Responsibility for unauthorized construction in the Russian Federation. Penalty for unauthorized construction

What is unauthorized construction and what the threat of illegal construction of structures is worth knowing to everyone who has decided on such arbitrariness. It is worth knowing that a person who has carried out an unauthorized illegal construction may be held accountable for violating the law. The relationship between the offender and the state is regulated by the Civil Code (CC) Russian Federation... More precisely, article 222.

What is unauthorized construction

Today, unauthorized buildings are classified as residential buildings, structures and other buildings that have the following characteristics:

They are on a plot with a different purpose.
The construction took place without obtaining permits.
Its construction was accompanied by a violation of norms and rules, including urban planning.

Since 2016, a number of changes have been introduced to the law, now an unauthorized construction is a building, structure or other structure. And the signs of unauthorized construction were replenished with one more item and changed somewhat. The last two points are in force, and to them were added:

Construction on the territory of the site, which are not transferred into possession in accordance with the existing regulations.
A structure erected on the site is also an unauthorized construction, if its permitting use does not allow such construction.

Important! A built house, garage, etc., that meet at least one of the signs are considered to be unauthorizedly erected.

What to do with unauthorized construction

In fact, everyone can carry out the construction of a structure that is illegal, but then what to do about it? Actions depend on which side the person is on.

If built illegally, for example, a neighbor

In this case, any citizen who believes that such a building violates his legitimate interests and rights, and also poses a threat to health, has the right to demand demolition at the expense of the one who erected this structure.

Moreover, the person who carried out the illegal unauthorized construction is obliged to fulfill this requirement. You can start with a peaceful solution to the problem, recalling that, according to the law, he faces a fine for violating it. If there is no reaction, then you can go to the municipality or to the court. Both the first and second bodies have the right to oblige the violator to demolish the squatter.

In most cases, such situations are a clear violation of all moral norms and legal norms at the same time. If a neighbor has blocked the road with his garage or an extension to the house, then this really goes beyond all limits and you can and should complain about this to the appropriate authorities. It is possible and necessary to fight against such unauthorized structures.

If you had to build yourself against the law

If an unauthorized building is your own home or a garage or other building, then you really need to try with all your might to legitimize and get it into legal ownership.

In fact, the state itself is to blame for the fact that so many unauthorized buildings have appeared, since before the introduction of the new land legislation, plots were distributed to the right and to the left. At the same time, they said, build up, then it will be possible to become an owner through the courts. But everything turned out to be not so simple, now the person who carried out the unauthorized, illegal construction has a headache.

In this case, the signs of arbitrariness are also regulated by Article 222 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation about unauthorized buildings. But if they do not bother anyone and do not claim them, it is quite possible to try to legitimize them.

Why is it better to legalize

In order not to suffer from the consequences of building a house, a bathhouse, a garage for which there is no permission, it is worth legalizing the real estate. With the right of ownership, it will be possible to carry out the following actions:

Dispose of property that was built with your own hands.
Sell, donate, inherit.
Do not worry about your future, because if the building is recognized as arbitrary construction, then it will have to be demolished.

Only those buildings that are erected on land that are privately owned can be recognized as property.

Options how to legalize

There are several ways to make a building legal, among them:

Judgment - in this case, you will need to find evidence that confirms that the initiator of such a construction has property rights on the land. Moreover, it will be necessary to prove that the building does not harm others and is not dangerous to the health and life of the people around.
The administrative method is an option to be implemented only for buildings that can be built without building permits. Often these are small wooden houses that are built in areas for gardening.

Punishment for illegal construction

You will still have to be responsible according to the law for erecting a building on the territory without permits for that or buying land from such a building. If the municipality becomes aware of the existence of an unauthorized building, the following measures can be taken:

If the construction took place on the territory of a plot that is not owned, such a process will be regarded as the seizure of someone else's real estate. In this case, a fine will be imposed.
If a capital structure is erected on lands that have categories with the prohibition of such construction, the one who did it or on this moment owns land, it will be ordered to demolish the building.
In some conflict situations, if the land is not privatized, the property can be confiscated and a fine be imposed.
The object that was erected in violation of construction and hail will also have to be demolished. building codes.

