New laws governing property finance, tenure and licensing of agents will modernise the country’s real estate market.
Three important new laws governing the Polish property market came into effect on January 1.
The act on pledged bonds and mortgage banks creates a regulatory framework for the establishment, operation and supervision of specialised mortgage banks in Poland, and enables banks to attract long-term finance for funding property investments.
Mortgage banks may be existing banks or newly-established ones. They will be able to issue and trade in mortgage-backed securities, issue unsecured loans and buy other banks’ liabilities. The act provides for supervision and regulation of mortgage banks by a registration system.
A separate act covers Poland’s idiosyncratic form of tenure, “perpetual usufruct”. Under the new legislation, individuals (but not companies) will be able to transform these limited ownership rights into full ownership. As it applies only to individual owners, the act is likely to have a greater effect on residential than commercial property.
The act on the management of property establishes specific rules that apply to managing property belonging to the state and local councils, the division and merger of property and pre-emptive rights to buy property. Rules determining the expropriation and restitution of property and valuation of property are also covered under the new law.
The act also requires property agents, experts and administrators to complete a professional qualifying procedure conducted by the State Qualifying Commission.
- UK estate agent Knight Frank is opening its first offices in Poland. The firm has acquired an interest in accountant Price Waterhouse Nieruchomosci and the new entity will trade under the name Knight Frank in Warsaw and Poznan.
KF’s regional chairman, Paul Willis, said: “In particular, we will be strengthening the international brokerage side of these new offices as we see substantial potential in this area.”
