Buying land in Warsaw, Poland and the following

Dear All,

We are looking around for some land in the Warsaw area and regarding this topic I have the following question.

I am trying to find out and understand, what it is about the permission from the government you need to build the house itself. I was told, that depending on the location, it could be, that you have to wait up to 6 years until you get the permission to build. I want of course to avoid that and buy a piece of land, where I can start to plan and start building next year.

Therefore my question, through which government department, can I inform myself, if a plot I am interested in, it has all the necessary demands from the government to build?

Maybe I have misunderstood something here in the process but as I already explained, I do not want to buy a plot and later to find out, that I have to wait for a very long time until I get the permission to build on it. If I am correct, if it is a piece of land out in nowhere with no electricity, gas, water, sewer and so on, it is more complicated because there are no regulations setup yet and need to be created and therefore the long waiting time.

What have been your experiences?

Any advise welcome,

Thank you very much,

Mike

Buy a plot that already has planning permission, 'działka budowlana'.

Woops! Spelling error, I meant 'budowalna'.

Not at all. It is indeed "budowlana", so you originally got it right!

I'm not particularly well acquainted with the subject, but I think there is this 'działka budowlana' first, so you have to formally transform any other type of land into this one, and then you may apply for a 'pozwolenie na budowę' or whatever they call it.

IINM that just means that can apply to build a house on it and most likely be approved, a bit like 'residential lot' in the US (a lot would be described as 'zoned residential'). Is that the same as "planning permission"?

OK, I do fully understand but my question is, how do I find out, if a lot is/has 'działka budowlana'? Is there a way, where I can search for those? And if not, how can I find out from the responsible department, how long it will take to get a 'działka budowlana' and especially, which department is in charge of that?

Go to the local govt office(gemina) and check it out yourself,plus it should be written on the notariuz deed.

Thank you very much @Cargo pants
Is the local office called (gemina)? That is actually the info I was looking for and also where I try to get more info from. So long I was not able to understand and find out, which department is responsible for it.

Dont forget to ask for future plans also for the roads/highways that have to be built in next 10/20 years.

To be honest if you don't know if it's 'is' or 'has'* then I'd advise heavily against buying anything. The Polish real estate market is not user (or foreigner) friendly.

(it's 'is')

Your gmina office may be closed at the moment - you certainly will have a long wait outside.

You can check the Land registry (ksiega wierczysta) online if you know the plot numbers. But you will need a polish speaker with you, one who understands not only the zoning status but also whether there are any easements and mortgages on the land.

Thanx a lot @cms neuf. I am aware I need a polish speaker to help me on this and yes @mafketis, the real estate market is not as simple and friendly as other topics. It is already a challenge for a native person, so you can imagine how I am struggling as a foreigner. I wish I would be able to speak polish but to be honest, I think the time it needs to build a house is faster then for me to learn Polish. Polish is such a difficult language to learn ;)

Thank you again

Thanks for sharing actual knowledge.

The OP might find it easier to buy an old house which is about to fall down and then build a new one on the same plot. That way he'll avoid the need to arrange (and pay for) sewage, water, electricity and cable connections. Buying the land is but the first step in a long sequence of steps in which it is possible to lose frightening sums at every step.

I also think that is a faster, cheaper and simpler option - though it comes with its own complications and generally with neighbors to worry about.

I think there is a bit of a thing about Poles who work abroad that their dream is to come back and build a place, od nowy, in a field far from anywhere. But the changes in law on land purchase and the increased cost of builders and connections make it much pricier than it was 15 years ago.