The prevalence of public interest over private one is a fundamental principle of the Russian legislation. The institution of seizure of land plots in favour of the state provides for mandatory confirmation of the expediency and necessity of this measure. The owners consider that the amount of compensation is not enough and the estimate examination often raises reasonable doubts about objectivity thereof. The duration of litigation is accompanied by financial costs for all participants in the process. This article is devoted to the study of the stages of the procedure for seizure of land plots for state or municipal needs. It considers the legal framework governing initiation of such a procedure and establishes the conditions for the legality of the government bodies’ actions. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of case law revealing gaps in the current legislation causing the emergence of conflict situations between land owners and government agencies. We provide specific cases of litigation illustrating the challenges in the implementation of legal norms and demonstrate the importance of compliance with legal procedures and taking into account the interests of owners when implementing land seizure measures in this article.