Converting agricultural land into building land

Buying agricultural land with a view to building a house on it later is a path fraught with considerable risk. Converting agricultural land into building land can turn out to be a process that takes many years and is quite costly. What should you prepare for in order to go through the process of removing land from agricultural use correctly? We invite you to read our guide.

• Advantages and risks of conversion
• The local zoning plan (MPZP) covers the land
• The local plan provides for agricultural cultivation of the land
• Zoning decisions for future properties
• How to successfully turn agricultural land into building land?

Advantages and risks of conversion

The process of removing land from agricultural use is long and tedious, and does not always end in success. Why, then, do so many people submit applications to municipal offices every year? The answer is the profit we can make if it succeeds. If agricultural land is successfully converted into building land, we can save a very large sum of money, because the price of agricultural land can be as much as ten times lower than the price of building land.

Where should we start? The first step is to verify the status of the land we are interested in. Before submitting any applications to the authorities, we must check whether a local zoning plan applies to the plot in question. To obtain this information, we need to go to the municipal office. There are two possibilities:

1. We learned at the office that the plot is covered by a local plan and that its designated use is agricultural cultivation. In this case we must apply for a change to the local plan, which can be carried out by the city or municipal council.
2. The plot is not covered by a local plan. In this case we must obtain a zoning decision (decyzja o warunkach zabudowy, WZ).

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The local zoning plan covers the land

You need to check the designated use of the plot set out in the local plan. If the plot has a building designation, we can then submit an application to exclude the land from agricultural production. In all cases the office verifies the productive value of the land, which is classified using Roman numerals.

Land from I to IIIb has a high productivity class and excluding it from agricultural production will be very difficult. Land marked IV to VI has a low productive value. Where the land has a building designation and a low productive value, excluding it from agricultural production is a formality. The next stage will be obtaining a zoning decision, which will allow us to obtain a building permit in the future.

The matter becomes complicated when the land has soil of high productive value (I to IIIb). In that case we can obtain only a zoning decision for farmstead buildings (zabudowa zagrodowa).

The local plan provides for agricultural cultivation of the land

In this case the difficulties facing the landowner pile up significantly. The act of May 2016 provides that a person who is not a farmer may buy a plot of no more than 3,000 m² or a farmstead. We therefore cannot buy a larger area, which considerably limits our options.

The second problem with land designated for agricultural cultivation is the need to change the local zoning plan. The relevant application must be submitted to the village head (wójt), mayor (burmistrz) or city president. The act does not regulate the content of such an application, but we recommend including the following information in it:

• first name, surname and address of the applicant
• identification of the property to which the change is to apply (with details)
• the reasoning for the change

We recommend attaching to the application an extract or map excerpt from the cadastral map, the base map of the property and an extract from the land register (rejestr gruntów). Let us remember that the application we submit is only a proposal, which means there is no fixed deadline for considering it. Ultimately it is the city or municipal council that adopts changes to the local zoning plan. This process, however, may take months or years.

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Zoning decisions for future properties

Removal of land from agricultural use can also take place when the land is not covered by a local plan. In this case an application must be submitted to the city or municipal office for a zoning decision (ustalenie warunków zabudowy). The application should contain the most important information, i.e.

• identification details of the applicant
• identification details of the planned project
• a full description of the project (technical parameters, sewage disposal, heating method, necessary utilities).

The application is subject to a stamp duty of 107 PLN, and we do not have to be the owner of the property to submit it. The document is submitted to the mayor, village head or city president, who then reviews it in consultation with the authorities specified in the act. The review takes two weeks, and its outcome is issued in the form of a ruling (postanowienie).

To obtain a zoning decision, the land must meet a number of requirements:

• in the vicinity there must be a plot with access to a public road, built on in a way that makes it possible to define the requirements for new development
• the plot must have access to a public road
• the plot has utility connections, or there is an appropriate plan to provide them
• the area does not require consent to change the designation of agricultural and forest land for non-agricultural and non-forest purposes
• the decision complies with separate regulations.

How to successfully turn agricultural land into building land?

The above instructions show how complicated the whole process of converting agricultural land into a building plot is. Only patient people should take on this task, because obtaining the necessary decisions can take years. The way out of this situation is to use the services of firms familiar with the specifics of such conversions. Make use of the experience of REMAX Gold experts and arrange a consultation with our representative. We will answer all your questions in detail and help you obtain your dream property.