Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Real estate development – Law and legislation'

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, September, 2020
Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, September, 2020
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 98-102).
In May 2019, New York City (under Mayor Bill De Blasio) enacted its own version of the Green New Deal called the Climate Mobilization Act, a local law to amend its charter and administrative code to achieve certain reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Act comprises a series of ten bills passed by the New York City Council including a tax on paper bags, a green roof mandate, and a process to close oil and gas plants around the city, amongst others. One major portion of this Act is a bill to limit greenhouse gas emissions, caps, on tens of thousands of buildings in the City. This mandate, called Local Law 97 (LL97), is the first of its kind in any large city in the world. This thesis focuses specifically on LL97, which limits carbon emissions on buildings over 25,000 square feet on real estate product types such as, commercial office spaces, healthcare facilities, residential co-ops, condos, and rental apartment buildings. It examines the characteristics and impacts of the law on real estate owners, as well as the city. It diagnoses how owners are responding to the law and where improvements can be made as this model becomes replicated globally through industry surveys. Since its approval in the Spring of 2019, a number of cities have expressed interest in promulgating similar regulations, though little research analysis has been undertaken to fully evaluate the implications of LL97, whether or not the policy falls short of our goals, or if it's even achievable. It finds and later recommends, that amendments to the law, such as carbon credit portfolio trading, the incorporation of additional asset types, and green leases, amongst others, can help to achieve Local Law 97 goals with enhanced success and mitigated burdens on New York City real estate owners.
by Kristopher Stephen Steele.
M.C.P.
S.M. in Real Estate Development
M.C.P. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
S.M.inRealEstateDevelopment Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate

The main objective of the study was to analyze the potential tax collection from the informal rental housing market in Zambia, using household level rental housing data collected for the Lusaka Urban District by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) as a basis for computation and extrapolation to the national level. This data was used to analyze household monthly expenditure on housing (rent), the total number of households in rented accommodation, and the tax regime applicable on rental income, to estimate the potential tax revenue that could be realized from this emerging sector. The estimates indicate that about K9.7 billion revenue could be collected on income from rental housing in Lusaka Urban District alone and a total of K83 billion nationally per annum. This represents about 0.4 percent of the country’s GDP in 2007. Compliance needs to be improved and legislation revised to ensure that the landlords are compelled to remit tax to the Zambia Revenue Authority. The current legislation makes enforcement and compliance difficult as it places the statutory tax burden on tenants, who are very mobile. It is, therefore, recommended that the landlord is made responsible for the payment of taxes due on rental income and that any compliance requirements be enforced against the real estate/property that is generating the income. This study also examines the performance of the presumptive taxation regime in Zambia The study uses data from the Zambia Revenue Authority on revenue collection from presumptive taxes which were introduced to capture income from the informal sectors. The presumptive taxes already introduced in Zambia include: base tax, advance income tax and turnover tax for minibuses and taxi operators. To analyze the performance of the presumptive tax regime, the study utilizes data on imports made by those not registered for taxes, to estimate how much revenue could be generated by imposing a 3 percent turnover tax on the value of their imports at importation. The analysis shows that the Zambia Revenue Authority increased revenue collection from K5.3 billion in 2004 to K33.5 billion in 2007. This improvement in revenue collection is far below the potential, however, which is estimated at over K501 billion on imports of unregistered traders alone. To collect this revenue and expand the tax base, the tax authority needs to improve the administration of advance income tax on unregistered importers, and raise the advance income tax rate to a level where the importer is indifferent between paying the advance tax at the border and paying turnover tax inland.

The period of high inflation during the late 1970s and early 1980s forced lenders to reconsider their methods of financing commercial real estate projects. During this period, lenders began experimenting with various new forms of mortgage documentation designed to support innovative financing techniques. Many of the innovative techniques developed included a participation feature whereby the lender, in addition to earning a fixed rate of interest, also participated in either the income from a project or the increased value in its equity, or both. As a result of instituting these techniques, both lenders and developers expanded their view of what a commercial mortgage entails. It is unlikely that lenders will return to viewing their role as that of simple renters of money. Since the law of mortgages in Canada has not been sufficiently flexible to adequately accommodate these innovative techniques, there is a need for reform of the law of commercial mortgages. In this paper, the writer will review the current commercial lending practices and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly used forms of participation financing. The conclusion will set out a proposal for the reform of the law of commercial mortgages. Central to its recommendations will be the concept that the commercial mortgage should be regarded as a contract for a debt and not as a conveyance of an interest in property. This concept will allow the commercial lender and borrower the contractual freedom to enter into the bargain that best reflects their financing intentions without being hampered by the historical incidents of a common law mortgage.
Law, Peter A. Allard School of
Graduate