Conditions under which self-construction can be legalized

Not every house or other building can be legalized. In order to manage to become the owner of your own house with small means:

Own the land it is built on. Moreover, there must be documentary evidence of this in the form of a certificate of ownership. The plot itself must have a cadastral number and plan. If the land is privatized, then there must be documents that confirm this.
The construction must not violate anyone's legal rights and interests. That is, the territory of the neighboring area should not be partially captured, sanitary standards distances to the neighboring house, the road should not be blocked.
The building should not pose a threat to the health and life of others. This will be checked by a special commission from firefighters, sanitary stations and other services.
There should be no gross violations of building codes. This fact must also be confirmed by the relevant authorities.

What does not need to be legalized

There are a number of buildings that do not require legalization, that is, even if they were erected without permits, they are not arbitrary buildings, among them:

Auxiliary structures that do not have a foundation, that is, they are not capital.
Garage, which is located on the territory of the category, which is agricultural land, if it does not provide for the implementation of entrepreneurial activity.
Work on the reconstruction or construction of non-capital objects. Such as kiosks, awnings, etc.
Repair work that does not concern violations of the integrity of the load-bearing walls, including their transfer and redevelopment.

How much will legalization cost

In situations where no violations have been identified, the cost of legalization will not be large. What you will need to pay for:

Registration of a land plot, if it is not owned.
State duty for registration of ownership.
If there is no time to independently engage in this process, then the costs of issuing a power of attorney.

In fact, you will have to spend more time and nerves than money. This is the specificity of domestic legislation, which stops many owners of self-built construction sites. But you can't hide forever, sooner or later you will need to bequeath the house, possibly sell it. If it is not completed, it will not be possible to do so. And the further you move the design, the more difficult it will be to do it.

Output

Unauthorized construction is illegal and it is better, therefore, not to play with the law. Indeed, in addition to serious fines, in some cases it will even be necessary to demolish the object. Things will be somewhat easier if the house is built on its own land, but then building codes that must be observed may emerge.

Unauthorized seizure of someone else's allotment grossly violates the rights of owners land plots and prevents their free use or disposal. The law establishes responsibility for such violations. What is meant by land grabbing?

What responsibility is incurred in these cases? And also about how to protect your rights in case of violation of your ownership of the land plot, see below.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees the inviolability of the private property of citizens to any objects. While granting them the right to be owners of land plots, at the same time, it restricts the rights of owners and stipulates that no damage should be caused when they use the land. environment and the interests of other persons (Article 36). After all, the land is a special object that ensures human life, and is especially protected by the state.

All issues related to the acquisition, ownership and use of land are regulated by law. Nevertheless, cases of unauthorized seizure of land plots by citizens are very common. What is meant by this and what is the responsibility for it?

Citizens who start building houses on vacant land mistakenly believe that this land is no one and that no one exercises control over it. In fact, this is not the case. Land, if not already owned by citizens or legal entities, is owned by the state. Therefore, the construction of houses, summer cottages or simply the occupation of a free territory for storage building materials or other objects is regarded as an encroachment on the property of the state.

The unjustified transfer of the boundaries of your site outside of it also belongs to the self-seizure of land. For example, the construction of ancillary premises on the territory adjacent to the house, annexes to the house, or using it to accommodate garden plantings.

It is important to know that such an unauthorized building cannot be legalized. After all, it is located on land that does not belong to you. From this it follows that you will not be able to make any transactions with these unauthorized buildings.

Having spent large sums and time for construction, you will not be able to sell it, donate it or leave it as inheritance. Moreover, all the funds used for construction may turn out to be irrevocable.

These actions entail bringing the unauthorized developer to administrative responsibility in accordance with the norms of the Code of Administrative Legal Relations of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Code of Administrative Offenses).

For the same offense, the Code of Administrative Offenses establishes different responsibility depending on who it was committed by: a citizen, an official or a legal entity. For legal and officials there is a stricter liability.

Cases of this category are considered by the bodies that are entrusted with control over correct use lands. If we are talking about the lands of the forest fund, then bringing to justice the perpetrators who have encroached on such lands, is within the competence of the bodies that ensure the protection and protection of the forest fund.

