Betterment fees have not previously been collected in our city. Their use is introduced by the latest resolution of the City Council. Its justification mentions one of the reasons for introducing them in Bolesławiec: post-inspection recommendations from the Supreme Audit Office (NIK). “The need to set percentage rates for the betterment fee follows directly from the Real Estate Management Act,” explains Jan Kisiliczyk, head of the Property and Spatial Management Department at the Municipal Office. The Act provides for the possibility of applying such fees, but only after the municipal council adopts a resolution setting their rates.
There are two situations in which these fees apply. The first is when an owner subdivides a property, creating smaller building plots from one large plot, allowing the owner to sell them at a better price. The fee also applies when a plot is separated from a property for a municipal road, becomes the municipality’s property, and the landowner demands compensation for it. The second situation concerns the construction of technical infrastructure on a plot, such as water, gas, electricity or telecommunications networks. In all these situations, the municipality should initiate administrative proceedings.
“An appraiser assesses the value of the property before and after the investment. When there is a clear increase in value, a one-time betterment fee is determined based on that increase,” explains Jan Kisiliczyk. Therefore, an increase in the property’s value is a necessary condition for the obligation to pay this fee to arise. The resolution introduces two percentage rates for these fees: a zero rate or a 50-percent rate, calculated on the increase in the property’s value.
In practice, these fees will mainly apply to land that previously had no technical utilities or was missing some infrastructure. This may concern, for example, the still undeveloped areas of Osiedle Kwiatowe or Ceramiczna and Zabobrze streets.