By Katarzyna Sawa-Rybaczek, Penteris
What is a perpetual usufruct? Perpetual usufruct is a quasi- ownership right established in communist times to enable the State to secure the purpose for which land is used. Land held in perpetual usufruct is owned either by the state treasury or by a local council.
By Alexandra Rason Coons and Steven L. Jones, Taylor English Duma LLP
In 2020, the state of Georgia legislature (United States) enacted a new condemnation statute: O.C.G.A. § 32-3-3.2. It states that when a state or local government acquires property for public road purposes through negotiated sale or eminent domain, and “issue[s] to a property owner” a “documentation of a conflict” that “reveal[s] a proposed cure for an alleged damage that resulted” from the acquisition but would violate an applicable “local government land use … or land disturbance regulation”, the local government must either (1) “[g]rant a minimum degree of variance from [the conflicting] land use or land disturbance” regulation for the remaining parcel; or (2) upon denial of the variance, pay the property owner “just and adequate compensation for damages related to” the conflict identified by the documentation of a conflict. But, “no compensation shall be paid directly or indirectly by” the governmental entity that acquired the property (O.C.G.A. § 32-3-3.2(b)(2)).
By Przemysław Kastyak, Penteris
Last month, a transformative reform of spatial planning in Poland was rolled out. It will have profound implications for the construction sector and future investments. Key aspects include:
By Sebastian Janicki, Penteris
The Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022 and the ensuing increase in the price of energy inadvertently led to a greater focus on energy efficiency across Europe. It also triggered a quickening in work on regulations for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption in the EU construction sector. Recent legislative work will no doubt impact the entire EU construction market.
By Javier Ortega, Ruiz Ballesteros Lawyers and Tax Advisors
In Spain, when changing the use of a business premises to a housing property, once the pertinent procedures have been carried out and a change of use license has been obtained from the town hall on duty, the matter must be formalised in a public deed for subsequent registration in the property registry, and where appropriate, in the Cadastre.
By Sebastian Janicki, Penteris
Following intense discussion with players in the market, Penteris Partner Sebastian Janicki has sketched out five clear trends that will impact the real estate market in the short and long term.
By Gagandeep Singh, Pallett Valo LLP
The duty of good faith has been an established principle of contractual law in Canada since the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Bhasin v Hrynew. In essence, the duty requires parties to a contract to act in good faith and with honesty in exercising their rights and in delivering their obligations under a contract. However, the concept of good faith has been difficult to define. It has no statutory or technical meaning but usually includes the requirement that parties act honestly without malice or fraud. A recent Court of Appeal decision has expanded the duty of good faith that parties owe to each other and provided the lower courts with guidance on what can constitute a breach of the duty of good faith.
By Tony Nunes and Lakmini Mahipala, Kelly + Partners Chartered Accountants
The Victorian government has recently introduced a windfall gains tax (WGT) that will commence from 01 July 2023. Any owner of land in Victoria may become liable to pay WGT where the land they own gets an uplift in value due to a rezoning of the land. The uplift, referred to as the taxable value uplift (TVU) must be greater than AUD 100,000.
By Piotr Prokocki, Wojciech Jaskula and Klaudia Szczepanowska, Penteris
The issue of taxing “wholesale” apartment purchases resurfaced on Friday 26 May 2023. Poland’s Lower House, the Sejm, held another reading of the proposed amendment to the Real Estate Management Act, which included a provision on taxing such purchases. Specifically, the amendment provides for a 6% civil law transactions tax (CLTT) on the purchase of a sixth or subsequent apartment on a single land property, whether in one or multiple buildings. These changes are not expected to have a major impact on PRS funds.
By Anthony J. Soukenik, Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard
The Corporate Transparency Act was adopted as part of the Defense Appropriations Act of 2021, Public Law 6-283 (01 January 1 2021). It requires entities which are not one of the twenty-three exemptions to register beneficial ownership information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The effective deadline for existing entities is 31 December 2024.