Perpetual Usufruct Conversion Fee for a Flat in Poland 2026 – Discounts, 20 Years

The conversion fee (opłata przekształceniowa) for a flat is an annual amount that the owner of a unit pays for 20 years because the land under the block is no longer held in perpetual usufruct (użytkowanie wieczyste – a long-term lease-like right to state or municipal land) and has become the owner's co-owned property. It equals the previous annual perpetual usufruct fee, and the whole amount can be paid off in one go with a discount – 98% in Warsaw and 90% in Wroclaw for city-owned land. We also explain how this works for a flat bought from a developer and what to check in the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta).

Key facts

• On 1 January 2019 perpetual usufruct of built-up land used for housing was converted by operation of law into ownership – with no application and no notarial deed (akt notarialny).
• The conversion fee is paid for 20 years from the conversion, by 31 March each year; it equals the last annual fee for perpetual usufruct.
• The one-off fee is the annual fee × the number of years remaining. Discounts for individuals: 98% on land owned by the City of Warsaw, 90% on land owned by the Municipality of Wroclaw, and on State Treasury land a statutory discount from 60% in the year of conversion to 10% in the sixth year.
• Where a block on land held in perpetual usufruct was put into use after 1 January 2019, the conversion takes place on the day the building is put into use – this also applies to new developer projects.
• The buyer of a unit pays the fee from 1 January of the year following the purchase, in proportion to their share in the land, and within 30 days of acquisition should apply for a certificate stating the amount and period of the fee.

What is perpetual usufruct and what did the conversion change?

Perpetual usufruct is a right to land owned by the State Treasury or a municipality, usually granted for 99 years, for which an annual fee was paid. For land granted for housing purposes the rate is 1% of the land value (art. 72 sec. 3 point 4 of the Real Estate Management Act).

The Act of 20 July 2018 on the conversion of the right of perpetual usufruct of built-up land used for housing into the right of ownership of that land turned this right into ownership on 1 January 2019. It applies to land built up with single-family houses and multi-family buildings in which at least half of the units are residential – together with garages and other facilities serving residents (art. 1). If other buildings also stand on the plot, the conversion takes place by operation of law where their usable floor area does not exceed 30% of the area of all buildings (art. 1a). The owner of a flat became a co-owner of the land, but pays the former owner (the municipality or the State Treasury) a conversion fee – the amount has usually not changed, but it is paid for a defined period.

How much is the conversion fee and how long is it paid?

• Amount: equal to the annual perpetual usufruct fee that would have applied on the day of conversion (art. 7 sec. 2).
• Period: 20 years, counted from the day of conversion (art. 7 sec. 6). Businesses may have a longer period (art. 7 sec. 6a).
• Deadline: by 31 March each year; on request the office may spread it into instalments (art. 7 sec. 5).
• Indexation: possible no more often than once every 3 years, according to the real estate price index (art. 10).
• Who pays: the current owner. For a flat in a block – in proportion to the share in the land attached to the unit (art. 11 sec. 3).

The conversion fee is not part of the rent (service charge) – you pay it directly to the city or county office, not to the owners' association. Do not confuse it with property tax either, which you pay separately for your share in the land (we describe it in the article Property tax on a flat 2026). What is included in the charges for the association or manager is explained in the article Service charges in a new block – how much and what they depend on.

One-off payment and discounts in Warsaw and Wroclaw

At any time during the payment period you can notify the office in writing of your intention to pay in one go. The one-off fee is the product of the fee applicable in the year of notification and the number of years remaining until the end of the period (art. 7 sec. 7). Within 14 days the office states the amount to be paid after the discount (art. 7 sec. 8). Discounts are available to individuals – owners of residential units and houses – and to housing cooperatives, and their amount depends on who owned the land.

