As CEE moves into a new phase of the real estate cycle, transaction structures, investor behaviour, and regulatory expectations are shifting at pace. Cross-border capital is gradually returning, domestic investors are taking a stronger role, and ESG-driven obligations are reshaping how deals are structured and executed. Against this backdrop, Dr. Erwin Hanslik MRICS, Partner and CEE Head of Real Estate & Construction at Taylor Wessing, shares his perspective on the most important legal, regulatory and market developments influencing real-estate transactions today.

The Hungarian government has adopted an amendment to the regulation known as the “mall stop,” narrowing its impact compared to the earlier draft. The new decree (274/2025. VIII.18.) will require new owners or tenants of commercial units larger than 400 sqm to obtain a change-of-use permit only if the premises are operated as stores selling daily consumer goods. The regulation takes effect on 17 September 2025.

The Hungarian government has submitted for public consultation a proposal to amend the regulation commonly referred to as the “mall stop” (Government Decree No. 143/2018 (VIII.13.)), which governs the operation of commercial units larger than 400 sqm. The consultation period closed on 10 June. Legal experts from international law firm Taylor Wessing have analysed the potential implications of the proposed changes.

Zbigniew Korba, Partner and Attorney at Law at TaylorWessing has talked to Property Forum about sustainability-liked loans, current financing conditions and the incoming changes in the spatial planning and construction law in Poland.

Members of the panel on ESG investments at CEE Property Forum 2022 in Vienna agreed that environmental issues are addressed much better than the social and governance parts of ESG. Panellists emphasised that leading organizations in the CRE industry should give clear guidance for improving 'S' and 'G' performance at all levels.

Dr. Erwin Hanslik MRICS, Taylor Wessing’s CEE Head of Real Estate & Construction and head of the firm's Prague and Brno offices, talked to Property Forum about the legal challenges real estate investors and developers in the Czech Republic have to face.

The government of Slovakia is opening some shops that have been closed for the past two weeks, while the country's parliament will debate and possibly pass the cabinet’s proposals to help companies and the self-employed. We asked Andrej Leontiev LL.M., Partner at Taylor Wessing to comment on the aid package.

The Czech Republic has one of the longest and most complicated building procedures in the world and is ranked 156 out of 190 countries observed by The World Bank. Fortunately for real estate developers, the situation is slowly changing. Erwin Hanslik MRICS, Partner and CEE Head of Real Estate at Taylor Wessing talked to us about the legal and regulatory challenges investors and developers need to face in the Czech Republic.

Modern technology has revolutionised the way we work and significantly altered the leasing process. Andrej Leontiev LL.M., Partner at Taylor Wessing analysed current trends on Bratislava’s office market from a legal perspective.