Commercial building and distance from the boundary of the plot

When planning the construction of an outbuilding on a plot, it is necessary to keep certain distances from the adjacent plot. Failure to maintain the correct distance between the new object and the boundaries of the plot is considered to be a construction will. So what is the correct distance between the building and the boundary lines and what to know before starting works? We answer these questions in our article.

How much from the border can an outbuilding be built?

In order to determine the optimal distance of an economic object from the boundary of a parcel, you must first know its definition. In accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 12 April 2002 on the technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location, an outbuilding is a building intended for non-professional workshop work and for the storage of materials, tools and equipment for the operation of a residential building, as well as their surroundings, and in a farm building also for the storage of agricultural inputs and equipment and agricultural crops.

As is clear from the proposed regulation, outbuildings perform a specific function – they usually serve as backyard warehouses or workshops, and any change of use, for example to a residential building or a recreational or service facility, requires appropriate official approval. Such an object must be built at appropriate distances from the boundaries of the plot and other nearby objects.

Outbuilding – keep distances during construction

The legal basis, which provides detailed guidelines on the location of different buildings, is provided by two legal acts: the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 12 April 2002 (as amended, in force from 1 January 2018) and local resolutions in the form of local zoning plans.

As is clear from Polish law, if an outbuilding is situated parallel to the boundary of an adjacent plot, it can be placed no closer than 4 metres from the boundary line if there are window or door openings on the wall facing the neighbour – and if there are no windows or doors on it, the minimum distance is then 3 metres. Failure to comply with these distances means construction self-will, and its consequences may be financial penalties or even an order to demolish a facility built in violation of the rules.

When can you put an outbuilding at the border?

There are a few exceptions to the above-mentioned standards. Each plot has its own specificity and there are situations where the local plan permittes the construction of economic facilities directly at the border of the plot. This happens when, for example, on an adjacent plot there have long been outbuildings, the walls of which are located on the border.

It is also not normally necessary to maintain a distance of 4 or 3 metres from the border if the new outbuilding is to be part of an existing building whose height does not exceed 3 metres. If you are not sure whether an investment in the form of an extension is acceptable in a given area, it is worth consulting the local municipality or the municipal office. It may be necessary to obtain approval to deviated from legally accepted standards or to notify the office of intention to build.

Distance of the out-of-business building from the boundary of the plot – changes 2017

In February 2016, the government modified and simplified the rules for the construction of buildings, such as: detached, ground-floor outbuildings with a built-up area not exceeding 35 square meters, with a construction span of not more than 4.80 meters, which from 1 January 2017 do not require a building permit, but only a declaration in the old town.

Economic facilities should be linked solely to agricultural production or supplement existing farm buildings. Has the provisions on the distance of the out-of-the-way building at the border of the plots also changed in 2017?

Building for notification – how much from the border?

Despite the significant simplification of official procedures in 2017, local regulations on zoning plans and the Regulation of 12 April 2002, which set out the permissible distances between economic and parcel boundaries, still apply when planning and building outbuildings. 3 or 4 meters, depending on the location of the window and door openings.

It is worth knowing that there are also some exceptions when the local zoning plan allows the possibility of placing an out-of-the-city building 1.5 meters from the border – this is possible, for example, if there are no windows or doors on the adjacent wall. A special case is the construction of an economic facility on the border of the forest. In 2018, it was agreed that the building can be placed 4 meters from the forest line or directly near the border with the forest, depending on whether the object is adjacent to the forest plot or enters its surroundings.