In today's article from the "Lawyer on the Farm" series, we will continue our analysis of presidential projects concerning the agricultural industry.
Moving on to the analysis of changes to the Act of 14 April 2016 on suspending the sale of real estate belonging to the Agricultural Property Resource of the State Treasury and amending certain acts (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 559, " awsn "), it should be noted that they are much more significant, as they will extend the legal prohibition on the sale of real estate, parts thereof and shares in co-ownership of real estate belonging to the Agricultural Property Resource of the State Treasury (" ZWRSP ") by another 10 years.
Currently, pursuant to Article 1 in conjunction with Article 16 of the Agricultural Property Law, the above-mentioned trade in agricultural properties included in the Agricultural Property Management System (ZWRSP) is significantly hampered until April 30, 2026. However, leasing is generally available and the preferred method. According to data from the National Support Center for Agriculture, as many as 1,051,087 hectares of land are currently leased from the Agricultural Property Management System (ZWSRP). The primary quality sought in applicants for leasehold tenancies is, of course, a guarantee of conducting agricultural operations in the most profitable manner. Therefore, factors such as the candidate's previous experience and the acreage of land owned are taken into account.
Leases are awarded through tenders organized by the KOWR Regional Branches, and offers addressed to individual farmers are available on the KOWR website. The firm offers comprehensive support during the offer preparation phase and throughout each subsequent stage leading to the conclusion of a sales agreement. If the amendment proposed by the President of the Republic of Poland comes into force, the protection period will be extended until 2036.
The law firm points out that this change will significantly limit the right to sell agricultural properties from the National Support Centre for Rural Development, which requires the consent of the Minister responsible for rural development, who may issue such a decision only at the request of the Director General of the National Support Centre for Agriculture (Article 2, Section 2 of the Rural Development Act). If the protection period is not extended, then from May 1, 2026, such consent will no longer be required, and consequently, the sale of properties from the National Support Centre for Rural Development will become more widely available.
The aim of the planned amendment is to prevent such a situation and remains consistent with the political will expressed in the preamble to the Act, i.e. it leaves a significant area of agricultural land under the management of the State Treasury while at the same time emphasizing the value for Polish agriculture that comes from the lease of agricultural land by entities that are able to provide the best guarantee of ensuring food for farmers.
We would like to inform you that we will be closely monitoring the further development of the aforementioned draft law, and we invite you to read the next article in which we will present the changes that this amendment will introduce to the law.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of September 4, 2025.
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