Administrative responsibility for land grabbing

Any use of someone else's territory or at least a part of it without legal grounds (in the absence of title documents for land) is the basis for bringing violators of the law to administrative responsibility in the form of fines.

Their sizes are indicated in article 7.1 of the Administrative Code and are determined as a percentage of cadastral value land:

citizens will pay from one to one and a half percent. In this case, the amount of the fine should not be less than 5,000 rubles;
other amounts have been established for officials: from one and a half to two percent ( minimum size the fine is equal to 20,000 rubles);
legal entities are subject to a fine in the amount of two to three percent (not less than one hundred thousand rubles).

In the absence of data on the cadastral value of land plots, the amounts of fines are respectively:

from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles (for citizens);
from 20,000 to 50,000 (officials);
from 100,000 to 200,000 (for legal entities).

Unauthorized seizure of land is the illegal use of a land plot owned by someone else by erecting various structures on it, fencing it, planting agricultural or garden plantings, storing various items. All these actions are carried out against the will of the owner of the land or without documents allowing the implementation of economic activities on it.

Criminal liability for land occupation

Unauthorized use of someone else's land plot under the laws of the Russian Federation does not constitute an independent corpus delicti. Although in some countries the former USSR for example, in Ukraine it is provided for by the Criminal Code.

If the seizure of land is associated with another criminal act, then the perpetrator will be held liable according to the norms of not administrative, but criminal legislation. For example, the perpetrator obtained the right to land as a result of an abuse of trust or deception, thereby committing fraud, the responsibility for which is provided for by Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. As a result, he will have to bear criminal responsibility in the form of a fine, correctional labor, restriction of freedom, up to imprisonment for up to two years.

Criminal liability also occurs when taking possession of a plot as a result of registering a transaction that does not comply with the law, or entering false information into documents.

Self-seizure of land can be associated with any criminal offense. Therefore, the punishment in each specific case depends on what article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation the perpetrators are prosecuted for. And also on the circumstances under which the crime was committed.

It is important to know that the commission of crimes in a group of persons or with the use of official position provides for more severe punishment.

What to do in case of self-seizure of the land

What should be done if the ownership of the land plot has been violated?

first of all, clarify the situation and contact the immediate offender. You can talk with him orally, but it is better to state your complaints in writing. Give one copy to the offender. It is better to send a letter by mail, then you will have proof of sending him a claim. It may be possible to resolve the conflict situation at this stage through peaceful negotiations and all losses to the owner will be reimbursed. There are frequent cases of subsequent registration of ownership of an unauthorizedly seized plot;
if you do not receive a response to the claim or the recipient refuses to eliminate violations of the law, please contact government bodies, which are authorized to exercise control over the use of land. They will initiate an administrative case, consider all the circumstances of the offense and take a decision on it;
after the fact of an administrative offense is attested, take up the issue of reimbursement of losses caused to you as a result of illegal use of land. Prepare statement of claim to the court with the attached calculation of the damage caused;
if in doubt when determining the boundaries of sites, do not rush to go to court. Pre-check the data regarding the disputed land plots in the USRN. This will help avoid frivolous claims and the costs associated with them.

Keep in mind that if we are talking about the seizure of unused land owned by the state, then an option for resolving the conflict may be to buy it into your own property. This is possible if there are no bans on transactions with it. Certain categories of land are not allowed to be transferred to anyone in ownership.

In fairness, it should be noted that disputes related to the unauthorized seizure of land are not considered simple. Therefore, contact lawyers who specialize in the field land law to receive qualified advice and assistance in a positive outcome of a civil case.

Indeed, along with the Land Code of the Russian Federation, there are many laws and by-laws, in which it will be very difficult for an ignorant person to find their way.

Did you build a house without permits and required paperwork? And now you want to legalize squatter construction as quickly and cheaply as possible? We will tell you how to legalize a building, who to contact, whether it is worth doing unauthorized construction at all, if then the house is difficult to legalize, which buildings do not require documenting, as well as what are the penalties for unauthorized construction exist in Russia.

Unauthorized development is the construction of buildings without obtaining permits for this. Most often, in this way, private houses, cottages, as well as various auxiliary rooms... Considering that unauthorizedly built objects are considered illegal, they cannot be sold, leased, transferred to others, then most owners try to legalize ready-made buildings after the fact. But this is not so easy to do.