This research will focus on the influence of legislation (as indicated in this research) on the investment decision in residential income-producing property. Assumptions, as recorded in the hypothesis of this study, indicate that the legislation had a changing influence on the investment decision in residential income-producing property in comparison to the time period prior to the promulgation of the legislation. The research methodology will be based on a comparative analysis of the current legislation and the proposed Draft Amendment Bill. This analysis will be tested by means of a case study analysis incorporating a phenomenological study based on written data. The problems, sub-problems and hypothesis will be addressed and tested in this research in conjunction with the prescribed research methodology. This research is concluded by means of a synopsis and recommendations.

Trusts are subject to multiple fOl1lls of legislative regulation dealing with taxation and governance. Trusts were widely used by planners as taxavoidance shelters. Tax legislation was amended to subject trusts, other than special trusts as defined, to the highest income tax rate of forty percent, in tel1llS of section 5(2) of the Income Tax Act, 58 of 1962. The inter vivos trust is also subject to a wide range of anti-avoidance measures, including those contained in sub-sections (3) to (8) of section 7 of the Income Tax Act and Part X of the Eighth Schedule to the Act, as well as the general anti -avoidance measures in section 103. These measures impact negatively on the use of trusts for estate-planning purposes. The research objective was to evaluate the use of testamentary and inter vivos trusts for estate-planning purposes and to develop a holistic estate-planniD.g model incorporating these planning instruments. Both the testamentary trust and the inter vivos trust were evaluated against broad principles of effective estate planning and the taxes and duties applicable to them. The research also reviewed the writings of financial planners on various techniques and models used for estate planning, as wells as case studies documented in the literature. The research developed and evaluated holistic estate-planning models incorporating testamentary trusts and inter vivos trusts, respectively. By neutralizing the effects of various taxes and duties, it was demonstrated that it is possible to develop an estate plan that satisfies most of the requirements of effective estate planning.

This research thesis examines the public perception of real estate agency professionalism, or the perceived lack of it. A study of the responses of 25 Queensland solicitors (selected at random) representing over 2340 buyers and sellers involved in 1170 transactions, provided the basis for concluding that, in Queensland, real estate agents do not usually represent the buyer or seller in a manner, determined in common law, fiduciary duty, or in fulfilment of statutory obligations. This confirms American research findings that have resulted in changes to the way real estate agency transactions occur in the United States of America, as well as promoting changed legislative responses to real estate agency laws in the United States.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyse development in arranging of the real estate transactions in the Czech Republic after 1989 and describe contemporary condition. Contemporary condition was analysed as unsatisfactory. There does not exist any law that would regulate real estate market, neither is there a duty to proof a professional training or ability for the business. Real estate agencies do not have a good reputation in the Czech Republic and with many citizens they are unfavourable. As a reaction upon contemporary unsatisfactory situation, the Economic Bureau of the Czech Chamber of Deputies elected an operative group that is supposed to maintain a survey of the contemporary situation in the real estate market and suggest possible solutions. This work aims also to analyse the suggested solutions and to supply solutions that would be missing.

The City of Arroyo Grande, California has a problem administering the regulations of five Planned Developments in the City. This problem arises from these regulations being included in a 167-page appendix at the back of the City’s Development Code. This appendix includes the original approvals for the Developments. It also includes amendments to those approvals. These amendments are only added to the appendix. Therefore, changes to the regulations governing the Planned Developments are not tracked. It takes City staff considerable amounts of time to research answers when members of the public have questions regarding development in one of these Developments. Because of the numerous pages that must be read through to track the changes to one of the districts, there is no guarantee that the information presented to the inquirer is accurate. This can lead to issues when the rules are not consistently applied. The purpose of this project is to investigate an appropriate method to address this problem.

