Family Foundation (as a Real Estate Holding Vehicle)
A legal entity introduced in Poland in 2023 that can hold a family's real estate and other assets on behalf of designated beneficiaries, used increasingly to plan succession and avoid fragmenting a property portfolio through inheritance.
Сфера дії: Польща.
Визначення
The family foundation (fundacja rodzinna) was introduced by the Act of 26 January 2023 on the Family Foundation, which came into force on 22 May 2023. A founder transfers assets — including real estate — into the foundation, which then holds and manages them according to its founding statute, distributing benefits to named beneficiaries (typically family members) rather than the property being owned directly by individuals.
For real estate specifically, the appeal is that a property portfolio held by the foundation is not divided among heirs on the founder's death the way directly-owned property would be under standard inheritance rules — the foundation continues to hold the assets, and beneficiaries receive distributions rather than fractional ownership shares. This avoids the co-ownership that otherwise typically arises among multiple heirs after a death.
The foundation is a distinct legal person separate from its founder and beneficiaries, pays a preferential 15% CIT rate only when it actually distributes benefits (not on undistributed income), and beneficiaries who are close family generally pay no separate tax on what they receive, subject to specific statutory conditions.
Приклади
A business owner transfers a family's residential and commercial properties into a newly established family foundation so that, after their death, the properties remain intact under the foundation instead of being split into fractional shares among three children.
The foundation's statute directs that rental income from the family's apartment portfolio be distributed quarterly to the founder's children and grandchildren, without any of them individually owning the underlying units.
A family considering a foundation consults a lawyer to weigh it against a simple will, since a foundation involves formal governance (a foundation council, potential ongoing administrative cost) that a will does not.
Як це впливає на купівлю та продаж
A family foundation is a succession-planning tool, not a way to avoid co-ownership disputes that have already arisen — it only prevents fragmentation for assets transferred into it before the relevant event, so families considering one should act well ahead of any anticipated inheritance. It is not a fit for every property owner: the setup and governance overhead only pays off where the goal is genuinely to keep a multi-generational portfolio intact rather than to optimize a single transaction.
