For those of you who, on 1 January 2019, were entitled to the perpetual usufruct of land developed for residential purposes, this right will automatically transform into property rights. Land developed for residential purposes is land developed exclusively with buildings:
- single-family dwellings or
- multi-family dwellings in which at least half of the units are residential.
Perpetual usufruct - changes 2019
The ownership right to the land is automatically disclosed in the Land and Mortgage Register and the Land and Building Register. Authorities that have hitherto collected annual fees for perpetual usufruct are obliged to draw up a certificate confirming the transformation of perpetual usufruct into ownership. This document will then be forwarded to the court with jurisdiction to keep the land and mortgage register, within 14 days of its issuance. The court will ex officio make an entry of ownership of the land and an entry of the claim for the so-called 'perpetual usufruct'. transformation fee in the land register of the property.
The certificate will also be sent to owners of converted land at no extra charge. The authority has 12 months from the date of conversion to do so. However, it is possible to request the issuance and delivery of such a certificate previously. Since the release of certificates on request will be charged fee stamp duty of PLN 50.
The website of the Ministry of Investment and Development shows specimens of applications for such a certificate. There are two options to choose from, depending on how quickly the office is to provide the certificate. The standard options are 4 months from the date of submission of such an application. However, if the owner intends to carry out some legal action for which the certificate in question is required, he may submit a special (faster) application. This entitles the holder to receive the certificate within the time limit of 1 month. However, it is necessary to justify exactly why the certificate is needed so quickly.
Model applications can be downloaded from here: https://www.miir.gov.pl/strony/zadania/gospodarka-nieruchomosciami/przeksztalcenie/
Conversion fees
As a general rule, the transformation of perpetual usufruct into ownership is payable. According to the law, annual fees equal to the existing annual fees must be paid for the next 20 years. This obligation will apply to each subsequent property owner until, when the 20-year period ends.
The deadline for paying such a fee will be 31 March each year. However, the fee for 2019 will have to be paid by 29 February 2020. The fees will be indexed.
Discount for single payment
It is possible to make one-off charges. This involves substantial discounts (discount). W Act on transformation of the perpetual usufruct of land developed for residential purposes into ownership of such land defined height discounts granted in the event of payment of a one-off fee for the transformation of State-owned land. It amounts to between 10% and 60% of the fee value, depending on which year after the conversion the fee is paid. If the fee is paid in 2019 the discount is 60%. In subsequent years, the discount decreases by 10% per year. However, this only applies to land previously owned by the State Treasury. In the case of land constituting ownership units self-government territorial (e.g. a municipality), the relevant council or local parliament will decide on the granting of the discount and its amount. Theoretically, it could therefore be the case that the amount of the discount varies from one municipality to another.
Notification intention to pay a one-off fee The request for a discount should be addressed to the authority which has been collecting the perpetual usufruct fee so far. A model letter can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Investment and Development. Once an application has been submitted, the authority must, within 14 days, inform you of the amount of the one-off fee and how to pay it.
In the case of lack of consents on the amount of the transformation fee determined in the certificate, there is a possibility to challenge it by submitting an application to the competent authority within 2 months from the date of delivery of the certificate. The authority will verify the fee anew, including any discount, and issue a decision. Until the end of the proceedings, the fee charged to date must be paid. The newly determined fee will apply from the date of transformation.
What about land conversion in housing associations?
If at least one flat in a cooperative building will have separate ownership then automatically the entire building will be subject to the new conversion law. Persons holding a co-operative tenancy or co-operative ownership right to premises will not pay the conversion fee. This will be done, in relation to premises not covered by separate ownership, by the housing cooperative. Once the cooperative right has been transformed into separate ownership of premises, each time the purchaser will be obliged to pay the fee himself.
What about land developed after 1 January 2019?
In the case of land that will be developed with residential buildings after 1 January 2019, the perpetual usufruct of this land will be transformed into the right of ownership from the date of commissioning of the residential building. The transformation certificate will be issued upon the owner's request within 4 months of receipt of the request. The obligation to pay the transformation fee will arise on 1 January of the year following the year in which the transformation took place.