La réalisation du marché intérieur européen par une meilleure intégration des marchés financiers est aujourd’hui devenue une réalité. L'objectif est toutefois loin d'être atteint en matière de crédit hypothécaire, nonobstant de nombreuses initiatives européennes. Compte tenu de ces difficultés et du postulat selon lequel il serait impossible d'harmoniser le droit des suretés immobilières en raison de leur ancrage culturel et national, une proposition alternative consistant dans la création d'une sûreté immobilière commune (euro-hypothèque), venant se superposer aux systèmes nationaux, a été formulée depuis un certain nombre d'années. La recherche analyse dans un premier temps la réalité du postulat précité à la lumière du droit comparé et conclut qu'en réalité, les différents systèmes trouvent non seulement leur origine dans un modèle identique, fondé sur le caractère accessoire de la sûreté, mais ont en outre connu une évolution similaire au cours de ces dernières années. Il apparaît que ce modèle constitue la meilleure base pour toute harmonisation européenne. Après avoir examiné l'interaction avec le droit international privé, sous l'angle de la protection du consommateur, et le droit européen, sous l'angle de la question de la compétence communautaire et du principe de subsidiarité, des pistes sont proposés pour opérer un rapprochement des législations nationales relatives au crédit hypothécaire. La proposition consiste à intégrer dans un seul instrument juridique contraignant (une directive européenne) les différentes propositions permettant d'opérer un rapprochement des législations nationales à trois niveaux :celui de la sûreté immobilière et de la publicité foncier, celui du contrat de prêt et enfin, celui relatif à la procédure de réalisation de l'immeuble.
Doctorat en droit
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This paper examines the viability of the Advocacy Coalition Framework(ACF) by applying it in a single case study. The aim is to advance the framework’s theoretical understanding of the policy process and its usefulness for analyzing local policy contexts. The case addressed is a long-spun policy conflict regarding the use of compulsory acquisition of real estate by a Swedish municipality for the sake of local business development. Analyzed data consisted of the municipality diary on the issue, correspondence between actors, public statements, official and internal documents and interviews with actors and non-actors. The ACF is a good starting point for understanding this local policy process, largely because of the great flexibility of its concepts. However, its basic assumptions on beliefs cannot fully explain observed events. Relating to this, the paper has five main findings. First, although beliefs play an important role in forming policy action, so does interests. Second, a conjunction of beliefs and self-interest is an important condition for some actors’ actions. Third, coalition formation is not dependent on similarity of beliefs but on similarity of policy objectives. Fourth, policy objectives are resultant of beliefs for some actors, of self-interest for others and for yet others the result of both. Therefore, actors in coalition act to achieve the same policy objectives but not necessarily for the same reasons. Fifth, one non-actor refrained from policy action in spite of strong policy core beliefs due to the policy process not being a zero sum game for this non-actor. This paper supports recent studies proposing the incorporation of interests into the ACF. For further development of the ACF the paper suggests further research to answer two generic questions: What is the relationship betweeninterests and beliefs? Are potential actors more likely to take policy action inzero sum game policy processes? For the ACF to cope with certain conditionsin local contexts the paper suggest further research into the question: Is the level of abstraction of policy issues key in understanding the involvement of legal and natural persons and their basis for policy action?

South African law treats planning and the environment separately, causing considerable problems when developing land. Concerns in this regard are worldwide and various approaches have been adopted to solve them. This research seeks to explore what legal solutions can be provided using some international examples, fitting them within the unique governance, historical and legal context of South Africa.
Jurisprudence
LLM

This dissertation deals with the effect of value-added tax on small to medium-sized developers of residential properties in South Africa. Firstly, the way value-added tax is applied to residential properties in South Africa was established. It was ascertained that no special concessions exist with regard to housing. Secondly, the application of value-added tax to residential properties in the United Kingdom was discussed. It was ascertained that supplies relating to new residential premises are zero-rated. Thirdly, the application of goods and services tax to residential properties in Canada was discussed. Canadian goods and services tax and harmonious sales tax legislation contains a broad range of special concessions relating to residential property developments. The harmonious sales tax which applies in some provinces, is a combination of goods and services tax and a provincial sales tax. Fourthly, the way goods and services tax is applied to residential property developments in Australia was determined. Australian legislation provides for a margin scheme to be applied to the development of residential properties. In terms of the margin scheme, goods and services tax is payable on the basis of profit rather than turnover. Transfer duty as applied in South Africa was examined as an alternative to the value-added tax being applied on residential properties developed by developers registered for value-added tax purposes. The legislation with regard to developers of residential properties registered for value-added tax, goods and services tax and harmonious sales tax purposes was measured against the principles of taxation. On the basis of these results, an alternative to the current application of value-added tax relating to developers registered for value-added tax purposes in South Africa was proposed that would be in line with that of the selected countries.
Economics
M. Com. (Accounting)

