Tax & Legal Highlights for Real Estate – January 2021
Subscribe to our newsletter (only in Polish)
1. New waste storage obligat
As of 1 January 2021, the regulation of the Minister of Climate dated 11 September 2020 on detailed requirements for waste storage (“Regulation”) entered into force. The said regulation sets forth the uniform and detailed rules for waste storage, which up to date due to lack of the comprehensive regulation, were specified in administrative decisions. The scope of obligations and their strictness basically depends on the amount of generated waste. In consequence, the Regulation establishes two groups of entities with various requirements as regards the place and manner of waste storage.
The first group includes waste producers that generate no more than 1 tone of hazardous or 100 tons of non-hazardous waste annually, as well as entities producing waste due to demolition, construction, cleaning, maintenance or repair of buildings. Whereas, the second group includes those entities that do not qualify for the first group. With respect to the entities included in the second group, for instance the Regulation imposes the requirement to mark the stored waste with the respective codes, as well as to store waste on the hardened surface constructed with the use of construction products.
The Regulation does not apply, among others, to waste municipal producers, entities obligated to keep the simplified waste records and entities exempted from the obligation to keep waste records.
The entities covered by the Regulation shall observe obligations specified therein within 12 to 48 months from the date when the Regulation enters into force. If the requirements for the waste storage were previously determined in administrative decisions, obligations established in those decisions are still binding and in such case the Regulation does not apply.
Failure to meet the obligation resulting from the binding environmental law as regards the waste storage might be subject to the administrative monetary penalty in the amount from PLN 5,000.00 to PLN 1,000,000.00.
2. Property tax changes for 2021
From the beginning of the current year, i.e. January 1, 2021, new maximum property tax rates will apply. In accordance with the Announcement of the Minister of Finance dated 23 July 2020, the new rates will be PLN 0.85 per sq. m for residential buildings, PLN 24.84 per sq. m for buildings occupied for business activity, PLN 11.62 per sq. m for buildings occupied for business activity involving trade in certified seed material, PLN 0.99 per sq. m for land connected with business activity and PLN 0.52 per sq. m for other land.
The remaining rates applicable to structures, buildings in which activities related to health care are carried out, other buildings, land under standing or flowing waters and undeveloped areas covered by a revitalization plan for which the local spatial development plan provides for residential or commercial development or mixed use development, remain at the rates of 2% of value, PLN 5.06 per 1 sq. m, PLN 8.37 per 1 sq. m, PLN 4.99 per 1 hectare and PLN 3.28 per 1 sq. m, respectively.
The increase of the maximum value of the tax by ca. 3.9% as compared to the previous year is justified by the Ministry of Finance due to inflation. It should be remembered that the establishment of maximum property tax rates in itself does not mean its automatic increase in respect of all properties, as the final say on the level of taxes lies on the local government bodies. It should be assumed, however, that in the face of financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, some local governments will decide to raise the rates, which has already been done by Warsaw, Łódź and Gdańsk, among others.
3. Changes in the provision on warranty
2021 brought a significant change to the provisions of the Civil Code regarding warranty for defects and conclusion of contracts with entrepreneurs conducting sole business activity and partners in civil partnerships. To a large extent, a new type of developers’ contractors will benefit from the rights and protection granted so far only to consumers, namely entrepreneurs concluding contracts in the course of their business activity which are not of a professional character resulting from the subject of their activity on the basis of an entry in the CEIDG. Therefore, the purchase of commercial premises in order to run a shop, a service centre or an office will not have such character if the purchaser does not participate professionally in the real estate market. With respect to customers who are subject to the new regulations, the provisions on prohibited clauses in consumer trade apply, so provisions concerning the limitation of the developer’s liability for defects or delays in the completion of the investment, usually included in agreements between entrepreneurs, may no longer be lawfully applied. The quasi-entrepreneur’s warranty claims may be pursued throughout the five-year period of the developer’s liability for defects in the property. The answer to the warranty claim submitted by the quasi-entrepreneur, e.g. for the removal of the defect or price reduction, must be provided within 14 days, otherwise the presumption provided for in Article 5615 of the Civil Code that the developer acknowledged the purchaser’s demand as justified is activated. The new category of contractors is also subject to the presumption that the developer is liable for the existence of a physical defect if such defect has been identified within one year from the date of delivery of the premises to the buyer.
See tax comment
See the previous editions: February 2019 | March 2019 | April 2019 | May 2019 | June 2019 | July 2019 | August 2019 | September 2019 | November 2019 | December 2019 | January 2020 | February 2020 | March 2020 | April 2020 | May 2020 | June 2020 | July 2020 | August 2020| September 2020| October 2020 | November 2020 | December 2020
