In our first August Morning for the Construction Industry, in line with our new series of articles, we will present you with the most important, recent changes in the law (both those introduced and planned) that may prove important for the real estate market and the entire construction industry.
1. Entry into force of the Regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology of 21 June 2022 on the percentage rates according to which the amount of the contribution to the Developer Guarantee Fund is calculated.
On July 1, 2022, the Regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology on the percentage rates used to calculate the contribution to the Developer Guarantee Fund entered into force.
In accordance with this Regulation, the percentage rate at which the contribution to the Developer Guarantee Fund is calculated, payable by a developer who has:
- open housing escrow account – 0.45%,
- closed residential escrow account – 0.1%.
At the moment, these are not the maximum rates assumed by the New Development Act (1% for an open and 0.1% for a closed escrow account – as we wrote in detail in the article #56).
2. Amendment to the Law on Administrative Court Procedure – enabling the delivery of documents to a post office box
On July 7, 2022, President Andrzej Duda signed an amendment to the Administrative Court Procedure Act, which, among other things, allowed documents to be delivered to a post office box. This change is intended to facilitate access to court for individuals who, for various reasons, cannot receive mail at their place of residence, including homeless individuals.
The added provision (i.e., Art. 69 § 2 of the Postal Code) specifies that: "At the addressee's request, delivery may be made to a post office box address indicated by them. In such a case, a letter sent via a postal operator within the meaning of the Act of November 23, 2012 – Postal Law shall be deposited at a post office of that operator, with a notice of this being placed in the addressee's post office box. The notice shall indicate the post office of the operator where the letter was deposited and shall include information that it must be collected within seven days from the date of leaving the notice."
3. Polish Deal 2.0 – return to taxation according to the tax scale also for those earning income from private rentals
The Act of June 9, 2022, amending the Personal Income Tax Act and certain other acts, commonly known as Polish Deal 2.0, has enabled, among other things, entrepreneurs who have chosen a flat-rate or lump sum tax to choose tax settlement. Entrepreneurs will be able to choose tax settlement on the following scales:
- on a flat tax and lump sum – ex post (after the end of the 2022 tax year) for the entire tax year,
- on a lump sum basis – additionally until August 22, 2022 for the second half of the year.
This choice allows you to benefit from both the reduced (12%) tax rate, as well as the PLN 30,000 tax-free amount and the increased tax threshold of PLN 120,000.
The opportunity to return to scale can be used not only by entrepreneurs, but also by people who earn income from private rentals - all they need to do is notify the head of the tax office about it in the PIT-36 tax return.
At the same time, it should be noted that income from private rentals obtained from 2023 will be taxed only at a lump sum on recorded income.
4. Adoption of the draft amendment improving the energy efficiency of buildings
On July 26, 2022, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft amendment to the Act on the Energy Performance of Buildings and the Building Law. The new solutions stem, among other things, from the need to improve the effectiveness of the current building energy efficiency assessment system in Poland. The planned solutions include changes to the requirements for the inspection of heating and air conditioning systems, expanding the scope of systems subject to mandatory inspection (this will apply to systems with a capacity exceeding 70 kW). Furthermore, it is planned to ensure universal access to basic information contained in energy performance certificates collected in the central register of energy performance of buildings. The substantive quality of energy performance certificates will also be improved (this will also apply to reports prepared after inspection of heating or air conditioning systems).
5. The next stage in the digitalization of construction proceedings – the President of the Republic of Poland signed an amendment to the Construction Law Act
The next stage in the digitization of administrative proceedings in the construction industry has arrived – on July 20, 2022, the President of the Republic of Poland signed an amendment to the Construction Law. First and foremost, it allows investors to maintain a construction log in electronic form (via the EDB system).
Furthermore, the Act allows for the maintenance of an electronic construction logbook. Additionally, the Construction Law introduces provisions regulating the operation of the e-Construction portal.
The e-Construction portal provides the ability to generate all documents related to the construction process, including applications for building permits, notifications of construction or other construction works, applications for demolition permits, demolition notifications, declarations of the right to use the property for construction purposes, etc.
The simplifications also apply to construction qualification examinations – they can be held on dates set by the relevant professional self-government chamber.
As a rule, the Act enters into force 14 days after its publication, with the exception of several provisions which enter into force on 1 August 2022, after 6 months from the publication date or on 1 January 2023.
At the same time, we invite you to follow our series of articles – next week we will summarize the four years of the transformation act, as well as the practice of offices and courts developed in its scope.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of August 2, 2022
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