48 comments
Hello, I have a question, I have a co-operative flat, at the moment, that is on 31.03.2019, the flat is not separated from the building although it has a land and mortgage register (it was bought on credit and there was a land and mortgage register), I would like it to be separated so that I could take advantage of the enfranchisement discount, what should I do in such a situation, should I now quickly apply to the co-operative for the separation of the premises? I do not know what to do, thank you in advance for an answer to my problem
The right to the premises you own is not ownership, despite the fact that there is a land register for the premises. As I mentioned in my entry, the issue of discounts applies only to owners of land developed for residential purposes, i.e. people with full ownership. If in your block of flats at least one flat has been separated as ownership, then the whole building falls under the Act on conversion of perpetual usufruct into ownership, provided of course that the land on which the building stands is, or in fact was, in perpetual usufruct. In this case, it is the cooperative that will benefit from the discount. If you decide to separate the premises from the community, becoming the owner of the flat and, accordingly, the co-owner of the land under the building, the discount will be transferred to you as the next owner.
Hello. I have a question: Can I now apply to a cooperative to separate my flat and convert it from a cooperative ownership flat into full ownership? Calling the cooperative with this question, I was told that until the cooperative receives from the city a certificate, that is, a confirmation of the transformation of the land under the building, they as a cooperative do not accept any applications for the separation of premises in the building and we have to wait. I am a bit surprised and I don't know if it is legal that I have to wait for some time to be able to submit an application to separate premises in a building where practically all the premises have already been separated?
Of course, you may apply for transformation of the co-operative ownership right to the premises into separate ownership. The housing cooperative is obliged to conclude an agreement with you on the transfer of the ownership of the premises after you have paid the part of the cooperative's liabilities related to the construction of the premises, including, in particular, an appropriate part of the cooperative's credit debt with interest and if there are no debts on account of rent.
The contract should be concluded within 6 months of the application being submitted, unless the property has an outstanding legal status, i.e. it does not have a land register or other relevant documents concerning the ownership of the land on which the building is located.
However, since you are the only tenant who has not yet converted his right, surely the status of the land is settled. However, this would obviously need to be checked.
Hello, maybe you can help us
Assistance. In August 2018, we submitted an application
for the ownership of a cooperative flat. A year passes and the cooperative says they cannot because they are waiting for the land to be valued. Apparently the notary cannot transfer ownership without a Certificate of Land Value. I am a little concerned about this. Is this legal!
Unfortunately, without investigating the facts of the case, it is difficult to say what exactly is holding the cooperative back from conversion. If there are more people in the building who already own separate premises, the valuation of the land can hardly be a reason to drag out the whole condemnation. As I mentioned in my comment above, the contract should be concluded within six months, unless the real estate is not completely settled. Please make a written enquiry to the cooperative and ask it to clarify the matter thoroughly, or else you will be able to take legal steps to convert the property into a freehold unit.
good morning,
I have a co-operative property right, what if I want to sell my flat? Why does the cooperative still charge a monthly usufruct fee in the rent?
The flat can be disposed of without any problem at any time. As regards the fee, the cooperative is most likely to charge a fee for the transformation of perpetual usufruct into ownership, as such an operation is chargeable. According to the law, annual fees equal to the existing annual fees must be paid for the next 20 years. This obligation will apply to each subsequent owner of the property until the 20-year period ends.
The deadline for paying such a fee will be 31 March each year. However, the fee for 2019 will have to be paid by 29 February 2020. The fees will be indexed. I mentioned this in the article.
I have a co-operative ownership of the property (I also have the land register set up - but that's not important as it's just for the bank's purposes). I understand that after the conversion the land will be owned by the Co-operative, and it will benefit from the discount and be the owner. I recently received a letter from the Co-operative that I am to pay PLN 251.47 as a one-off fee for the aforementioned conversion. Is the resolution of the Co-operative regarding the payment of this one-off fee in 2019 by persons holding a co-operative ownership right to the premises lawful?
At the very end of the letter, the Co-operative informs us that once we have received a certificate of payment of the one-off conversion fee, the Co-operative will delete the entry in section III of the Land and Mortgage Register of the claim for the fee.... This is a bit strange - because it means that I am to pay for the Co-operative to be the owner of this land and benefit from the discount....
Dear Sir,
Neither the cooperative tenancy right nor the cooperative ownership right you have extends to the land.