Many Russians don't know, but there are a number of cases where no official building permit is required in Russia:

construction of structures for auxiliary use (without foundation);
construction of a garage on sites whose intended purpose is OSG, as well as on sites provided to a person not for entrepreneurial activity and construction. That is, on a site for OSG or agricultural, you can safely put a garage;
construction and reconstruction of non-capital structures - kiosks, awnings, trays, etc .;
overhaul of buildings that does not affect design characteristics(for example, load-bearing walls cannot be demolished and rebuilt, but any internal work can be carried out).

If you build capital house or another building, then it is imperative to obtain all the necessary documents before starting construction. In the Russian Federation, many believe that the documentation for a house is secondary, that the main thing is to build it, and there everything can be drawn up later. But in fact, often houses have to be demolished or the court gives them to someone else if it is impossible to legalize the building. Therefore, try to make unauthorized construction a rare occurrence among your family and friends.

How the state can punish unauthorized development

According to the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, unauthorized development, without obtaining proper permits and other documentation, is punishable by law. So, in the case of the occupation of a land plot that does not officially belong to the "invader" (natural or legal person), a fine is imposed on citizens and companies. You can learn more about this in article 7.1 of the Administrative Code. The amount of the fine for individuals is 500-1000 rubles, and for organizations and companies - 10,000-20,000 rubles. Agree, the amount is small.

If the land is correctly registered, but the owner decided to build on his site without obtaining permits and notifying the authorities, then such buildings are considered unauthorized and illegal. This is stated in article 222 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. They are being demolished, and at the expense of the one who built them. The owner cannot sell, donate or lease such illegal buildings. Almost the only way to keep a house or other illegal building is a court permit (according to Federal Law of June 30, 2006 N 93-FZ). If the court has recognized your ownership, then you can legally arrange everything and leave the building in your use.

There is also one caveat: in court proceedings, priority is given to the owner of the land, and not to the owner of the building. Thus, if someone built up illegally on your land, then you can safely go to court. Most likely, you will receive back your land along with the construction, but you will have to pay compensation to the one who invested in the construction of the house. The amount of such compensation is determined by the court, as stated the federal law from 30.06.2006 N 93-FZ. Accordingly, we do not advise you to arbitrarily build on a foreign land. The only exceptions are land belonging to the state or municipal fund, that is, not being the property of private individuals. Even if the land belongs to you, it is not easy to take over everything after the construction is completed, and if the land is someone else's, then it is almost impossible.

If an unauthorized building threatens the life or health of other citizens of the Russian Federation or violates their rights, then it is always demolished. That is why you need to think carefully about where to build, if you already decided to do it on your own. Otherwise, the money invested will be lost, and there will be nowhere to live.

How to legalize unauthorized construction, and how difficult it is

Unauthorized construction can be not only private house, but also, say, a boiler room or a farm building. Moreover, it very often happens that the owner violates the construction rules (does not receive the necessary permits or builds more buildings than was indicated in the permit) deliberately. It's just that the situation or the work plan is changing. It happens that the owner changes, and the new owner wants to build something completely different, etc. Therefore, cases of unauthorized construction with its further legalization are quite frequent. It is possible to legalize illegal construction, and sometimes it requires less money than getting permits on time. It is only necessary to initially take into account all the laws, nuances and features of such a construction.

First of all, according to the law, the building must meet four conditions so that the owner can obtain the right to legalize it:

the land plot on which the building is erected must belong to the owner of the building. Moreover, the documents for the land must be on hand, including the act for the land plot indicating the plan, cadastral number, special purpose, etc .; cadastral plan of the site; documents confirming a person's right to privatize a land plot;
during construction, any rights or interests of other citizens should not be violated (an opinion on this is issued by the relevant organizations or in court after a forensic examination);
the building should not threaten the life and health of third parties (the conclusion is also issued by the relevant organizations or in court after a forensic examination);
during construction, building codes and regulations must not be violated (a document about this is issued by the relevant authorities).

If all these conditions are met, then it is possible to legalize a house or other building.

