Electricity prices are going through the roof and the continuing conflict in Ukraine does not bode well for imminent price decreases. Commercial property owners, aligning with the changing regulatory environment and listening to their tenants’ needs, are quicker to consider installing solar panels atop their commercial buildings. Certain regulatory issues should be considered before deciding … Continue Reading
On 9 February 2022, the lower house of the Polish parliament amended the Commercial Companies Code, introducing a parent company’s liability for any damage caused to a holding subsidiary. The amendment has also introduced a binding instruction as to the parent’s handling of the subsidiary’s affairs if the holding’s interest so dictates. The parent must … Continue Reading
The new Construction Act has been adopted in its 3rd reading by the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament in the wording of a comprehensive amendment submitted by Mr. Kolovratník. The unified state building administration should therefore be put into effect next year and the new act as a whole will become effective from … Continue Reading
On 5 November 2020, the first reading of the bill of the new Construction Act took place in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament. It was assigned to committees with a hundred-day deadline to provide views on the new bill. The original draft was prepared in cooperation with the Czech Chamber of Commerce … Continue Reading
On September 19, 2020, most provisions of an extensive amendment to the Construction Law took effect. The amendment introduces very important changes from the investors’ point of view, both those considering and already pursuing their investments, and those whose projects have long been completed. The new regulations were introduced via the Act of February 2020 … Continue Reading
The Polish government announced that on 4 May 2020, shopping centres, hotels, and DIY and furniture stores will be opened to the public subject to certain conditions and restrictions. Below, we highlight the guidelines published by the Polish Ministry of Regional Development for retail and hotel facilities.… Continue Reading
The Polish draft law commonly referred to as the “Anti-Crisis Shield” (adopted by the Sejm last weekend) poses many questions in regard to lease relations between landlords and tenants at retail facilities of more than 2,000 m2. Firstly, due to its ambiguous wording, there are doubts whether it covers all retail facilities or only those … Continue Reading
During the weekend, the Polish Sejm (the lower house of parliament) passed the so-called “Anti-Crisis Shield Act” bill. The draft will now be debated in the Senate before being signed into law by the President and becoming effective on 1 April. The document may still undergo certain changes further down the legislative path.… Continue Reading
On March 13, 2020, the Minister of Health issued the Regulation on Declaring the State of Epidemic Threat within the Republic of Poland whereby, as of March 14, 2020, the following business operations (at commercial facilities with a sales area of more than 2,000 square meters) were temporarily prohibited:… Continue Reading
The Czech government has published draft of the new Building Act as a major tool to speed up the construction permitting process in the Czech Republic. The Czech Ministry of Regional Development set a deadline until Christmas 2019 for any comments or objections to the prepared draft bill. The bill was prepared not long after … Continue Reading
When two do the same, it is not the same. This old saying is true especially when comparing legal regulations in different countries. Businesses that are present in various jurisdictions sometimes tend to expect the same, when, at first glance, the regulation seems to be similar.… Continue Reading
On 1 October 2018, the amendment to the Slovak Cadastral Act came into effect. The Amendment introduced a number of provisions that speed up and improve the registration of real estate with the Cadastral Register. Selected provisions of the Amendment are outlined below.… Continue Reading
This post follows up on previous articles on the reprivatization of property in Warsaw and the governmental commission reviewing the legality of the process (see here and here). At a press conference on October 11, First Deputy Minister of Justice Patryk Jaki outlined the law that is to regulate property reprivatization in Poland. It is … Continue Reading
In our blog posting back in February 2017, we wrote that the Polish Parliament had adopted a very controversial piece of legislation appointing an ad hoc Parliamentary Commission to review and deal with “reprivatization” decisions in Warsaw. The term “reprivatization” refers to the real property that had previously been in private hands until the end … Continue Reading
If you are a real estate developer or are going to build a family house in Slovakia, your costs may increase due to new “development fee” introduced by the Act No. 447/2015 Coll. on Local Fee for Development and on Amendments and Supplements to Certain Acts (the “Act”). The Act gives the municipalities a right … Continue Reading
Legislation recently passed by the Polish Parliament grants a Parliamentary Commission the right to rescind reprivatization decisions previously issued with respect to real property in the city of Warsaw. Such a rescission would remove the legal grounds for return of the property to the ex-owner or its legal successor, which could lead to seizure of … Continue Reading
The legal rules of real estate acquisition in Hungary differ dependent on whether the acquisition is for arable or non-arable land (residential and commercial properties), by Hungarian residents or non-residents and whether by natural or legal entities. Such diversity in the regulation is due to the fact that real estate is viewed as limited in … Continue Reading
In the Czech Republic, each purchase of real estate is subject to a transfer tax, currently at the rate of 4% of the value of the transferred property. For years, this tax used to be paid by the sellers. However, as of November 1, 2016, the tax obligation has been shifted to the buyers.… Continue Reading