In the case of a premises to which a co-operative has a co-operative ownership right, the land on which the residential building is located is enfranchised in favour of the housing co-operative and not in favour of the tenant in question. Also the discount will apply to the charge imposed on the cooperative as the perpetual usufructuary (later owner) of the land. However, pursuant to Article 9(6) of 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 of such land, in such a situation a person with a co-operative ownership right to a residential unit and a co-operative right will benefit from an appropriate discount in the form of a relief in the fees for participation in the costs of exploitation of the building. On the other hand, there is nothing strange about distributing the fee to individual tenants. Please remember that a cooperative is a dependent entity and lives off the fees paid by its members. In cooperative blocks, once the land under the blocks has been converted, the conversion fees are included in the flat fees, but if there are discounts in the conversion fee, the cooperative must take them into account and reduce the cooperative's fee in proportion to the area of the flat to which the cooperative is entitled.
Welcome,
I have a co-operative right to a property without separate ownership. I understand that I can apply to the Cooperative to separate ownership, but given that they have six months to sign a contract with me, it is likely that the Cooperative will drag on and we will not make it to the end of the year to be able to apply for a discount. My question is what will the situation with separation of ownership look like after the new year, that is 2020, and then what about the land under the building? Do I understand correctly that the purchase of the land by the cooperative will give it the opportunity to significantly increase the cost of separating the premises. After 2020, will the separate premises own their share of the land? I kindly ask for an answer.
It is very likely that the cooperative will still this year apply for a single payment and obtain a discount. If this does not happen, then it will be up to you to make such a request after the transfer of ownership. The cooperative also has the right to charge all cooperative members with a proportional fee for the transfer of perpetual usufruct into ownership. In doing so, however, it is obliged to deduct the discount obtained from the charge imposed on cooperative members for their share of the building's operation. The conversion fees are paid over the following 20 years. Thus, the purchase of the land by the cooperative will not increase the price of the cooperative premises during the purchase. When ownership is transferred to the co-operative, the co-operative will also become co-owner of a fractional share of the land on which the building is located.
Unfortunately, your description of the situation is not entirely clear to us. What kind of property is it? Whose property is it? Why the 99 years? The fee is paid for 20 years. Please contact me by e-mail. Maybe we will be able to help you after you have specified your query.
Hello, a cooperative has charged me, as a holder of a cooperative ownership right to an apartment, a one-time fee for the conversion to which a discount was granted. Can the cooperative decide to increase the one-off fee with a discount without a prior resolution, or can it charge it to the holders of the aforementioned cooperative right . The fee to be paid by me has been divided into 10 instalments (250 PLN each), which is a burden on the monthly budget. Is it possible to appeal against the amount of the instalment
Dear Madam,
there was already a post in the comments about the ceding of fees by the cooperative to the tenants. The instalment of the fees was most likely considered by the cooperative to be a mere management action. Hence, no resolution was passed and only the obligation to pay the instalments was imposed on you. You can ask the cooperative to divide the fee into smaller instalments because you will not be able to pay this amount.
If I have ownership of a dwelling, do I pay for the land that has been converted into ownership?
I am the owner of a co-operative owned flat , I have a disability order . By law I am entitled to a 99% discount. The cooperative has charged me a 60% discount, what should I do to respect the 99% discount law?
In this regard, I have already written above in a commentary.
I hold a co-operative ownership right to a property. This year I applied for conversion to separate ownership. I have been informed by the co-operative that until the land ownership conversion is sorted out, this cannot be done. I know that the co-operative has already applied for a discount, so I asked what about my case. I was informed that it was now "no use", that I would be listed in the land register as a co-owner of the land and that I had only "earned" the notarial fee. I believe that land ownership and premises ownership are two separate matters. Please comment.
I do not really understand. The cooperative has rightly applied for a discount. Presumably the aim is to pay the fee in one go. The cooperative will then assign the fee to the individual owners. You will now be able to apply for the transformation of the cooperative ownership right into separate ownership of the flat. Please submit an application for conversion.
Your description of the facts is incomprehensible. First of all, if you have a cooperative ownership right to the premises, you are not the owner. You only have a limited right on the property. You also cannot be the owner of the land on which the building is located, as the owner or perpetual usufructuary is a cooperative. You will become the owner of the land and the flat only after the transformation of the limited right into ownership. The transformation of the land by operation of law from perpetual usufruct to ownership does not at the same time result in the transformation of the cooperative ownership right to the premises into ownership. The discounts accrued should be taken into account when determining the amount of the fee payable to you for the transformation. Ask for the Land Registry number, find out the records and apply to the cooperative for the transformation of the cooperative ownership right into ownership. No more than six months may elapse between the submission of the application and the transformation of the cooperative ownership right to the premises. This is the deadline set for the cooperative by the law.