This paper contributes to the discussion about reforming the legislation governing real estate marketing in British Columbia. In March 2003, the government announced its proposals to amend the existing Real Estate Act with the objective of protecting the public and preserving its confidence in the real estate sector by providing a "least cost" regime, promoting competition among participants, and providing a flexible, accountable regulatory framework. Interested parties were invited to comment on a proposed direction for reform. A recent public opinion survey conducted by the British Columbia Real Estate Association indicated significant concern about realtors acting for both a purchaser and a vendor of the same property. Those with concerns feared possible conflicts of interest between realtors and their clients. Despite these results, the real estate industry did not address these concerns. Instead, the industry endorsed dual agency - the practice of acting for both a purchaser and a vendor in a single transaction - and claimed that to ensure professionalism for realtors, the industry had to be self-regulating. In May 2004, the government passed the Real Estate Services Act granting self-regulation to the industry. This paper questions the appropriateness of the government's grant of self-regulation to the industry. It reviews the literature on professionalism and the conditions under which it is appropriate to grant self-regulation to an occupational group. It discusses how the real estate industry has attempted to gain recognition as a profession and the problems that the practice of dual agency poses to consumers i f the industry is to be self-regulating. This paper concludes that the paramount purpose of occupational regulation should be to protect the public from harm, not to benefit or to reward practitioners. Self-regulation should only be granted to an occupational group with a genuine and demonstrated willingness to act in the public interest. Recommendations are offered to the government to reconsider its actions and to consider abolishing the practice of dual agency and adopting reforms that favour consumer interests in residential real estate transactions.

As the world is reshaped by global warming, both private and public actors must adapt to environmental changes in coastal localities. Coastlines are already experiencing significant impacts from climate change including an increase in floods and coastal storms and continuing coastal erosion. The central project of this dissertation is to understand how climate change adaptation strategies are framed by different policies and laws, how these strategies are negotiated by the relationships between local councils, state policy and private property owners, and by cultural understandings of property, climate change and the material environment. This dissertation undertakes empirical research in two coastal localities where there has been significant debate and contestation over how climate change adaptation measures are to be implemented. It describes and analyses relevant land use planning law and common law doctrines designed to respond to changes in private property title for waterfront property. It argues that government climate change adaptation policies and regulations ought not to disproportionally benefit private parties who own coastal property, notwithstanding significant social, cultural, political and economic pressures on public authorities to protect private property investments. In addition, the dissertation argues that coastal climate change adaptation ought to take into account the interplay between a variety of interests and factors to advance knowledge of the relationships between private interests and political actors, and of the ways in which these groups utilise existing laws, policies and discourses of property to shape adaptation outcomes. This dissertation is interdisciplinary and adopts a range of social research methods to explore a legal geography of coastal climate change adaptation including qualitative research, document analysis, and legal analysis, insofar as the latter informs the sociality of law. The rationale for the research design is to ensure a relational view of law, property and place, and as between persons and interests in coastal climate change adaptation. The dissertation makes three key findings. First, coastal management laws in New South Wales have sought to take account of the many competing interests in the coast, with several iterations of law reform. By adapting such reforms to allow for mechanisms such as rolling easements, law remains a potential enabler of climate change adaptation. Second, the dissertation shows that discourses of private property, which have dominated Australian land use planning since the formation of the state, have underpinned governmental responses to climate change. This has impeded the effectiveness of land use planning as a tool to facilitate climate change adaptation. This undermining of land use planning is evidenced by tensions between expert discourse and political expediency, and is justified by rationalising decision-making with reference to fears of potential legal liability for land use planning and development decisions. Third, informing residents’ engagement with climate change adaptation policy are perspectives of property as an asset and instances of place attachment, underpinned by perceptions of environmental change and climate impacts. Residents in both localities express desires for regulatory intervention in protecting their own properties from climate impacts, but favoured no intervention in the provision of broader coastal protections. This disjunct is, in some instances, underpinned by ‘Not In My Back Yard’ (NIMBY) attitudes toward sea level rise. Ultimately, the dissertation finds that coastal climate change adaptation is complicated by multiple factors: the challenges of applying uniform laws in dynamic physical environments; varied interpretations of the same laws in different localities; social power and the use of litigation to enforce that power; and the ways in which governments frame and perpetuate cultural property discourses where these discourses prioritise private property rights. This dissertation demonstrates that exploring the interplay between these factors can contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between law, people, governments, property and the coast—a relationship that can be usefully categorised as a ‘coastal lawscape’. In doing so, the dissertation contributes to both legal geography scholarship and to the understanding of the drivers of, and barriers to, climate change adaptation.

