This article examines the concept of “improper use of a land plot”, which has become firmly established in land law doctrine but has lost its direct codification in current legislation and is virtually absent from judicial decisions. The concept is explored through its two constituent categories (failure to use for its intended purpose and use in violation of the law), and its place within the system of grounds for termination of land rights enshrined in the Land Code of the Russian Federation is determined. It is concluded that the doctrinal value of the concept stems precisely from its usefulness — uniting diverse violations of the land legal regime under a single conceptual category that requires no legal definition.