In today's alert—the first of 2022—we want to briefly outline the changes coming into effect this year. However, we won't be writing about the Polish Deal or the imposition of penalties for breaking traffic regulations, but rather about changes related to the real estate market. We'll also briefly outline our plans for the next few weeks.
a draft amendment to the Spatial Planning and Development Act in 2022 , but the legislator surprised us by publishing documents that are to be the subject of pre-consultation on December 31, 2021. On the Ministry of Development and Technology website (https://www.gov.pl/web/rozwoj-technologia/preko...), you can find, among other things, a draft act amending the Spatial Planning and Development Act and certain other acts, along with an explanatory memorandum, and a draft regulation regarding the provisions of a municipal general plan and the method of documenting the procedure for preparing and adopting a municipal general plan. At the same time, we indicated that any comments can be submitted until January 17, 2022. Therefore, we will analyze the proposed changes next week and present them in a subsequent article.
2022 will certainly be a breakthrough year for the housing market, as a new development law – the Act of May 20, 2021, on the Protection of the Rights of Purchasers of Residential Premises or Single-Family Homes and on the Developer Guarantee Fund. In the last alert ( #83 ), you can find links to articles discussing the most important changes resulting from this legislation.
Another change coming this year is a new regulation on the technical requirements that buildings and their locations must meet . On November 16, 2021, the Ministry of Development and Technology released a draft, to which comments could be submitted within 30 days. According to the implementing regulation, the new technical requirements would enter into force on September 20, 2022, and apply to applications submitted after that date. We are currently awaiting a draft that incorporates the submitted comments, including the extensive comments submitted by the Polish Association of Developers.
Speaking of technical issues, it's worth recalling that the Act of December 2, 2021, amending the Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels and certain other acts entered into force on Christmas Eve. This act, among other things, implements Directive 2018/844 on the energy performance of buildings, and based on these regulations, residential buildings will be required to be designed to provide electrical wiring and cables for each parking space inside and adjacent to the building, enabling the installation of charging points.
These are certainly not all the changes that the legislator is preparing for the real estate market – but we will definitely write about them for you.
Moving on to our plans for the "Tuesday Mornings for Construction" series for 2022, we plan to begin (immediately after analyzing changes in spatial planning) with a series of articles analyzing various aspects related to the so-called lex developer , i.e., the Act of July 5, 2018, on facilitating the preparation and implementation of residential and associated investments. Although it has been in force since August 2018, it seems that only 2021 brought a breakthrough opening the door to its broader application in 2022. Therefore, in this regard, we will want to delve deeper into urban planning standards, the adoption and appeal procedures, and the instructions issued by the Mayor of Warsaw, which are intended to facilitate proceedings based on these provisions.
Another topic we'll be exploring this year is the construction contract . We'll explore issues such as the investor's liability for payment, contractual penalties, indexation clauses, and exceeding the contract deadline.
At the same time, we will certainly be constantly analysing the progress of work on the spatial planning reform, the issues that will arise in connection with the entry into force of the new development act, as well as analysing selected changes in technical conditions.
We'd also like to encourage you to submit topics to us ( social@kglegal.pl ) that you'd like to read about yourself. We strive to ensure that our articles address emerging market issues. Of course, we're also available to assist with individual cases.
In summary , 2022 will undoubtedly be full of challenges in the practical application of existing and upcoming legal provisions. We hope that our articles will provide a better understanding.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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