This study investigates, identifies and provides flowchart summaries of the various forms of taxation in South Africa and to a lesser extent Greece affecting South African residents who own or have financed fixed property in Greece. These residents have to comply with the Income Tax and Estate Duty Acts in South Africa and the relevant taxation laws in Greece. An amnesty gave South Africans an opportunity to voluntarily declare their fixed properties and to regularise their foreign assets and tax affairs without the fear prosecution. The practical application of the various taxation provisions in both countries is extremely complex and often residents are not even aware that certain provisions apply to them. In addition there is the risk of paying nearly double the marginal rate of Income Tax and Estate Duty in South Africa and double taxation on donations. This study also provides suggestions and possible solutions to problems identified.
Taxation
M. Tech. (Taxation)

The purpose of the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 is to provide for the restitution of rights in land to persons or communities dispossessed of such rights after 19 June 1913 as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices. The restitution of a right in land can include the restoration of a right in land. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the requirement of feasibility in restoring land rights and in particular the role of feasibility studies and the courts’ interpretation of the feasibility requirement in restoring such rights. The methodology used includes a review of literature, legislation and policies on land restitution and an analysis of case law. The outcome of the research indicates that while actual restoration ought to take preference in all instances, it may only be granted once all the relevant circumstances and factors have been considered. In certain circumstances it may not be feasible to restore land rights.
Private Law
LL. M. (Property Law)

