The end of the year is always a time for reflection, and the beginning of a new year is a time for planning – and that's what we'll be exploring in today's article as part of our "Tuesday Mornings for Construction" series. This Tuesday morning, we want to summarize the previous year, 2023, highlight the impact of these changes, and show what challenges we'll face in 2024, which is just beginning.
Amendment to spatial planning and development
The most important change for the real estate market was undoubtedly the amendment to the Spatial Planning and Development Act . Last year, we devoted the most space to this issue in our mornings, analyzing these changes in 19 articles. Therefore, we will not go into detail today and encourage you to read our studies. It's worth mentioning that although the amendment entered into force on September 24, 2023, many of its provisions will only be effective from January 1, 2026, or from the moment a given municipality adopts a general plan (we wrote about general plans here: #148 and #149 ). However, from the outset, experts have indicated that two years is too short a period for municipalities to adopt general plans, and official proposals to extend the expiration date of development studies are already emerging. We will, of course, keep you informed about any amendments in this regard.
We would like to point out that just before the holidays, on December 22, the Regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology of December 8, 2023, regarding the draft general plan of the municipality, documenting planning work within the scope of this plan, and issuing extracts and map extracts from it, was published . This regulation is generally effective from December 23, 2024, and will certainly be the subject of our analysis in the coming weeks.
Amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure – proceedings involving consumers
Another significant change was undoubtedly the amendment to the Civil Procedure Code, which will impact the rules for how businesses handle disputes involving consumers. We wrote more about these changes here #173 . It's worth noting that in the coming years, the thorough handling of customer complaints will be crucial.
Amendment to the Construction Law – SOPAB
Last year at this time, we expected a major amendment to the Construction Law, but it wasn't adopted . We'll see how it goes this year. The introduction of the SOPAB system—the System for Handling Administrative Proceedings in Construction—certainly requires statutory regulation. This system is designed to allow construction administration staff to coordinate activities related to the digitization of investment and construction proceedings, which we wrote about here #141 .
Amendment to the construction law – technical conditions
Continuing on the topic of changes to construction law, it's impossible not to mention the changes to the regulation on technical requirements for buildings and their location , adopted as part of the so-called #stoppatodeweloperce package . These changes will come into effect on April 1, 2024, so we encourage you to familiarize yourself with the most important issues of this amendment, which we wrote about here: #170 .
regulation on technical requirements for buildings and their location will have to be amended in September 2024. This legislation is fundamental to the entire design and construction process, as it determines the technical requirements a building must meet at the design stage, and consequently, determines the solutions used and the cost of the entire construction. Therefore, it should be adopted as soon as possible, while maintaining the principles of proper legislation. In our opinion, failure to adopt it may negatively impact the design processes, which would culminate in building permit applications submitted from September 20, 2024. Investors currently in the design process should note this date and submit their building permit applications earlier to avoid the need to adapt their designs to the new requirements, which can be both costly and time-consuming.
New development act
Undoubtedly, a major challenge in 2024 will be the transition of all residential developers to the Act of May 20, 2021, on the Protection of the Rights of Purchasers of Residential Units or Single-Family Homes and on the Developer Guarantee Fund . July 1, 2024, marks the end of the transition period during which developers could build and sell residential units under the current rules. From July 2, 2024, the sale of apartments as part of ongoing development projects will be subject to the new Development Act. If you need assistance with adapting sales documents, such as reservation agreements, prospectuses, or development agreements, please contact us. As a law firm, we will be happy to assist you in preparing for this change.
Secure credit 2%
It's debatable whether the 2% mortgage guarantee has had a positive or negative impact on the real estate market. However, there's no doubt that in 2023, it was one of the instruments that increased demand for apartments and, consequently, influenced their prices. The new government has already announced that this facility will be maintained; it remains to be seen whether it will remain in place under the current terms or whether they will change. We wrote about the basic terms of the 2% mortgage guarantee here: #155 , among others, and if these terms change, we will certainly write about it.
REITs
The real estate market is undoubtedly waiting for solutions like the introduction of regulations allowing the creation of REITs and investing in real estate through them. While the appropriate regulations may not be implemented in 2024, it's certainly time to revisit these discussions and work on these solutions.
Taking this opportunity , as leaders of the Real Estate Department, we would like to wish you that this New Year 2024 will be a year of development and interesting projects, that changes in the law will no longer be so frequent and sudden, and if so, we invite you to follow our articles, and in case of any doubts, please contact us directly.
For another year, we're open to your questions and suggestions for our articles . Therefore, we encourage you to contact us and submit topics you'd like to read about at social@kglegal.pl or directly at j.barzykowska@kglegal.pl .
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of December 31, 2023
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