A Barcelona-based entrepreneur has identified a Warsaw office building that fits her portfolio perfectly. The price is right. The location is strong. But her legal adviser in Spain has never handled Polish real estate law, and she is unsure whether EU citizenship removes all barriers or whether permit requirements still apply. The clock is ticking – another buyer has expressed interest.
Spanish nationals, as EU citizens, may buy most types of property in Poland without a permit from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration. The main exception covers agricultural and forest land, where a permit or a qualifying exemption is required under Polish real estate legislation. The acquisition process runs from preliminary agreement through notarial deed to registration in the Land and Mortgage Register (Księga Wieczysta), typically within 60 to 90 days for residential transactions.
This guide walks through each stage: permit rules, the notarial process, taxes and costs, three practical business scenarios, and the mistakes that most commonly delay or derail purchases by foreign buyers. It is written for Spanish nationals acting as private individuals or through a corporate vehicle.
Do Spanish nationals need a permit to buy property in Poland?
The short answer is usually no – but the exceptions matter. Under Polish real estate legislation, citizens of European Economic Area states and Switzerland are generally exempt from the obligation to obtain a permit before acquiring property in Poland. Spain is an EU member state, so Spanish nationals benefit from this exemption for residential and commercial property.
Two categories remain restricted. Agricultural land and forest land continue to require either a permit from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration or a statutory exemption. The most commonly used exemption applies when the buyer has been continuously resident in Poland for at least five years, or when the land does not exceed one hectare and is being used for the buyer's own agricultural purposes. The Agricultural Property Agency (Krajowy Ośrodek Wsparcia Rolnictwa, KOWR) also holds a right of pre-emption over certain agricultural parcels, which must be satisfied before the transaction closes.
For urban residential and commercial property – apartments, houses, office buildings, retail premises – no permit is required. The National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy, KRS) and the Land and Mortgage Register (Sąd Wieczystoksięgowy) are the key public registries a buyer will interact with. The Ministry of Interior retains oversight, but it does not intervene in routine EU-citizen purchases of non-agricultural assets.
One practical point: if the buyer is purchasing through a Polish limited liability company (spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością, sp. z o.o.) rather than personally, the permit analysis shifts to the corporate level. A company with its registered seat in Poland is treated as a Polish entity for real estate purposes, even if its shareholders are Spanish nationals. This is a common structuring choice for investors who plan to hold multiple properties or generate rental income.
- Residential and commercial property: no permit required for Spanish nationals
- Agricultural land: permit or statutory exemption required
- Forest land: permit or statutory exemption required
- KOWR pre-emption right: verify before signing any preliminary agreement
- Corporate acquisition: Polish sp. z o.o. treated as domestic entity
What does the step-by-step purchase process look like?
Polish real estate transactions follow a defined sequence. Each stage has its own documentation requirements and, in some cases, mandatory waiting periods. Skipping or rushing a stage is the single most common reason transactions fail or generate post-closing disputes.
The process begins with due diligence. A buyer should obtain an extract from the Land and Mortgage Register for the specific property, which is publicly available through the Ministry of Justice's online portal. The extract reveals ownership, any mortgages, easements, or third-party rights, and whether the property is encumbered by a court order or enforcement proceeding. This step takes one to three days and costs nothing beyond a minor administrative fee of PLN 30 to 60.
After due diligence, parties typically sign a preliminary agreement (umowa przedwstępna). This agreement fixes the price, conditions, and a deadline for the final notarial deed. It is not the transfer itself – ownership does not pass at this stage. The buyer usually pays a deposit (zadatek) of 10 percent of the purchase price. If the seller withdraws without cause, the deposit is returned doubled. If the buyer withdraws, the deposit is forfeited. This asymmetric penalty structure protects both sides and is standard under the Kodeks cywilny (Civil Code).
The final transfer takes place before a Polish notary (notariusz). Polish law requires a notarial deed for all real estate transfers – no exceptions. The notary verifies identity documents, confirms the legal status of the property, and reads the deed aloud in full before signing. For Spanish buyers, a certified translation of identity documents may be required if the notary is not satisfied by the original. The notary then transmits the application to the Land and Mortgage Register within three days. Registration typically completes within 30 to 60 days of submission.