Gospodarstwo rolne jako współuczestnik rynku gospodarczego, ulokowane jest w wielopłaszczyznowej regulacji zarówno na gruncie prawa krajowego i wspólnotowego. Klasyczne ujęcie czynników produkcji (praca, kapitał oraz ziemia), klasyfikuje gospodarstwo rolne jako swoistego rodzaju przedsiębiorstwo, które objęte jest odrębną i preferencyjną regulacją prawną, z uwagi na strategiczny charakter i rolę dla każdego Państwa i funkcjonującego w nim społeczeństwa. W pracy poruszono zagadnienia uwarunkowujące procesy legislacyjne w kontekście konkretnych zdarzeń polityczno-gospodarczych, które odzwierciedlały całokształt przybieranych przez Państwo koncepcji i modeli rolnictwa, jak również próbę wyważenie interesu prawa własności względem nakładanych obowiązków administracyjnych. Główny akcent w pracy położono na gospodarstwa rodzinne prowadzone przez rolników indywidualnych, które stanowią egzemplifikacje przyjętej normy programowej, wyrażonej w art. 23 Konstytucji Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej. Charakteryzując metody badawcze przybrane w pracy, wymienić należy przeprowadzoną analizę w oparciu o metodę prawno-dogmatyczną, historyczną, prawno-porównawczą z elementami statystycznymi oraz analizy typu SWOT. Dwie pierwsze z nich najpełniej pozwalają wyprowadzić wnioski dotyczące czynników kształtujących ustrój rolny w Polsce. Dwie kolejne ukazują bezpośrednie relację związanie z ówczesnym rolnictwem oraz płaszczyzną ekonomiczno-społeczną-prawną. Rozdział pierwszy został poświęcony zagadnieniom związanym z ewolucją instytucji gospodarstwa rolnego i jego prawnymi uregulowaniami. Przyjrzano się w nim źródłom pojęć oraz definicji gospodarstwa rolnego w ujęciu konstytucyjnym, administracyjnym i cywilistycznym. Podniesiono także kwestie dotyczące polityki rolnej, zasadności regulacji ochronnych i ustawowego wsparcia gospodarstw rolnych. Rozdział drugi zawiera charakterystykę i ocenę korelacji prawa rolnego względem pozostałych dziedzin prawa. W dalszej części ukazano odrębność systemu ubezpieczeń społecznych, podatków, systemu obrotu i ochrony nieruchomości rolnych, odstępstwa rolnego oraz systemów wsparcia i ochrony zasobów środowiska naturalnego w gospodarstwach rodzinnych. Wyjątkowo istotną materią tego rozdziału jest również nadal aktualna kwestia egzekucji świadczeń pieniężnych z majątku gospodarstwa rolnego. Rozdział trzeci odnosi się do zagadnień związanych z prawno-ekonomicznymi regulacjami wsparcia rodzinnych gospodarstw rolnych, w których skoncentrowano się na tematyce wpływu WPR, założeniach EFRROW, PROW w latach lata 2014–2020 i innych systemach wsparcia dla rodzinnych gospodarstw wiejskich. Rozdział czwarty zawiera analizę komparatystyczną ustroju i rozwiązań prawnych zapewniających wsparcie dla rodzinnych gospodarstw rolnych stosowanych w Polsce i wybranych krajach Unii Europejskiej. Postawione w wstępie pracy hipotezy badawcze rozwinięto w tezach i uzasadnieniu zawartym w zakończeniu. Rozważania oparto na twierdzeniu, iż ustawodawca otacza coraz to większym zakresem regulacji tryb i funkcjonowanie gospodarstw rolnych, co determinuje pozycję prawną gospodarstwa rolnego w licznych aktach normatywnych. Wyjątkowość sektora agrarnego dodatkowo ustawodawca uwydatnia poprzez rozwinięcie oddzielnych regulacji oraz odmiennego podejścia i ujęcia sfery majątkowej rolników, jak też ich obowiązków publicznych. Wysoce rozbudowana konstrukcja instrumentów regulacyjnych stawia gospodarstwa rolne jako równoprawny podmiot gospodarczy z zapewnioną uprzywilejowaną pozycją w stosunku do silniejszych kapitałowo podmiotów na rynku gospodarki wolnorynkowej, niemniej czynniki globalizacyjne spowodowały, że do dziś wiele osób traktuje rolnictwo w sposób bagatelizujący, wynikający najprawdopodobniej z niezrozumienia znaczenia i specyfiki tego sektora, w stosunku do ogólnoświatowej części systemu gospodarczego.
An agricultural holding as a co-participant of the economic market, is located in a multifaceted regulation both on the basis of national and EU law. The classic view of production factors (labor, capital and land) classifies an agricultural holding as a kind of enterprise, which is covered by a separate and preferential legal regulation, due to its strategic character and role for each State and the society functioning in it. In the dissertation issues were raised related to legislative processes in the context of specific political and economic events, which reflected the entirety of concepts and models of agriculture adopted by State, as well as an attempt to the balance between interest of property rights with imposed administrative obligations. The main emphasis was put on family farms conducted by individual farmers, which is exemplifications of the accepted program norm, expressed in art. 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Characterizing the research methods adopted at work, mention should be made of the analysis based on the legal-dogmatic, historical, legal-comparative method with statistical elements and SWOT analysis. The first two of them allows to draw the most complete conclusions about the factors shaping the agricultural system in Poland. Two next shown a direct relation with the then agriculture and the economic-social-legal plane. The first chapter was devoted to issues related to the evolution of an agricultural institution and its legal regulations. It looked at the sources of concepts and definitions of a farm in constitutional, administrative and civilian terms. Also raised issues related to: agricultural policy, the legitimacy of protective regulations and statutory support for farms. The second chapter contains the characteristics and assessment of the correlation of agricultural law in relation to other areas of law. In the following, the author shows separateness of the social security system, taxes, the system of trade and protection of agricultural real estate, agricultural exemption and support and protection systems for natural resources in family farms. An extremely important matter of this chapter is also the current issue of the judicial execution of cash benefits from farm property. The third chapter refers to issues related to legal and economic regulations for supporting family farms, which focus on the impact of the CAP, EAFRD objectives, RDPs in the years 2014-2020 and other support systems for family rural households. The fourth chapter contains a comparative analysis of the system and legal solutions that provide support for family farms used in Poland and selected European Union countries. The research hypotheses put forward in the introduction were developed in the theses and substantiation contained in the conclusion. The considerations were based on the claim that the legislator surrounds the mode and functioning of farms holdings by increasing range of regulation, what determines the legal position of an agricultural holding in numerous normative acts. The legislator emphasizes the uniqueness of the agrarian sector by developing separate regulations and different approach and recognition of the farmers property sphere, as well as their public duties. The highly developed construction of regulatory instruments places agricultural holdings as an equal economic entity, with a privileged position in relation to stronger capital market players in free market economy. However, globalization factors have caused that many people still treat agriculture in a downplaying manner, probably resulting from a misunderstanding of the importance and specificity of this sector in relation to the global economic system.