Land owner before the conversion	Discount on the one-off fee	Legal basis
City of Warsaw	98% (99% – where fees for at least 50 years of perpetual usufruct have been paid)	resolution of the Warsaw City Council no. LXXV/2128/2018 as amended (VIII/161/2019)
Municipality of Wroclaw	90%	resolution of the Wroclaw City Council no. III/29/18 of 20.12.2018
State Treasury in Wroclaw	90%	order no. 54 of the Governor of Lower Silesia of 20.02.2019 (art. 9 sec. 3a of the Act)
State Treasury – statutory rule	60% in the year of conversion, 50% in the second, 40% in the third, 30% in the fourth, 20% in the fifth, 10% in the sixth year after conversion; none afterwards	art. 9 sec. 3 of the Act
Any land – people with disabilities, families with the Large Family Card, veterans and other groups under art. 9a	99% (on application, for a unit serving exclusively their housing needs)	art. 9a of the Act

Discounts may also cover fees for parking spaces and garages connected with the residential building (art. 9 sec. 3b and 4a) – Warsaw extended its resolution to them in 2019. Note the condition set by the Wroclaw office: the discount is applied only if payment is made by the date given in the letter and there are no arrears in the fees for the given land. After payment the office issues, of its own motion, a certificate of payment of the fee, while an application to delete the claim from section III of the land and mortgage register costs PLN 250 (art. 7 sec. 9–10).

Example: 20 years of fees or a one-off payment?

Assumptions (illustrative, not data for a specific building): you buy a 2-room flat, and the share in the land assigned to the unit has been valued at PLN 50 000. At a rate of 1%, the conversion fee is PLN 500 per year. There are 19 years left until the end of the payment period. We ignore indexation.

Option	Calculation	Amount payable
Annual fees for 19 years	PLN 500 × 19	PLN 9 500 (without indexation)
One-off, no discount	PLN 500 × 19	PLN 9 500
One-off, State Treasury land, year of conversion (60%)	PLN 9 500 × 40%	PLN 3 800
One-off, Municipality of Wroclaw land (90%)	PLN 9 500 × 10%	PLN 950
One-off, City of Warsaw land (98%)	PLN 9 500 × 2%	PLN 190
One-off with a 99% discount (art. 9a)	PLN 9 500 × 1%	PLN 95

With a discount of 90–98%, a one-off payment equals from a few months to two years of instalments and closes the matter of indexation. Without a discount (e.g. where State Treasury land was converted long ago or the owner is a company), the one-off amount is simply the sum of future instalments – then the decision depends on whether you prefer to keep the cash or to have a “clean” land and mortgage register.

Are you buying a flat from a developer and do not know what the provisions on the land in the draft contract mean? We will check the developer contract (umowa deweloperska) and the reservation agreement before you sign – including the legal status of the land and encumbrances in the land and mortgage register.

Perpetual usufruct and a flat from a developer

Since 2019, municipalities and the State Treasury have in principle no longer granted land in perpetual usufruct for housing construction. The exceptions include fulfilling existing claims, land for housing cooperatives and for the National Property Resource (Krajowy Zasób Nieruchomości) (art. 13 sec. 1b of the Real Estate Management Act). However, developers had acquired some plots for new estates earlier as perpetual usufruct – e.g. former industrial areas – so new blocks on such land still occur.

For such projects the Act has a separate provision. If after 1 January 2019 a residential building was put into use on land held in perpetual usufruct and designated for housing development in a local plan or a development conditions decision, the land is converted into ownership on the day the building is put into use (art. 13 sec. 1). The conversion fee then equals the annual perpetual usufruct fee for the year in which the building was put into use, the obligation to pay it arises from 1 January of the following year, and the perpetual usufruct fee for the year of putting into use must be paid in full (art. 13 sec. 3). The Wroclaw office states that it issues certificates for properties built up in 2020 and later at the request of the current perpetual usufructuary or the entity carrying out the project.

What does this mean for a buyer? If you buy a unit in such a building, you take over the obligation to pay the fee in the part corresponding to your share in the land – from 1 January of the year following the year of acquisition (art. 11 sec. 1 and 3). Within 30 days of purchase you should apply to the office for a certificate confirming the amount of the fee and the number of years remaining; if you disagree with it, you have 2 months to apply for a decision (art. 11 sec. 2). The statutory discount on State Treasury land is counted from the year of conversion, i.e. from the year the building was put into use – so for a newly completed block it can still be 60% or 50%. Whether a municipal resolution also covers buildings put into use after 2019, confirm with the office responsible for the land.