Sometimes it happens that a person who has applied for a building permit is refused, but it is still under construction. In this case, it will be much more difficult to legalize the building after the completion of construction. But there have been cases of successful completion of such cases, although it will be necessary to go through the courts and invest a lot of money in legalization.

Difficulties in legalizing unauthorized buildings arise when the land is owned by one person, and the building is owned by another. In this case, there are two options for the development of events: the house can be awarded to the owner of the land (but on the condition that he pays compensation to the person who built the house) or to the owner of the building (if the owner of the land has given a building permit and has no claims). The owner of the house can go the simple way and take the land in a long-term lease with the subsequent option of purchase. Thus, it will be easier to arrange a building on a foreign land.

Unauthorized construction is much easier to legalize if, on this land plot there are already legal buildings. Therefore, try to legally build at least part of the buildings, and the rest can be issued after the fact. It is much more difficult to legalize if all buildings are unauthorized.

How does the legalization process take place? It all starts with the fact that you go to court with a request to recognize your unauthorized building as legal. In doing so, you must prove ownership. Required documents at the first stage: documents for the site, cadastral passport, technical passport and cadastral passport of the building. Special bodies analyze the structure, check whether it meets urban planning standards, whether it is located within the land plot, whether it threatens the life and health of other citizens. If there are third parties related to the plot or house (for example, relatives of the owner of the house or the owner of the land, if this is not the owner of the house), then the representatives of the court meet with them and find out if they have any claims. If everything goes smoothly, the court will recognize the right to build. After that, you need to register the building with Rosreestr in order to obtain a certificate of ownership of it. After all this, you will already become the full owner of the unauthorized house.

Today there are legal companies who are engaged in the legalization of illegal buildings. The cost of this service in the Moscow Region, including legal support in court proceedings, obtaining a Certificate of State Registration of Ownership, can be about 30-40 thousand rubles. In Moscow, similar services cost from $ 1000. The terms for which the unauthorized construction through the court is legalized can be 3-6 months or more.

Construction of a building or structure without obtaining the relevant documents, including a building permit, is illegal.
In Russia, unauthorized construction is a widespread phenomenon, despite the fact that there are a number of documents imposing responsibility, both administrative and criminal (in case of accidents).

In accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 222, an unauthorized construction is a building, structure or other structure erected, created on a land plot not provided in the prescribed manner, or on a land plot, the permitted use of which does not allow the construction of this object on it, or erected, created without receiving it required permissions or in violation of town planning and building codes and regulations.

Sometimes illegal construction is a temporary phenomenon, that is, the developer starts construction without a complete package of documents, but receives them during the construction process. At the same time, the developer runs the risk of being fined at best, in worst failure in a building permit or refusal to connect to any engineering networks. In this case, construction turns into a well-known long-term construction.

Unfortunately, the phenomena of deliberate construction in violation of all norms are also widespread, while not observing either the rules of building and land use, or building norms, or the norm of sanitary well-being.

LEGAL STANDARDS

illegal construction

Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 222 Unauthorized construction.

Responsibility for illegal construction:

RF Code of Administrative Offenses N 195-FZ, Article 9.5. Violation of the established procedure for construction, reconstruction, overhaul object capital construction putting it into operation.
Urban Planning Code of the Russian Federation, Article 58-62. Responsibility for violation of the legislation on urban planning

PENALTIES FOR ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION

1. Construction or reconstruction of capital construction objects without a building permit shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine:

For citizens - an administrative fine in the amount of 2 thousand to 5 thousand rubles;
For officials - from 20 thousand to 50 thousand rubles;
On persons exercising entrepreneurial activity without forming a legal entity - from 20 thousand to 50 thousand rubles or administrative suspension of their activities for up to ninety days;
on legal entities- from 500 thousand to 1 million rubles or administrative suspension of their activities for up to ninety days.

2. Violation of the deadlines for sending to the bodies of state construction supervision and the executive power of the notice of the start of construction, reconstruction of capital construction facilities or failure to notice the timing of completion of work that are subject to verification entails

On citizens the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of 500 rubles. up to 1 thousand rubles;
For officials - from 10 thousand to 30 thousand rubles;
For persons engaged in entrepreneurial activity without forming a legal entity - from 10 thousand to 40 thousand rubles;
For legal entities - from 100 thousand to 300 thousand rubles.

