The Regulation on Cross-Border Land Acquisition in Poland

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present those regulations of Polish law that have the most significant impact on the phenomenon of cross-border land acquisition in Poland. This issue is currently one of the most intensively discussed questions, both at a political and a strictly theoretical level, primarily in the context of land grabbing. Without exaggeration, this problem has a decisive impact on the current shape of real estate trading in Poland. The implementation of the assumed research goal is carried out by the analysis of the basic protective instruments contained in the Act on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners, as well as in the Acts relating to the transactions concerning agricultural and forest land, i.e. in the Act on shaping the agricultural system and in the Act on forests. As a result of the research carried out in the article, it was indicated that today – in view of the diminishing importance of traditional protective instruments specified in the Act on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners – the most significant influence on the phenomenon of cross-border land acquisition in Poland have legal acts relating to the transactions concerning agricultural and forest land, which is the result of broadly defined definitions of "agricultural real estate" and "forestry land". In practice, these acts also significantly affect the acquisition of real estate located in cities, as well as real estate whose agricultural and forestry functions are more than questionable. The system of protection against uncontrolled purchase of real estate by foreigners in Poland, provided for in the above-mentioned legal acts, is relatively tight and comprehensive, and even complicated, which obviously influences the increased investment risk when acquiring real estate in Poland.