A developer as a company has no discounts for individuals, but may pay off the fee in one go before the sale – the claim should then disappear from the land and mortgage register. Ask about this and request a document. You will find other questions in the article What to ask a developer at the sales office.

According to TM Invest offer data as of 27.09.2026, the catalogue includes 36 developments under construction in Warsaw and 21 in Wroclaw. Buildings completed in 2026–2027 on land held in perpetual usufruct will be converted on the day they are put into use, so their buyers will pay the conversion fee under art. 13. You can check the legal status of the plot in the information prospectus (the land and mortgage register number) – when browsing developments in Warsaw or developments in Wroclaw, ask us about a specific building.

Conversion certificate and the land and mortgage register – what to check before buying

The basis for disclosing ownership of the land in the land and mortgage register is the certificate confirming the conversion. For municipal land it is issued by the city mayor, for State Treasury land – by the starost (head of the county; in cities with county rights also the city mayor). On the request of the unit owner, justified by a planned sale or purchase, the office has 30 days for this; in other cases 4 months (art. 4 sec. 2). In Wroclaw the application costs PLN 50 stamp duty. If the notarial deed was signed before the certificate was issued, the notary sends an extract to the office, and the certificate goes to the buyer's address given in the deed (art. 4 sec. 5a and 6).

• Section I-Sp of the unit's register – whether a share in the co-ownership of the land is attached to the unit, or still in co-perpetual usufruct, and what share it is.
• Section II of the land register – who is the owner or perpetual usufructuary of the plot (e.g. the developer, the municipality, the State Treasury).
• Section III – the entry of the claim for the conversion fee. The court discloses it of its own motion also in the registers of units separated after 2019 (art. 5 sec. 3).
• Information prospectus and draft contract – the register number of the property, information about the developer's right to the land and any arrears in fees.
• Certificate of payment of the one-off fee – if the developer or a previous owner claims that the fee has been paid off.

How to safely verify a developer and the project documents is described in the guide How to check a developer before buying, and court fees for entries in the land and mortgage register in the article Court fees when buying a flat. You will find a full list of expenses connected with the purchase in the article Costs of buying a flat from a developer.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

The conversion gave flat owners ownership of the land in exchange for a fee paid for 20 years. In Warsaw and Wroclaw a one-off payment with a 98% or 90% discount usually costs less than two annual instalments. For a flat from a developer the conversion may take place only on the day the building is put into use – then you take over the fee from 1 January of the year after purchase, and the statutory discount on State Treasury land may still be high. Before signing the contract, check the land and mortgage register of the land and ask the developer for the certificate.

Looking for a flat on the primary market? We will help you buy a flat from a developer, in most cases with no commission for the buyer – the developer usually pays our fee. If you already have a draft contract, ask us to check it.

Legal status as of September 2026. The calculations are indicative and do not constitute legal or tax advice. The amount of the fee and the discount for a specific unit is confirmed by the competent office.

Sources

• Act on the conversion of the right of perpetual usufruct of built-up land used for housing into the right of ownership of that land – consolidated text, Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2025 item 6 (art. 1–2, 4–5, 7, 9–11, 13).
• Real Estate Management Act – consolidated text, Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2026 item 399 (art. 13 sec. 1b, art. 72 sec. 3).
• Warsaw City Office – conversion of perpetual usufruct, discounts (resolution no. LXXV/2128/2018) (in Polish).
• Public Information Bulletin of the Wroclaw City Office – conversion of State Treasury land, 90% discount, information for developers (in Polish).
• Public Information Bulletin of Wroclaw – reply to an interpellation of 18.03.2025 (resolution no. III/29/18 of the Wroclaw City Council, 90% discount) (in Polish).
• Number of developments under construction: TM Invest development catalogue, as of 27.09.2026.