Spatial planning – the general municipal plan (plan ogólny), the local zoning plan (MPZP) and zoning decisions (WZ) – determines what you can build on your plot. Kancelaria Radcy Prawnego Paweł Iwaniak in Lublin prepares comments and applications concerning plans, handles the rezoning of agricultural land for building, and represents owners and investors before municipalities and administrative courts.
Comments and applications concerning local zoning plans and general plans
We most often help in two situations: when the municipality has published a draft plan and a comment needs to be filed, and when an owner wants to change the designation of a plot in a plan already in force.
- Comment on a draft local zoning plan or general plan – filed during public consultation, with a specific request, a map annex and a statement of reasons.
- Application to amend a local zoning plan – when a plot is designated for agricultural use and is to become building land.
- Application to amend the general plan – when the general plan has placed a plot in a zone that does not allow building.
- Application to prepare a local zoning plan for an area not yet covered by one.
As a rule, a local zoning plan can only be amended once the municipality has a general plan in force. An application to amend the local plan often needs to be combined with a comment or application concerning the general plan. The way a comment is dealt with cannot be challenged in court, so the comment should be complete from the outset.
Services for landowners
- Checking the planning status of a plot – the zone in the draft general plan, the infill development area, the local zoning plan, nature protection areas.
- Zoning decisions (WZ) – assessing whether a decision is still valid, applying for a decision, appealing against a decision.
- Rezoning agricultural land for building – handling the whole process: from comments or applications concerning the general plan and the local zoning plan, or a zoning decision, to the division of the plot and excluding the land from agricultural production.
- Complaints to the voivodeship administrative court against general plans, local zoning plans and decisions.
- Planning-related claims – compensation or buy-out of property in connection with a local zoning plan, planning fee (renta planistyczna).
- Division of real estate and compensation for land allocated to a public road.
Services for businesses and investors
- Planning due diligence before purchase or investment – zones, building parameters, restrictions, risks of ongoing procedures.
- Participation in planning procedures – comments and applications protecting the company’s investment plans.
- Integrated investment plan (ZPI) – application to the municipal council and negotiation of the urban planning agreement.
- Siting renewable energy installations, including solar farms and wind farms.
- Public purpose investment location decisions and zoning decisions.
- Representation before municipal authorities and in administrative court proceedings.
Ongoing legal services for businesses are described on the page Legal services for businesses.
Rezoning agricultural land for building
Whether agricultural land can become building land now depends on the municipality’s spatial planning – above all the general plan and the local zoning plan. The process usually involves several steps, and we can represent you at each of them:
- We check which zone of the general plan the plot is in and whether it lies within an infill development area.
- If the plan does not allow building, we file a comment on the draft general plan or local zoning plan, or an application to amend the plan.
- What can be built is determined by the local zoning plan or a zoning decision – we file the applications and monitor the procedure.
- Where required by law – division of the plot and excluding the land from agricultural production before construction.
The cost depends on the stage the municipality has reached and how many steps are needed – we provide a quote after checking the plot.
Spatial planning after the reform – why now
Since 1 September 2026, a new zoning decision can only be obtained in a municipality where a general plan is in force and, as a rule, only within an infill development area. A plot placed in an open zone in the general plan therefore in practice loses its prospects for development. The most can be changed at the stage of public consultation on the draft plan.
Zoning decisions already issued and local zoning plans in force remain valid. Decisions that became final before 1 January 2026 have no expiry date; it is worth assessing how to use them before the municipality adopts new plans.
How we work
- You send us the plot number and the documents you have: decisions, land register extracts, maps, notarial deeds.
- We check the planning status of the plot in public registers and in the draft plan.
- You receive an assessment of the options and risks with a recommendation for next steps.
- We prepare the document – comment, application, appeal or complaint – and file it on your behalf.
- We monitor the procedure and propose next steps after the municipality’s decision.
Fees are agreed before work begins – indicative rates are listed in our fee schedule. Other real estate matters, such as acquisitive prescription or land registers, are described on the page Real estate, and court representation on the page Litigation.
Frequently asked questions
My plot is in an open zone in the draft general plan. What can I do?
File a comment during public consultation, requesting that the plot be placed in an appropriate zone, with a statement of reasons. If the plan is already in force – an application to amend it and, in some cases, a complaint to the court.
I have a zoning decision from a few years ago. Is it still valid?
A decision that became final before 1 January 2026 has no expiry date, but it may expire in the cases specified by law. It is worth assessing it together with the draft general plan and considering an application for a building permit.
Who can apply for a zoning decision?
From 1 January 2027 – only a person who has the right to use the property for construction purposes.
The municipality took part of my plot for a road. Am I entitled to compensation?
If the land was allocated to a public road in a division of property made at the owner’s request, compensation is due. It is worth checking whether it has been paid.
Contact
Kancelaria Radcy Prawnego Paweł Iwaniak
ul. Głowackiego 35/61, 20-060 Lublin, Poland
tel. +48 81 475 13 29, +48 501 367 504
e-mail: kontakt@obslugaprawna.pro
For the first meeting, please have the plot number (identifier, or cadastral district and number) and any decisions you have.
Legal status as of 9 November 2026. The information on this page is general and does not constitute legal advice in a specific case.