Summary:

Perpetual usufruct is a right in rem, which is intermediate between the ownership right and limited property rights. Land owned by the State Treasury or local government units may be subject to perpetual usufruct. The very institution of perpetual usufruct has been arousing much controversy lately. The focus is both on the right itself, as well as on the possibility of it being converted into ownership title, and even there are voices postulating the elimination of this right.
The issues of transformation of the right of perpetual usufruct into ownership title is currently governed by the regulation of 29 July 2005 on the transformation of the perpetual usufruct right into the ownership title to real estate (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 83). The original content of this act, although covered in just ten articles, was formulated imprecisely, giving rise to extensive case law in this respect. The article examines the successive amendments to the aforementioned Act, pointing to significant changes regarding the subjects and objects of the restructuring proceedings, the authorities conducting the proceedings, as well as appeal bodies and the ways and rules for determining fees for the transformation of the perpetual usufruct into the ownership title. The last significant amendment to the Act on the transformation of the perpetual usufruct right into the ownership title to real estate was made by the Act of 28 July 2011 amending the Real Estate Management Act and certain other acts (Journal of Laws No. 187, item 1110). This amendment was a result of adapting the regulations to the Constitutional Court's judgment of 26 January 2010 (Ref. No. 9/08). In particular, a provision of optionality as to discounts on fees for the transformation was introduced.
The paper also presents the structure of land in Krakow which remain in perpetual usufruct, and the extent of the transformation of the perpetual usufruct right into the ownership title to real estate in the City of Krakow was examined, with particular emphasis on the number of the issued decisions, and the proceeds to the budget of the City therefrom.