The perpetual usufruct right was introduced to the Polish legal system almost 50 years ago. This legal institution was especially controversial after 1989, since on the one hand the fees collected from perpetual usufructs have always been an important source of income for local authorities, but on the other, it left developers and investors dreaming of absolute ownership rights to properties In addition to this, local authorities would often terminate perpetual usufruct agreements for failure to meet deadlines for completing development projects due to delays in granting construction permits which they themselves had failed or refused to issue.The Polish Codification Commission for Civil Law is in the course of finishing work on the introduction of a new legal institution into the Polish Civil Code, i.e. the hereditary building right. This will grant the right to endow land property with the right to build, develop or use existing buildings or other facilities above or below the surfa