Property law in Poland

Abstract

The article discusses the basic issues of Polish property law. In particular, it briefly addresses all types of rights in rem, i. e., ownership, perpetual usufruct, usufruct, easements (servitudes), pledge, co-operative ownership right of real estate, and mortgages. Emphasis is given to the pluralism of the sources of property law in Poland, on the one hand, and the presence of the numerus clausus principle in it, on the other hand. The difference between possession as a factual state and a real right is highlighted. The objective tendency to split the single concept of ownership into various forms of this right, which are meaningfully far apart from each other is described. It is noted that there is a clear differentiation in Polish law between binding contracts and causal dispositive transactions, as well as the assumption of transactions with a double effect (both binding and dispositive), which turns the system of transfer of real estate ownership into a consensual one. At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that the ownership right passes to the acquirer as a result of the conclusion of the contract even before the corresponding registration of the transfer of title in the public register, which, thus, has a declarative character. Attention is also given to serious legal restrictions on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners. Furthermore, the article discusses the general trends in the development of Polish property law, inter alia digitization of land and mortgage registers, adjusting the system of mortgage lending to the needs of a developed market economy, regulation of the rapidly expanding housing market, as well as increasing restrictions on real estate trading and regulation of legal titles to real estate on which transmission facilities are located.