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Can foreigners buy land, house, or apartment in Poland?

posts: 25

alana07	Nov 22, 07, 06:35 #1
I am from Mauritius , and i was just wondering if it is possible for me to buy a house or a piece of land or apartment in Poland? If yes what are the actual procedures for foreigners to acquire such property? or is it possible someone from PL buys it for me and put it on my name despite i am not living here? thanks for answers and opinions

andy b	Nov 22, 07, 08:14 #2
There is no problem for foreigners (even non-EU) to buy an apartment. A house on a small plot of land should also be OK. However, you will need a permit from the Polish government to buy larger tracts of land. If you have any doubt, consult a Polish lawyer

♂

Nov 22, 07, 08:28 #3

Quoting: alana07

or is it possible someone from PL buys it for me and put it on my name despite i am not living here?

somebody from poland can act as a purcasing agent whereby the property is bought on your behalf - the exact terms of the agreement between you and the 'agent' will need to be specified in an individual contract and the whole process will probably need to be explained in detail to your lawyer

alana07	Nov 22, 07, 12:54 #4
Thank you for these info...

absolwent

Nov 26, 07, 10:23 #5

Since Poland has joined EU in May 2004 foreigners who are citizens of EU member states, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Switzerland can freely buy and sell real estate in Poland, except for:

– agricultural and forest land – Permission is required during the first 12 years from the date of Poland’s accession to the EU
– “second house” – Permission is required during the first five years from the date of Poland’s accession to the EU, however, permission is not required if a foreigner lives legally and continuously in Poland for four years, or if he purchases a “second house” in order to conduct business activities in tourism services.

Foreigners who are citizens of other countries than those mentioned above may purchase real estate only after receiving permission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration and, in the case of farmland, also after receipt of approval from the Minister of Agriculture. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration must issue the permit in question within a maximum of two months.

However according to polish law all foreigners, irrespective of their origin, intending to buy “individual residential premises” are exempted from the obligation to obtain a permit. Individual residential premises are simply flats in apartment buildings, where unlike houses the flats constitute only part of a larger building. So in practice every foreigner can freely buy and sell new apartments from developers in Poland.

First step of buying an off-plan property involves signing a preliminary contract with developer which commits both parties to the sale. This is usually accompanied by a reservation deposit of 5%. Then depending on the payment structure either further 15-25% deposit is required within up to 3 months and the balance on completion or the preliminary contract sets out the dates of staged payments which have to be made as the construction progresses. If the buyer applies for a mortgage bank makes these payments on his behalf.

The property ownership title in Poland can only be transferred in respect of completed properties, so when the construction has been finished and the purchase price is paid in full, the final contract in the presence of notary (notary deeds) is signed. This officially transfers the title of the property from the seller to the buyer. Polish law additionally requires foreigners who do not speak Polish to hire a translator when signing the notary deeds. The notary then logs the change of title at the Polish property registry.

need more info? go to primepropertypoland.com

BubbaWooThreads: 46 Posts: 4,438 Joined: Sep 26, 06 ♂	Nov 26, 07, 10:32 #6
Quoting: absolwent primepropertypoland.com having a typo on the home page kinda puts people off, no?

BritguyabroadThreads: 5 Posts: 28 Joined: Nov 13, 07 ♂	Nov 26, 07, 10:43 #7
Hi Bubba, If you sell a property for a profit in poland, do you have to pay capital gains tax? Cheers, Britguybroad

BubbaWooThreads: 46 Posts: 4,438 Joined: Sep 26, 06 ♂	Edited by: BubbaWoo Nov 26, 07, 10:48 #8
fraid so - the amount and what you pay it on was changed at the start of this year and was covered indepth on the forum then - a quick search will tell you more as well as ways around it

BritguyabroadThreads: 5 Posts: 28 Joined: Nov 13, 07 ♂	Nov 26, 07, 10:48 #9
cheers

inkrakow	Nov 26, 07, 14:27 #10
and if you're UK resident, unfortunately the Inland Revenue will be looking to get their share too...

♀

Dec 11, 07, 08:54 #11

Quoting: inkrakow

Inland Revenue

No such organisation....ceased to exist about 3 years ago, when it became HM Revenue and Customs. There are double taxation agreements in place between Poland and UK to prevent you from paying tax twice on the same thing, so don't panic! And the UK has a generous capital gains exemption allowance....don't be put off by the tax man! If you were to reinvest the profit into the polish property market, capital gains wouldn't apply... I also remember reading somewhere that if you have the property in excess of 5 years, no capital gain is applied....but would prefer not to stake my reputation on that one, as I seem to read a lot of contradictory information depending which web site I'm on...

♀

Dec 13, 07, 17:32 #12

More on tax issues?? If you make the property in Poland your principle private residence before you sell, you wouldn't have any tax liability on it in the UK as long as you sold it within 3 years of living there...so if you bought a place in Poland, kept it for 5 yrs, lived in it for a while, then sold, no CG tax in Poland or UK??! Unless it can be proven your intention was to make money from the outset...