Hello, I have separate ownership in a cooperative. Up to now, I have been paying the land charges to the municipal council. You write about a discount, but I have not received any certificate so that I can take advantage of the discount and pay in full in 2019. What do I have to do to benefit from this discount, because as I understand it, it is me and not the cooperative that will pay the conversion fee.
I bought a flat 10 years ago, which has a co-operative title and has a land register. The cooperative went bankrupt many years ago. In the block of flats where I have this flat, 95% of the residents have freehold flats and there is a community.
What steps should I take to have my flat converted to ownership?
What does it mean that the cooperative was failing. Who owns your flat at present? In order to redeem your flat, you should apply to the current owner for redemption. If there are no debts on the property and all loans on the property are paid off, you should receive a decision within 6 months.
I hold a co-operative freehold tenancy. The cooperative has obtained 60% discount. I pay the corresponding fee monthly on this account. Now I have found out that according to the law of 13.June 2019, a discount of 99% is due as a carer of a person with severe disabilities. Does this apply to me in this situation?
Unfortunately, most likely not, due to the fact that you are not the owner of the flat and you have either a cooperative right to the apartment or a cooperative ownership right. In this case, the discount is granted to the cooperative, which acts as the owner for premises which have not been purchased. If you were the owner of the property, you would be entitled to a larger discount.
I read above that it is possible to separate premises and convert them from co-operative ownership to full ownership unless the property has an unregulated legal status, i.e. it does not have a land register or other relevant documents concerning the ownership of the land on which the building is erected. On the other hand, I read that in the situation of separation of at least one premises in such a building, the entire building will be subject to the transformation law. Except that how is this one premises to be separated, if the land is not regulated? The circle is closing. I would appreciate an explanation.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Act on transformation of the right of perpetual usufruct of land developed for residential purposes into ownership of such land, land developed with single-family or multi-family residential buildings, in which at least half of the number of premises are residential premises, is transformed by operation of law. With regard to multi-family residential premises, the basis for the change of the perpetual usufruct right to the land located under these premises into ownership will therefore be the separation of residential premises in these buildings. This is what the article refers to. Enfranchisement applies only to land on which bydynki with residential premises (at least half of the residential premises) are located. If, on the other hand, the legal status of the property in the ownership of the cooperative is not regularised, we are talking about the land under the building, it will not be possible to transform the cooperative right or the cooperative ownership right to premises into a separate ownership right. The cooperative must first regularise the legal status in the form of changes to the Land and Mortgage Register, pay off the debt, if any exists on the land, cancel the mortgage from the Land and only then can it transform the cooperative rights to premises into ownership. To sum up, we are talking here about two different situations, one concerns the prerequisites for being subject to the enfranchisement act, the other concerns the conditions for the transformation of the right to premises and not the land.
Hello, I bought a flat in November 2019, as of today 28.01.2020 I received a letter to pay the fees. Who should pay this? Me or the previous owner?
This depends on whether you were previously a tenant of the property or not. Generally, the fee is payable by each current owner. This would mean that for 2019, the fee should be paid by the previous owner by 29 February 2020. Subsequent payments should already be made by you, unless it is a one-off payment due to the discount for the entire period. In that case, the previous owner should also pay it. If the previous owner was a cooperative, it will pass the fee on to the tenants.
I have a similar situation as Ms Jolanta from the entry of 31.12.2019. I have paid the conversion fee with the discount 60% to S.M. as a one-off payment. As I do not have a separate flat, I was not a party to the Starosty and I could not use the discount in accordance with Article 9a(2). My question is: When I transfer now (already after paying for the transformation) the cooperative ownership right to the flat into separate ownership, could I apply to the Starosty for the discount 99%
Each municipality takes a slightly different approach to the issue of redemption. Legally, it is not possible to take advantage of the possibility of a larger discount in a situation in which the former owner was not entitled to such a discount. However, it may be worthwhile finding out how the municipality feels about these issues.
hello.I have signed a notarised deed of separation of apartment (co-operative ownership). On the floor plan sketch attached to the notarised deed showing the independence of the premises to my flat there is also a small utility room marked with the flat where the water meters for this flat are located, The notary did not include it in the deed when describing the premises, and in my opinion it is an appurtenant room, but the deed does not say a word about it and this is a strange situation to me. What can I do now, why was this room not included in the deed? I only mention that the notary is a notary serving the cooperative? what to do now with this?
