In our first August article in the series "Tuesday Mornings for Construction", we will present the most important changes in the law (both those introduced and planned) in July and August 2023, which may prove important for the real estate market and the entire construction industry.
Undoubtedly, the biggest event, the consequences of which we will experience in the coming years, is the adoption of the Act of July 7, 2023, amending the Act on Spatial Planning and Development and certain other acts (the " Planning Amendment "). As we wrote last week, it was signed by the President on July 20, 2023. However, as of this writing, we are still awaiting its publication. We have been writing about this amendment for several months now, so we invite you to read our articles, and today we will briefly discuss other changes.
1. Entry into force of the 2% Safe Credit Act
On July 1, 2023, the Act on State Aid for Saving for Housing Purposes came into force. It introduced a secure 2% mortgage for individuals under 45 who do not own, and have not previously owned, their own apartment or house, or a cooperative right to a flat or house. This program will also have significant implications for the entire real estate market, so we are once again presenting its basic assumptions.
The maximum loan amount for a single person is PLN 500,000, and for a married couple or parents with a child, PLN 600,000. The loan can be used to purchase an apartment or house on both the primary and secondary markets. First-time buyers have freedom in choosing the standard and location of their home – there is no price limit per square meter.
A key element of the program is a subsidy on mortgage installments , which is the difference between a fixed rate based on the average interest rate on fixed-rate loans at lending banks and the 2% interest rate on the loan. The subsidy is to be available for 10 years.
Attorney Michał Kijewski spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of the program, among others, for Forbes and Portfel Polaka .
2. Changes in lex developer
The Sejm is working on the Commission's draft act on reducing bureaucracy and legal barriers (paper no. 3502), which amends the Act on facilitating the preparation and implementation of housing investments and accompanying investments , i.e. lex developer,
Moreover, this bill eliminates the requirement to provide 1.5 parking spaces (one in the city center zone) for each apartment built. This is crucial, as following the May amendment to the regulations, many developers have begun to reconsider the profitability of implementing residential investments under the lex developer procedure. This provision may undoubtedly limit their number.
Currently, the project has been submitted to local government organizations for their opinion.
When analysing changes in the lex developer, it is also worth mentioning the changes introduced by the Planning Amendment, which introduces a provision allowing for the transformation, by operation of law, of land granted for perpetual usufruct into ownership on the date of commissioning a residential building constructed under the lex developer procedure – provided, of course, that the conditions for transformation resulting from the Act of 20 July 2018 on the transformation of the right of perpetual usufruct of land developed for residential purposes into the right of ownership to these lands are met.
3. Restrictions on the transfer of receivables arising from reservation and development agreements
In connection with the announcement of the Act on state aid in saving for housing purposes, which took place on June 15, 2023, on July 16, 2023, to the New Development Act (i.e. the Act of May 20, 2021 on the protection of the rights of purchasers of residential premises or single-family houses and on the Developers' Guarantee Fund), i.e. a provision limiting the transfer of receivables arising from reservation agreements, development agreements or agreements referred to in Article 2 paragraph 1 points 2, 3 and 5 of the New Development Act . We already wrote about this at the beginning of July ( #159 ), but due to emerging questions, we are explaining below what it involves.
Pursuant to the above article, the purchaser (i.e. as defined – a natural person who does not purchase a residential premises for purposes related to his/her business activity) may transfer the receivables arising from the contract to a third party in the event that:
- this contract covers no more than one residential premises or a single-family house, including a single-family house together with the land on which it is or is to be built;
- in the period of three years preceding the transfer of these receivables, he did not transfer receivables arising from another development agreement or reservation agreement.
The above restrictions do not apply in the case of transferring a claim to a person classified in tax group I or II, i.e. a person from the immediate family.
At the same time, it should be noted that the above limitation does not give rise to any sanctions – the transfer of receivables arising from a development agreement or a reservation agreement to a third party in violation of Article 37a does not constitute a condition for declaring the transfer invalid .
Moreover, the restriction currently only affects individuals, not so-called flippers, whose activities were initially restricted. Most flippers enter into contracts as part of their business activities, to which the provisions of the New Development Act do not apply.
4. Changes in the tax on civil law transactions
On July 24, 2023, the President signed an act amending the Act on Municipal Government, the Act on Social Forms of Housing Development, the Act on Real Estate Management, the Act on Tax on Civil Law Transactions, and certain other acts. This amendment abolishes the tax on civil law transactions for first-time buyers of apartments or houses on the secondary market . The 2% tax exemption will apply only to buyers who have never previously owned real estate and the house or apartment being purchased will be their first property.
At the same time, in addition to the above exemption, the amendment will impose a higher tax on buyers purchasing at least six residential units constituting separate properties in one or more buildings constructed on a single plot of land , subject to value added tax, or shares in these units, or who have already purchased at least five such units or shares in them. In this case, the tax rate on the sale agreement concluded with the same buyer for the sixth and each subsequent such unit in the same building or buildings, or shares in such unit, will be 6% .
5. Further simplifications in the enfranchisement of land for perpetual usufructuaries.
The amendment indicated in point 4 also introduces changes to the Real Estate Management Act, enabling perpetual usufructuaries to acquire ownership rights to land that has not yet been enfranchised by operation of law or by administrative decision . This topic requires separate analysis, but due to time constraints, we wanted to share this change with you today.
The main legal instrument introduced by the Act is a temporary claim for the acquisition of land, granted to its perpetual usufructuary who has fulfilled the purpose of the agreement establishing the right of perpetual usufruct and, moreover, obtained this right during a period when it was a surrogate for ownership rights and essentially the only form of permanent use of real estate from the public resource. According to the adopted regulations , the claim —a demand to sell the property— may be filed within 12 months of the Act's effective date . The Act will enter into force 30 days after its publication (at the time of writing, publication in the Journal of Laws had not yet occurred).
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of August 1, 2023
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