We obtained clear title confirmation and resolved a historic mortgage entry for a Spanish investor purchasing a mixed-use building in the Małopolska region (spring 2025). The matter required coordination with the district court and took 45 days from preliminary agreement to notarial deed.
What taxes and costs should a Spanish buyer expect?
Cost planning is where many foreign buyers are caught off-guard. Polish real estate transactions carry several layers of tax and professional fees. Understanding each one before signing avoids unpleasant surprises at the notary's table.
The most significant levy is the civil-law transactions tax (podatek od czynności cywilnoprawnych, PCC). For purchases on the secondary market (from a private seller or a company not acting as a VAT taxpayer), PCC applies at a rate of two percent of the purchase price. For a PLN 1.5m apartment, that is PLN 30,000 – collected by the notary and remitted to the tax authority on the same day as the deed. Importantly, PCC and VAT are mutually exclusive: if the seller charges VAT (typically eight or twenty-three percent depending on property type), PCC does not apply. New apartments from a developer are almost always VAT transactions.
Notarial fees are set by regulation and scale with the transaction value. For a PLN 1.5m property, the maximum notarial fee is approximately PLN 5,985 before VAT. In practice, notaries often negotiate a modest reduction for high-value transactions. Land and Mortgage Register court fees add a further PLN 200 for the ownership entry and PLN 150 per mortgage entry. A real estate lawyer's fee for transaction support typically ranges from PLN 5,000 to PLN 15,000 depending on complexity.
Spanish buyers who become Polish tax residents (spending more than 183 days per year in Poland) must also consider the interaction with Spanish personal income tax rules. Spain operates a worldwide income tax system, and rental income from Polish property will in principle be reportable in Spain under the Spain-Poland double taxation treaty. The treaty generally assigns primary taxing rights to Poland, with Spain providing a credit or exemption. A cross-border tax review before purchase is advisable – see also our analysis of cross-border insolvency involving Poland and Spain for a broader picture of Spanish-Polish legal interactions.
For buyers taking on a mortgage from a Polish bank, the bank will require a property valuation (operat szacunkowy) from a certified appraiser, costing PLN 500 to PLN 1,500 for a standard residential property. Mortgage registration fees and bank arrangement fees are additional. Polish banks do offer mortgage products to EU citizens, though the documentation requirements are more extensive than for Polish nationals and processing takes 30 to 60 days.
How do three common scenarios play out for Spanish buyers?
Abstract rules become clearer through concrete situations. Three scenarios cover the most frequent purchase types for Spanish nationals: a private residential purchase, a commercial investment, and a corporate acquisition through a Polish entity.
Scenario 1 – Residential apartment in Warsaw. A Spanish family relocates to Poland for work. They identify a 90-square-metre apartment in Mokotów, priced at PLN 1.2m. No permit is needed. They sign a preliminary agreement with a PLN 120,000 deposit. Due diligence reveals a prior mortgage – discharged at closing from the seller's proceeds. The notarial deed is signed six weeks later. Total additional costs: approximately PLN 30,000 PCC, PLN 5,500 notarial fee, PLN 200 register fee, PLN 8,000 legal fee. Timeline: eight weeks from first contact to registration application.
Scenario 2 – Commercial office unit in Kraków. A Spanish IT company wants a Polish office. It acquires a 250-square-metre unit through a newly formed sp. z o.o. The transaction is a VAT purchase from the developer, so PCC does not apply. The company benefits from input VAT recovery if it is registered as a Polish VAT taxpayer. Legal structuring, company formation, and the transaction itself take approximately 10 to 12 weeks. For lease considerations in comparable commercial contexts, our guide on office lease review key points covers due diligence items that apply equally to purchase transactions.
Scenario 3 – Agricultural land near Wrocław. A Spanish investor wants to acquire a rural plot for a logistics development. The plot is classified partly as agricultural land. KOWR holds a pre-emption right. The investor must notify KOWR, which has one month to exercise or waive pre-emption. The transaction cannot close until that period expires. Planning reclassification (odrolnienie) adds a further three to six months and municipal approval. Total timeline from first instruction to notarial deed: six to nine months. Our guide on buying property in Poland as a Netherlands national addresses comparable cross-border structuring considerations for EU investors.
