Formalities after buying a building plot

Many people dream of building their own home. It is a major investment and an important undertaking, which should be well planned. Buying the land on which the building will stand is only the beginning of a great adventure. What needs to be done at the next stages? Here are the formalities to complete after buying a building plot.

• Familiarise yourself with the legal status of the property
• Essential extracts and maps
• Check whether the plot is connected to utilities
• The local zoning plan
• The building permit – one of the most important formalities
• Consulting a land surveyor

Familiarise yourself with the legal status of the property

The key matter when buying any property is to familiarise yourself with its legal status. Ideally we should do this before the purchase, but if it was a spontaneous decision, we may have overlooked it. All the data about the plot is contained in its land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta). That is where it is recorded whether the plot secures a mortgage for the previous owner's debt and whether anyone is claiming rights to it. Only checking the necessary documentation yourself gives a hundred per cent certainty that the purchase will be free from formal and legal defects. All these tasks can also be commissioned from professionals, who will certainly carry out the work more efficiently and faster.

Essential extracts and maps

Checking the entries in the land and mortgage register is not all we have to see to. We should also review the extract from the land and buildings register (wypis z ewidencji gruntów), which contains data on the property, and the map extract from the land register (wyrys z ewidencji gruntów), i.e. a copy of a map on which the boundaries of plots are marked in the area where we plan to build. These documents are available at the geodetic and cartographic documentation centre at the municipal office or the county office (starostwo). Obtaining them requires payment of the relevant fee. Let us add that the land register shows a number of important details, including the designation of the plot, its area and type of land with the soil class, as well as the number of the land and mortgage register. The designated use of the land is particularly important, because if it is agricultural land, a decision on removing it from agricultural production will have to be obtained.

READ ALSO – FORMALITIES AND COSTS OF CONNECTING A BUILDING PLOT TO UTILITIES

Check whether the plot is connected to utilities

The base map (mapa zasadnicza) is available at the offices mentioned above. It is a good idea to look at it, as it contains data on the utilities serving the plot being bought. With its help we will find out whether the plot has water, gas, electricity and sewerage connections. If there are no connections, all the procedures may take significantly longer, and the whole investment will be delayed. Studying the base map also has the advantage of letting you work out in advance how much it may cost to connect the plot to the basic utilities.

READ ALSO – HOW TO OBTAIN A BUILDING PERMIT?

The local zoning plan

If the plot we have bought is covered by a local zoning plan (miejscowy plan zagospodarowania przestrzennego), we should check what it contains. This document specifies what will be built, where and when in the immediate neighbourhood. It may, after all, turn out that in two years' time a large shopping centre will be built right next door – it is worth knowing about that. It also helps to know the abbreviations used in the documentation. MN means single-family housing, while MW means multi-family housing. Let us pay particular attention to the letters P and U. They stand, respectively, for production facilities, depots and warehouses, and service buildings.

The building permit – one of the most important formalities

When we have checked the legal status of the plot, visited the offices and had the notarial deed (akt notarialny) confirming ownership of the plot drawn up, we must obtain – if we plan to build a house – a building permit. It is a document we need in order to start the project. In addition, for design purposes we need a site and elevation map at a scale of 1:500, prepared by a licensed land surveyor. Let us not forget that we should have documents confirming our order for the house design, and those specifying the conditions for connecting to utilities. A geological opinion on the ground where the building is to stand will also come in useful. As we can see, submitting one of the most important documents requires obtaining many other important documents, which should be applied for much earlier. The full documentation must go to the starost or the voivode. This authority has 65 days to consider such an application. The decision becomes final after 14 days.

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Consulting a land surveyor

A land surveyor is a specialist with whom you need to work at almost every stage of construction, and even before it begins. Once the permit to build has been obtained, the surveyor must stake out the boundaries on the plot where our dream home will be built. The notes made will be entered on the building map together with the map of connections, which, along with the as-built survey measurements, must go into the construction log. Before choosing a specialist, it is worth checking that they hold all the necessary qualifications.

If we see to all the necessary formalities right after buying our dream plot, we can be sure that the further steps we take will go ahead without disruption. If we have any doubts, however, let us ask the experts. The specialists at REMAX Gold will answer all the questions investors may have.