3. Continuation of work until the drafting of acts on the elimination of the identified deficiencies during construction, reconstruction, overhaul of capital construction facilities entails:

On citizens the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of 2 thousand to 5 thousand rubles;
For officials - from ten thousand to thirty thousand rubles;
For persons engaged in entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity - from 10 thousand to 40 thousand rubles or administrative suspension of their activities for up to ninety days;
For legal entities - from 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles or administrative suspension of their activities for up to ninety days

4. Operation of a capital construction facility without a permit to put it into operation, unless the issuance of a construction permit is required for construction, reconstruction, capital repairs of capital construction facilities, entails:

On citizens the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of 500 rubles. up to one thousand rubles;
For officials - from 1 thousand to 2 thousand rubles;
For legal entities - from 10 thousand to twenty thousand rubles.

CURRENT PRACTICE

The Civil Code clearly states that unauthorized structure subject to demolition by the person who carried it out or at his expense.
But in practice arbitration courts very rarely oblige those who carried out unauthorized construction to carry out demolition. Most often, the court, refusing to satisfy the claim for the recognition of property rights, does not impose on the plaintiffs the obligation to carry out the demolition of illegally erected objects.

Also, the court must prove that it was this person who made the construction. At this stage, the plaintiffs face serious difficulties, especially when no projects, plans were approved at all, no applications for construction permits were submitted, etc.
If no one has drawn up anything, then the evidence base for the court can only be formed by themselves construction activities... But in practice, even the fact of construction is sometimes problematic to prove. For example, if the construction was completed before the plaintiff acquired the land, where the squatter was fixed.

Another problem in the demolition of an illegal building is the fact of its transfer to another person. That is, when the developer can say that he did not build the object, but inherited it from the previous owner. Here there are obvious difficulties with the content of the law, because according to Art. 222 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the unauthorized building should be demolished by the one who erected it and who is guilty of violating the law. But it is also forbidden to sell, donate, lease, make other transactions in relation to illegal construction.

The ownership right to an unauthorized building can be recognized by a court, this decision, on the part of the developer, seems justified in view of the lengthy and high cost of the procedure for obtaining a building permit and allotment of land plots, as well as the practical absence of the possibility to legalize an already erected building in an administrative manner.

The penalty for squadron can be challenged... In 90% of cases, our clients do not have to pay a fine for unauthorized construction. Our specialists have extensive experience, and already at the first consultation will be able to predict the chances of not paying a fine for construction without a permit.

Construction without a building permit is not uncommon in our country. There are many reasons that encourage developers, contractors and land owners to engage in unauthorized construction. Such reasons include the complexity of the process of project approval itself (registration a large number permits), and the complexity of the land allocation process itself. Most often, the problems associated with unauthorized construction are encountered at the final stage - at the stage of registration of ownership of the building and putting it into operation.

Part 1 of Article 222 " Civil Code RF "explains that" unauthorized construction refers to a residential house, structure, structure or other immovable property that was erected on a land plot not intended for these purposes, or a structure created without obtaining the necessary permits for this or in violation of construction and urban planning rules and regulations. "

The main legal consequences of illegal construction are that the entity that carried out this construction does not acquire ownership rights to it.

In this case, the following legal consequences arise:

ownership in this case can only apply to the materials consumed for the construction of an unauthorized building;
unauthorized structure cannot be considered real estate and, accordingly, cannot be registered with the institutions of justice;
accordingly, no transactions can be made with this object, it cannot be inherited, it is impossible to receive a pledge or mortgage against it.
It should also be noted that acquisitive prescription cannot be applied to an unauthorized structure that was erected on an illegally occupied site.

Upon detection of an object of unauthorized construction, in accordance with Part 1 of Article 9.5. "Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation" - "Construction, reconstruction, overhaul of capital construction facilities without a construction permit in the event that it is envisaged to obtain construction permits for the implementation of construction, reconstruction, overhaul of capital construction facilities", as well as, in accordance with the provisions of Article 28.3, clause 2 Articles 28.4, Articles 25.11 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation, law enforcement agencies have the right to initiate an administrative offense case. "