How to check a developer in Poland before you buy: KRS, prospectus, escrow account

When you buy a flat under construction, you pay for something that does not exist yet. That is why, before you sign a reservation or developer agreement, it is worth checking who you are dealing with. Most of the information is publicly available and free – in the court registers, the land and mortgage registers and the information prospectus that the developer must give you. Below is a step-by-step checklist with the addresses of the official search engines.

Key facts

• Before a reservation or developer agreement, the developer must give you the information prospectus with its annexes free of charge (Art. 21 of the Developer Act).
• At your request, the developer must also show you at its office, among other things, the land and mortgage register, an extract from the KRS, the building permit, the building design and the financial statements for the last two years (Art. 26).
• You can check the company's details, its management board and its financial statements free of charge in the KRS search engine (the National Court Register) and the Financial Documents Repository.
• Information on bankruptcy or restructuring can be found in the National Debtors Register (Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych, KRZ).
• Buyers' payments must go to a residential escrow account, and the developer pays contributions to the Developer Guarantee Fund (Art. 6).

Step 1. Establish who the seller is

Large development companies often carry out each project through a separate special-purpose company. The brand on the banner is one thing, but the party to the agreement is a specific company with its own KRS number. So always check the company named in the information prospectus and in the draft agreement. The general part of the prospectus gives the developer's company name, legal form, KRS number (or CEIDG business register entry), NIP (tax ID) and REGON (statistical number).

If the project is carried out by a special-purpose company, the Act provides that the developer makes available for inspection the financial statements of both the special-purpose company and the parent company (Art. 26(1)(4)(b)). This matters because a new special-purpose company usually has no history of its own yet.

Step 2. Check the company in the KRS

In the free KRS search engine you can download a current extract by KRS number, NIP or name. Pay attention to:

• the registration date and the amount of share capital,
• the composition of the management board and the way the company is represented – who can sign the agreement on the company's behalf,
• the shareholders (whether a known group stands behind the special-purpose company),
• entries in sections 4 and 6 – for example arrears, liquidation, bankruptcy, restructuring,
• whether the company files its financial statements on time.

You can see the financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss account) in the Financial Documents Repository. You do not need to be an accountant to notice warning signs: years of losses, negative equity or missing statements for recent years are reasons for extra questions.

Step 3. Look in the National Debtors Register

In the National Debtors Register you can check whether bankruptcy or restructuring proceedings are under way against the company. Check both the special-purpose company and the parent company. Information about such proceedings does not have to mean the project will collapse, but it certainly calls for a talk with a lawyer before you pay any money.

Step 4. Read the information prospectus

The information prospectus is the most important source of information about the developer and the project. Its template is an annex to the Act, so every developer fills in the same fields. The developer delivers it free of charge on a durable medium (for example paper or PDF) before the reservation or developer agreement is concluded. The prospectus with its annexes becomes an integral part of the agreement (Art. 23(2)).

In the general part of the prospectus, check in particular:

• the developer's experience – up to three completed projects, including the most recent one, with the start date and the occupancy permit date,
• enforcement proceedings – whether enforcement for more than 100 000 zł has been or is being conducted against the developer,
• the land and mortgage register number and mortgage encumbrances on the plot,
• the local plan and surroundings – the zoning of the land and nearby facilities that may be a nuisance,
• the type of escrow account and the bank that holds it,
• the project schedule – at least four stages, each costing from 10% to 25% of the total (Art. 24(2)).

It is worth visiting the completed projects listed in the prospectus: how the common areas look after a few years and whether residents have reported problems with defects.

Step 5. Check the plot's land and mortgage register

You will find the land and mortgage register number (księga wieczysta) in the prospectus. You can read the register free of charge in the Ministry of Justice's land register browser. Pay attention to:

• section II – whether the owner or perpetual usufructuary is the developer (the same company that is selling),
• section III – easements, claims and restrictions,
• section IV – mortgages, most often the bank financing the construction.

A bank mortgage on the plot is normal. However, the developer must have the mortgage creditor's consent to transfer ownership of your unit free of encumbrances after the full price is paid, or a commitment to give it – and this document is an annex to the agreement (Art. 25). If it is missing, the buyer may withdraw from the agreement.

Step 6. Check the building permit

At your request, the developer must show you the building permit (or the notification of construction) and the building design. Basic data on building applications and decisions can also be found in the search engine of the Chief Office of Building Control (GUNB). Ask whether the permit is final and whether proceedings to revoke it are under way – a complaint against the permit can delay construction. For a completed flat, ask for the occupancy permit decision or the notification of completion of construction.

Step 7. The escrow account and the Developer Guarantee Fund

A developer starting sales must conclude an agreement for an open or closed residential escrow account for the given project (Art. 7). Your payments go to that account, not to the company's ordinary account. In addition, the developer pays contributions to the Developer Guarantee Fund, run by the Insurance Guarantee Fund (Art. 46).

Check the escrow account number and the bank's name in the prospectus and in the agreement. Never pay into any account other than the one named in the agreement as the escrow account. We describe this in detail in the article Escrow account and DFG guarantee fund in Poland.

Step 8. Check the website and the price

Since 11 July 2025 a developer must maintain its own website with the price per square metre and the price of the whole unit, the prices of parking spaces and storage rooms and other charges – with the history of price changes (Art. 19a). This data is also transmitted once a day and published on the dane.gov.pl portal (Art. 19b). If the price in the agreement differs from the price on the website, you can demand that the agreement be concluded at the price most favourable to you (Art. 19a(6)).

Step 9. Reviews, UOKiK decisions and disputes

• In the UOKiK decisions search engine you can check whether the President of the Office has issued decisions against the developer, for example on unfair contract terms.
• Treat online reviews with caution, but look for recurring themes: delays, problems with fixing defects, disputes with the owners' association.
• Talk to residents of the developer's earlier projects – this is often the most valuable source of information.

Warning signs

• the developer does not want to give you the information prospectus before the reservation, or refuses to let you inspect the documents under Art. 26,
• payments are to go to an ordinary company account rather than an escrow account,
• the company has a freshly changed management board, overdue statements or mentions of enforcement,
• in the land and mortgage register the owner of the plot is a different entity and the prospectus does not explain this,
• time pressure: "price only today", "you must pay a deposit right now".

Read also:

• The information prospectus – red flags
• Land and mortgage register – sections I–IV

Frequently asked questions

Summary

Checking a developer takes one or two evenings: the KRS extract and financial statements, the National Debtors Register, the land and mortgage register, the information prospectus, the building permit and the escrow account. When these elements add up, you can move on to analysing the agreement itself – we describe it in the article Polish developer agreement (umowa deweloperska), and the whole buying process in the guide How to buy a new-build apartment in Poland.

No time to go through the registers? We will check the developer agreement and the developer's documents before you sign, and when you buy with our help, a primary-market buyer usually pays no commission.

Legal status as of September 2026. This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice.

Sources

• Act on the protection of the rights of a purchaser of a residential unit or a single-family house and on the Developer Guarantee Fund (in Polish) – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 880 (Art. 6, 7, 19a, 19b, 20–26, 43, 46 and the annex – template of the information prospectus).
• National Court Register search engine (in Polish) – Ministry of Justice.
• Financial Documents Repository (in Polish) – Ministry of Justice.
• National Debtors Register (in Polish) – Ministry of Justice.
• Electronic Land and Mortgage Registers – browsing (in Polish) – Ministry of Justice.
• GUNB search engine – register of applications, decisions and notifications (in Polish).
• Decisions of the UOKiK President (in Polish).