Purchase of real estate by foreigners

Ownership rights on land and real estate concerning foreigners are governed by the act of 1920 (The Law on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners), as amended. The most recent amendments stemmed from Poland’s accession to the EU on 1 May 2004.
Therefore, the law provides for a favourable treatment of EU and other European

Economic Area (EEA) citizens.
For the purposes of this act a foreign person is defined as:
1. a natural person who is not a Polish citizen,
2. a legal entity with its registered seat abroad,
3. a partnership with no legal personality between the above mentioned persons, or entities with their registered seat abroad, established on the grounds of a foreign law,
4. a legal entity or a commercial partnership that has no legal personality and a registered seat in Poland, controlled directly, or indirectly, by any of the above.

Purchase by Foreigners, EU / Other EEA Citizens
Purchase of real estate by EU/EEA citizens does not require any permits. Still, there are some noteworthy exceptions during the transition periods. These are:
· Purchase of agricultural and/or forest real estate, during the first 12 years of Poland’s membership in the EU;
· Purchase of ‘second houses’, during the first 5 years of Poland’s membership in the EU.

However, even in the above mentioned periods it is not necessary to obtain a permit in the following cases:
· For the acquisition of agricultural real estate located in the Dolnośląskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lubuskie, Opolskie, Pomorskie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodnio-Pomorskie provinces, upon 7 years of concluding a lease agreement with stated date, if during this period the foreigner conducted agricultural activities in person and lived legally on the territory of the Republic of Poland;
· For the acquisition of agricultural real estate located in the Lubelskie, Łódzkie,Małopolskie, Mazowieckie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Śląskie, Świetokrzyskie provinces, upon 3 years of concluding a lease agreement with stated date, if during this period the foreigner conducted agricultural activities in person and lived legally on the territory of the Republic of Poland;
· For the acquisition of ‘second houses’:
- if the buyer has legally, continuously been residing for at least 4 years on the territory of the Republic of Poland, or
- in order to engage in economic activity involving the provision of tourist services.

 

Rules for non-EU/EEA citizens will be discussed in a later post.

This text is part of "How to do Business in Poland 2006" written by Unido.