The law provides for the possibility of invalidating or challenging a notarial deed on the grounds of an error regarding the content of the legal action, i.e. a misconception of the actual state of affairs or of the content of the statement made. It is difficult to determine whether in this particular situation all of the prerequisites allowing for the use of this form of invalidation of the notarial deed will be fulfilled. I suggest you seek advice from a specialist in this area. Furthermore, the post does not relate to the subject of the article.
Is it possible to have the deed amended by a notary or to have it appended to the deed? As far as I know, the premises are separated from one another with the appurtenant premises included in the certificate of autonomy of the premises. Is this the case? Can I find out more from you on this particular subject? Thank you in advance for any information.
Good morning,
I live with my mother-in-law in Warsaw in her flat in a block of flats owned by AMW and we have 2 disabled sons, can we pay statutory 1% instead of 2%?
The right to a 99 per cent discount on the conversion fee under Article 9a, newly added after the amendment to the Conversion Act, has been gained by those with a certified disability of a moderate or severe degree, and those who obtained the certificate before the age of 16, or the legal guardians or legal representatives of such persons residing with them on the date of conversion. This means that the discount is available to those who had the judgment or were residing with the person having it on 1 January 2019. This means that if the mother-in-law was the legal guardian of the children or their representative, then by all means the discount of 99 % would apply to the mother-in-law for the conversion of the perpetual usufruct of the land into ownership.
https://www.prawo.pl/prawo/oplaty-za-przeksztalcenie-prawa-uzytkowania-we-wlasnosc,452058.html
Good afternoon. I am the owner of a cooperative premises. I have agreed with the cooperative to purchase the land in instalments. What happens after the instalments have been paid off? Will I be able to make an entry in the land registry, does the cooperative do this?
Unfortunately you have not provided us with much information, in particular on what basis did you purchase the land or did you wish to convert the cooperative right to housing? We suggest that you describe the whole matter in an e-mail correspondence. We will try to help you.
Hello, I have a question. I own a tenant flat. I would like to convert it to cooperative ownership. When I called the cooperative, I found out that this is currently impossible due to the new Land Act....
When will I be able to do this and why can't I currently?
It is difficult for us to say for what reason the cooperative does not take a resolution on the conversion. It may be that not all the issues related to the land under the building itself are settled. This then constitutes a negative premise for conversion. It is worth asking the cooperative for details.
Good afternoon, I am the owner of a co-operative ownership right to premises - I am a spinster. If I get married and only then apply to convert the right to the premises into full ownership - does my spouse automatically become the owner of the premises?
No. You are the owner of a co-operative property right acquired before the marriage and you are only converting this limited right into ownership. The acquisition took place before the marriage anyway and the flat belongs only to you.
Welcome.
I would like to ask what the issue is when buying a flat from a developer.
When I buy a flat from a developer, am I, as the new owner, obliged to pay a fee for the conversion from perpetual usufruct to ownership? Or, will it be collected in the rent of the flat.
Please forgive me if this question is poorly worded, but I am a 'layman' in this field.
If the building is indeed located on land with a perpetual usufruct, the conversion of this land into ownership is the responsibility of each current owner. Please ask the developer about the status of the land.
Good morning.
If I am a tenant of a commercial unit in the basement of a residential building, can the Co-operative pass on the development and common land use fee to me?
I do not own the premises.
Yes. The transformation act applies, inter alia, to owners of multi-family houses located on land granted for perpetual usufruct, in which at least half of the number of premises are residential premises (both natural and legal persons, including housing cooperatives and developers). The other half may be commercial premises. The transformation fee is usually ceded by cooperatives to tenants of both flats and commercial premises who do not own these premises.
The transformation law applies, inter alia, to owners of multi-family houses located on land granted for perpetual usufruct, in which at least half of the number of premises are residential premises (both natural and legal persons, including housing cooperatives and developers). Usually, the cooperative cedes the conversion fee to the tenants of the premises, and it is irrelevant that it is a commercial premises. What is important is that you are not the owner of the premises. Owners of residential and commercial premises are charged a separate fee.