We advised a Spanish manufacturing group on the acquisition of a logistics facility in the Silesia region (winter 2025), coordinating the agricultural reclassification, KOWR waiver, and notarial deed within a seven-month timeline.
What are the most common mistakes and how can they be avoided?
Experience across dozens of cross-border transactions reveals a consistent set of errors. Most are avoidable with early legal involvement. Each carries a real cost – financial, temporal, or both.
Skipping the Land and Mortgage Register check. Some buyers rely on the seller's assurances about encumbrances. The register is public and authoritative. An undisclosed mortgage discovered after signing a preliminary agreement with a non-refundable deposit creates immediate financial exposure. Always obtain the full register extract before committing funds.
Misunderstanding the deposit structure. Spanish law uses the concept of arras, which has similarities to the Polish zadatek but different default rules. Under Polish Civil Code provisions, a zadatek is forfeited in full if the buyer withdraws – not merely the advance payment portion. Buyers who treat the deposit as a refundable reservation fee are exposed to losing the full amount.
Underestimating the KOWR timeline. Transactions involving agricultural parcels – even small ones attached to a rural residential property – trigger KOWR notification requirements. Buyers who sign a preliminary agreement with a 30-day closing deadline without first checking agricultural classification risk being in breach when the deadline cannot be met. The KOWR review period alone is 30 days.
Failing to plan for currency risk. Purchase prices in Poland are denominated in PLN. Spanish buyers converting euros face exchange rate exposure between preliminary agreement and closing. A five-percent movement on a PLN 2m transaction is PLN 100,000. Forward contracts or escrow arrangements in euros can mitigate this.
What to prepare before instructing a notary:
- Current Land and Mortgage Register extract for the property
- Certified translation of Spanish identity documents (if required by the notary)
- Proof of source of funds (required by the notary under anti-money-laundering legislation)
- KOWR pre-emption waiver (if agricultural land is involved)
- Corporate resolutions and KRS extract (if purchasing through a company)
A bridge note on timing: the personal liability of a buyer's agent or corporate director for a failed transaction can arise quickly if instructions are given without proper authority documentation. This risk is irreversible once a deposit is paid – it precludes recovery without court proceedings that may take 12 to 24 months.
For a tailored strategy on acquiring property in Poland as a Spanish national, reach out to info@kordeckipartners.com.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Can a Spanish national get a mortgage from a Polish bank?
A: Yes. Polish banks offer mortgage products to EU citizens, including Spanish nationals. The bank will require Polish income documentation or certified foreign income statements, a property valuation from a certified appraiser, and proof of identity. Processing typically takes 30 to 60 days. The loan-to-value ratio offered to non-residents is often lower than for Polish residents – typically 70 to 75 percent rather than 80 to 90 percent – which affects the equity requirement.
Q: Is it true that an EU citizen can buy any property in Poland without restriction?
A: This is a common misconception. EU citizenship removes the general permit requirement for residential and commercial property. It does not remove restrictions on agricultural and forest land. Those categories remain subject to permit requirements or statutory exemptions under Polish real estate legislation, regardless of the buyer's EU nationality. Buyers should verify the cadastral classification of any parcel before signing a preliminary agreement.
Q: How long does the full purchase process take from first contact to registration?
A: For a straightforward residential purchase with no encumbrances or agricultural issues, the timeline from first contact to Land and Mortgage Register registration is approximately 60 to 90 days. Commercial transactions with corporate structuring typically take 10 to 14 weeks. Transactions involving agricultural land or planning reclassification can extend to six to nine months. Legal due diligence and notarial preparation account for the largest share of the timeline in complex cases.
Your specific situation – the property type, financing structure, and whether agricultural land is involved – determines which timeline and cost structure applies. Proceeding without legal advice on Polish law forfeits important protections and can make mistakes irreversible once the deposit is paid.
To receive an expert assessment of your Polish property acquisition, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.
KORDECKI & Partners is a law firm based in Warsaw and Krakow, advising business clients across 30 jurisdictions. Our team combines expertise in Polish and international law with a practical approach to real estate transactions, commercial property disputes, and cross-border acquisitions. We work with Polish entrepreneurs, foreign investors, and in-house legal teams. To discuss your situation, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.
Disclaimer: This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. KORDECKI & Partners assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@kordeckipartners.com.