statement.

Purchasers insisted that the transaction was legitimate and the property had been officially registered.

Court ruling

The court rejected the argument. Under Kazakhstan’s legislation, flights of stairs, stairwell landings, lobbies and halls constitute part of a building’s common property and cannot be held in private ownership. Any transaction involving their sale is deemed void.

The office owners’ claim was partially granted. The decision has not taken effect.