In brief

• The Ministry of Development and Technology is working on changes to the regulation on areas of infill development (obszary uzupełnienia zabudowy).
• The expansion of these areas is meant to cover mainly rural areas, and farm buildings are to be counted differently.
• Municipalities are to gain one year of protection from penalties for late decisions on building conditions (warunki zabudowy), which may lengthen the waiting time for investors.

What changes in spatial planning

The government is announcing further corrections to the spatial planning reform, which reshaped the rules for issuing building condition decisions, colloquially called wuzetki (Koniec wuzetek dla wszystkich. Rząd zapowiada kolejną zmianę zasad – WNP.pl) (Kolejne dwie zmiany w wuzetkach. Jedna ucieszy wieś, druga może wydłużyć czekanie na decyzję – bezprawnik.pl). The development ministry has concluded that the current regulations need amendments and, in response, is preparing changes to the regulation defining how areas of infill development are delineated (Właściciele działek czekają na kluczową decyzję. Oto co planuje rząd – money.pl).

Why areas of infill development matter

Where a municipality has not adopted a local spatial development plan, a building conditions decision can be obtained only within an area of infill development. Outside such an area, a new house cannot be built, except for the reconstruction or extension of existing buildings. The method of delineating these areas therefore determines whether a plot retains the possibility of development (Działka może stracić na atrakcyjności. Eksperci ostrzegają przed skutkami reformy – wprost.pl).

What is to change in the countryside

One of the planned changes is to expand areas of infill development, especially in rural areas (Ważne zmiany dla właścicieli działek. Rząd szykuje nowe przepisy. Zycie – zycie.news). The draft provisions are also to concern how farm buildings, such as silos and cowsheds, are taken into account when calculating development. This could increase the number of places where wuzetki will be issued.

Municipalities will get more time

The second announced change concerns local governments. Municipalities are to be protected from penalties for late issuing of building condition decisions, and this protection is to apply for another year.

Possible effects for investors

Easing the penalties may, however, lengthen the waiting time for a decision for people planning to build a house, since offices may process applications more slowly. Owners of plots near existing development should check whether their land lies within an area of infill development before planning an investment.

What comes next

The draft amendment to the regulation is still at the ministry's work stage, and the date of its entry into force has not been set.