Legal Highlights for Real Estate
Changes in the requirements for parking spaces in residential investments
On 22 August 2025, the Act of 25 July 2025 amending the Act on Social Forms of Housing Development and Certain Other Acts (the “Amendment”) entered into force.
The Amendment repeals Article 17(4a)(2) and Article 17(4d)(2) of the Act of 5 July 2018 on Facilitating the Preparation and Implementation of Residential Investments and Accompanying Investments. The previous provisions imposed an obligation on investors to provide a minimum number of parking spaces, specifically:
- in the case of a residential investment – at least 1.5 parking spaces per apartment,
- in the case of a residential investment located in inner-city areas – at least 1 parking space per apartment.
Instead of rigid statutory requirements, the Amendment introduces the power of the municipal council to determine the number of parking spaces necessary to serve a residential investment within the framework of municipal urban standards.
As indicated in the explanatory memorandum to the Amendment, the purpose of these changes is to enable municipalities to shape investment requirements more flexibly, taking into account local conditions such as the location of the investment site, the level of public transport development, or the network of cycling routes. This solution is intended to align with the policies of many municipalities aimed at supporting pedestrian and bicycle traffic, particularly in inner-city areas.
Draft Amendment to the Spatial Planning and Development Act – changes in integrated investment plans
On 25 July 2025, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft amendment to the Spatial Planning and Development Act (the “Draft”), which will allow municipalities to shorten the procedure for preparing Integrated Investment Plans (Zintegrowane Plany Inwestycyjne in Polish “ZPI”).
A ZPI is a special type of local zoning plan adopted by the municipal council at the request of an investor. During the preparation of a ZPI, the investor and the municipality negotiate the content of the urban planning agreement, which is an essential element of the ZPI. This agreement specifies the rules and conditions for the implementation of the investment as well as the obligations of the parties.
The Draft provides for the elimination of the requirement to obtain the municipal council’s approval to initiate the preparation of a ZPI. Under the current legal framework, such approval is required before negotiations with the investor and the conclusion of the urban planning agreement may begin, which prolongs the procedure – particularly in municipalities where council sessions are infrequent. The proposed change may shorten the entire procedure by 30 to 45 days.
The procedure is also to be streamlined by introducing provisions allowing the municipal council to adopt, by way of a resolution constituting local law, guidelines concerning urban planning agreements concluded in the course of ZPI preparation. Establishing general rules on the investor’s participation in the implementation and financing of investments within an urban planning agreement, as well as knowing these rules already at the beginning of negotiations, would speed up the adoption of ZPI and reduce the risk of unexpected conditions arising during discussions that could hinder reaching an agreement.