BuddyThreads: 7 Posts: 180 Joined: Nov 18, 07 ♂	Dec 13, 07, 19:33 #13
Quoting: andy b If you have any doubt, consult a Polish lawyer And then get a second opinion and a third. Likely hood is out of three laywers at least one should know what he is talking about.

zofia	Feb 19, 08, 12:29 #14
Do you think some Chinese guys can buy land or houses,is this a kind of investment?

Yulechka	Mar 10, 08, 16:07 #15
Yes , they can , and esp. for commercial there is a lot of tax breaks

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Mar 10, 08, 17:51 #16
Can foreigners buy land? Does a bear **** in the woods?

♂

Edited by: hythorn Mar 12, 08, 03:05 #17

Seanus wrote:

Can foreigners buy land? Does a bear **** in the woods?

the question is does the bear need permission to defecate from the ministry of agriculture?
foreigners cannot buy farming land without a permit. there is little chance that you will get a permit either. foreigners can buy land if it is a plot with planning permission.
if you want to buy farm land you will need to create a Sp z o.o.(limited company) and have a Polish partner who will have to own at least 50% of the business.
foreigners can buy existing commercial property and a house. if you want two houses the matter is more complicated so stick to buying flats where you can buy as many as you like. except don't do it at the moment as the price of flats has levelled off in most cities.

Guest	Jul 23, 08, 03:51 #18
I'm not Polish, but my partner is(unmarried) we are looking at buying a rural property (3000m2). It has planning premission for a residence. Could my name be on the title with my partners or do I have to seek approval from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration? If so, is it generally approved or they are likely just to so no?

AvalonThreads: 3 Posts: 814 Joined: Sep 11, 07 ♂	Jul 23, 08, 04:15 #19
Your partner has no problems. If you wish to have your name on the deeds, make sure that the land has been signed off from the agrigcultural agency (small cost and takes approx. 30 days) even if it has permission for a residential dwelling.

♂

Jul 23, 08, 16:05 #20

I have been living in Warsaw for about a year and now looking to buy an apartment also, originally from London england, tho i also recalled
reading an article that i need to have a few doc before applying
for a mortgage in Warsaw/poland.
EG: karta podytu and zameldowanie od wojewody
could any one provide advices on how to obtain these doc.
if its relevant for obtaining a mortgage within any polish banks.
or other alternative doc

jackg	Nov 6, 09, 01:19 #21
my name is Jack gilbert, I am in california USA, can some help me find a deed to property of warsaw poland, at 33 Emili Plater., warsaw poland, the property belongs to my father, the germans /nazis took the property in 1939 thanks for the help jackg@california.com

mawaukltdThreads: - Posts: 7 Joined: Jan 12, 10 ♂	Jan 12, 10, 22:54 #22
Contact us through our website we are specialists in foriegners buying property in Poland polishlokal.com or asnieruchomosci.net,Engish speaking number 0048 698 295 117

♂

Edited by: jonni Jan 12, 10, 22:58 #23

jackg:

my name is Jack gilbert, I am in california USA, can some help me find a deed to property of
warsaw poland, at 33 Emili Plater., warsaw poland, the property belongs to my father, the germans /nazis took the property in 1939

thanks for the help

You'll need a lawyer specialising in property claims. If the deeds no longer exist, it may take rather longer. One problem is that a lot of city records and archives in Warsaw didn't survive the events of 1944. It could be impossible if someone else was, rightly or wrongly, able to establish ownership after the war and there are no documents to show otherwise. Though it should be worth it, given that the address you mention is right in the centre of the capital and among the most valuable real estate in the country. You should choose a large law firm.

edit

looking quickly on google maps, if number 33 is the pre-war address, then it may well be under the forecourt of Central Station (problematic) or under the Zloty Taras shopping mall (a potential gold mine). Very worth looking into.

♂ [Suspended]

Edited by: delphiandomine Jan 12, 10, 23:59 #24

jonni:

You'll need a lawyer specialising in property claims.

Not in the first instance - I can do many of the 'first step' things for a lot cheaper than a specialised English speaking property lawyer will charge. For instance - I called quite a few up, asking how much they would charge to do a straightforward search of the property records in the cartographic offices, the Starostwo and the property courts. Many of them were quoting hideous amounts - 500zl upwards was normal. I'm convinced that it was at least partly due to the persona on the phone - dumb American calling about some property that his grandmother left in "ye olde countree" - but still, it gives an idea that they can and will charge a ridiculous amount for something relatively trivial.

Obviously, making a claim on a property needs a specialised lawyer - but for routine things such as applying for searches of databases, it's nothing that the ordinary man in the street can't do.

(as an aside, one lawyer wanted 50zl to post the documents received from the offices!)

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Sep 27, 10, 23:38 #25
In order to get credit, it is better to have the karte podbytu as some banks are old fashioned. PKO, for example. The right to buy is not in question provided that you are clean and have no other hindrances.

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