real estate | In Principle

Shield 4.0 clarified that the possibility of temporary termination of lease contracts applies to all spaces in commercial structures with a sales area over 2,000 m2. The earlier wording of this provision raised many doubts.

Entry into force of the Anti-Crisis Shield, i.e. the 31 March 2020 amendments to the Anti-Crisis Act, has had a strong impact on the real estate market, especially the rental market for space at shopping centres. In addition to the widely discussed Art. 15ze, which has extinguished mutual obligations of the parties to lease agreements, the parliament has also introduced another important provision which may significantly affect the rights and obligations of not only the parties to lease agreements, but also other participants in commerce.

As a result of the parliament’s intervention, mutual obligations of parties to lease agreements in shopping centres are deemed to have “expired.” Does that mean that the lease agreements have expired?

The coronavirus epidemic is generating new problems for parties to business transactions: restrictions on business operations, supply disruptions, limited availability of staff and materials, changes in the operation of public bodies and post offices. The downtime they cause has effects not only on civil-law grounds. In addition, there is the issue of expiry of administrative permits. Do the existing regulations, and the new Anti-Crisis Shield, offer any solution?

Many investors currently carrying out construction projects or planning to start them in the near future ask us about the legal possibilities to suspend a project or even withdraw from existing contracts. The question arises whether it makes sense to continue or start projects when implementation will require large financial capital and considerable resources. In this article, we identify legal instruments that may be available to an investor who would decide to stop the performance of works or definitively withdraw from a construction contract.

The pandemic may delay the performance of construction works and increase their costs. It may even make it completely impossible for a contractor to fulfil its obligations. But how this affects the contractors’ legal situation depends on the factual circumstances of the given case and the wording of the specific construction contract.

The solutions provided for in the Anti-Crisis Shield are intended to activate extraordinary instruments supporting businesses during the pandemic. Can changes in the running of time limits provided for by law, including proceedings before public administrative bodies and administrative courts, be regarded as such a solution?

In the tough times of battling the coronavirus, many tenants are seeking ways to reduce their rent, release themselves from the obligation to pay rent, or avoid other obligations under their existing leases. What opportunities does the law offer them?

If execution or bankruptcy proceedings are commenced against the owner of leased or tenanted real estate, the lease or tenancy contract may be terminated early by the administrator or trustee. Rent paid in advance may then be deemed ineffective. How should lessees and tenants protect themselves when entering into a contract with an owner in poor financial condition?

Before the first contractors appear on the construction site, the investor must comply with many formalities, including obtaining a building permit. But what if the documentation filed with the construction authorities proves incomplete or does not comply with the regulations? Does this necessarily bar completion of the project?

The Act of 26 April 2019 Amending the Agricultural System Act and Certain Other Acts made changes to the trading in agricultural real estate in Poland. It also clarified the procedure and conditions for consent to acquisition of agricultural real estate by an entity not meeting the definition of an individual farmer, and not qualifying as a family member of the seller or other entity exhaustively listed in Art. 2a(3) of the Agricultural System Act.

The investor is the host of a construction project and, in practice, it is the investor who decides on the wording of the agreement with the general contractor, including the contractor’s activity in execution of the project. It is the investor who decides how the construction process is organised. But investors have different preferences: they do not always want to precisely track the course of works, and that may not be feasible. Therefore, the agreement with the contractor should be tailored to the adopted model of cooperation and take into account the possible level of control by the investor of the general contractor’s activities.