Public availability of land and mortgage registers is a
significant factor for the reliability of real property
transactions. Despite that until recently, statutory
regulations did not support practical application of
that principle in a manner that would correspond
with the level of technology and needs of the public.
Modifications in that regard are introduced under the
Act on Amending Act on Land and Mortgage
Registers of 24 May 2013 (Journal of Laws 2013,
item 941) to become effective on 1 December 2013.
The act marks yet another stage of the project
Introduction of e-Services for the Purposes of Land
and Mortgage Registration being part of the project
Introduction of e-Services in the Ministry of Justice.
Above all, the amendment to the act provides public
access to land and mortgage registers via the
Internet, making it possible for everyone to inspect
the relevant land and mortgage register upon
entering its number. In other words, anyone who
knows the number of a specific land and mortgage
register may inspect its contents without once
leaving their seat in front of the computer screen.
The amendment also extended the list of documents
issued by the Central Information Office of Land and
Mortgage Registration. Staring from December, in addition to the currently available copies of land and
mortgage registers and certificates on closing a land
and mortgage register, an applicant will be able to
obtain specific information required by him or her in
the form of an excerpt from the designated section of
the land and mortgage register. Until now, it was
only possible to obtain a copy including all the
details entered into the land and mortgage register.
The Central Information Office has also seen its
powers extended as regards the ability to accept
applications, via the Internet, for a copy of a land and
mortgage register, excerpt from a land and mortgage
register, or a certificate on closing a land and
mortgage register. The application may contain a
request for personal collection of the document by
the applicant at a branch of the Central Information
Office, for the documents being delivered by post to
the address designated by the applicant, or for an on-
line printout of the document by the applicant
himself or herself. Such a document printed out by
the applicant himself or herself will have the same
status as a document issued by the court, providing it
has features that enable its cross-checking against the
details included in the central land and mortgage
register database. This way, the applicant will be
able to obtain conveniently and expeditiously a
document that he or she will be able to use as part of
their legal dealings. As an aside, it is worth noting
that a similar solution was previously employed with
success for copies of the Business Register of the
National Court Register.
Thanks to the amendment, which introduces an
arrangement whereby land and mortgage registers
can be searched based on predefined criteria,
enforcement against real property will become
easier. For instance, a court enforcement officer will
be able to run a fast search of all the land and
mortgage registers maintained for real properties
owned by the relevant owner. Unrestricted (i.e.
repeated and unlimited in time) searches of
electronic land and mortgage registers, following
approval of the Minister of Justice, will be available
to the police, tax audit authorities, tax authorities,
Supreme Audit Office (NIK), Social Security
Institution (ZUS), courts, public prosecutor’s office,
court enforcement officers, notaries public, and the
State Treasury Solicitor’s Office.
Summing up, the amendment under review is
without any doubt a step in the right direction, as it
ensures public, free access to land and mortgage registers via the Internet. By the same token, the
amendments made will make it easier to establish the
assets of a debtor as well as enhancing effectiveness
of enforcement and financial security of businesses.
MILLER, CANFIELD,
W. BABICKI, A. CHEŁCHOWSKI I WSPÓLNICY SP.K.
ul. Batorego 28-32
81-366 Gdynia
Tel. +48 58 782-0050
Fax +48 58 782-0060
gdynia@pl.millercanfield.com
ul. Nowogrodzka 11
00-513 Warszawa
Tel. +48 22 447-4300
Fax +48 22 447-4301
warszawa@pl.millercanfield.com
ul. Skarbowców 23a
53-125 Wrocław
Tel. +48 71 780-3100
Fax +48 71 780-3101
wroclaw@pl.millercanfield.com
Disclaimer: This publication has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Miller Canfield. It is intended to provide only a summary
of certain recent legal developments of selected areas of law. For this reason the information contained in this publication should not form the
basis of any decision as to a particular course of action; nor should it be relied on as legal advice or regarded as a substitute for detailed advice in
individual cases. The services of a competent professional adviser should be obtained in each instance so that the applicability of the relevant
legislation or other legal development to the particular facts can be verified.