Polish Developer Act 2026 – buyer's rights step by step

In short: the Polish Developer Act (ustawa deweloperska) of 20 May 2021, in force since 1 July 2022, gives anyone buying a flat from a developer the right to an information prospectus before the contract, a reservation fee of no more than 1% of the price, a contract in the form of a notarial deed, payments made only into an escrow account protected by the Developer Guarantee Fund (Deweloperski Fundusz Gwarancyjny – DFG), a handover with a defects report, and withdrawal from the contract in the cases set out in the Act. Contract terms less favourable to the buyer than the Act are void. In 2025–2026 new rules were added, including the obligation to publish prices per m² on the developer's website and a price calculated as floor area × price per m².

Updated: October 2026. Legal status: consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 880, including the 2025–2026 amendments.

Key facts

• The Act protects buyers of flats and single-family houses from developers – also when buying a finished unit, if you sign a binding agreement and pay money before the deed transferring ownership.
• Reservation fee: max. 1% of the price; it is returned to you, for example, if your mortgage is refused.
• Payments: only into a residential escrow account (mieszkaniowy rachunek powierniczy), and the developer pays a DFG contribution on them (0.45% or 0.1%).
• Handover: the developer has 14 days to respond to reported defects and 30 days to remove them.
• Withdrawal: among other cases, when the developer fails to transfer ownership on time – after you give it an additional 120 days.
• Contract terms less favourable than the Act are void and are replaced by the provisions of the Act (Art. 42).

Who and which contracts the Act covers

The Act covers contracts in which the developer undertakes to build a building and transfer ownership of the flat to you (the developer agreement, umowa deweloperska), as well as contracts for units that have already been built, single-family houses and – if you buy them together with a flat – commercial units, such as a garage space (Art. 2). It also applies to a preliminary agreement in which the developer undertakes to conclude one of those contracts. The Act does not cover purchases on the secondary market from a private individual.

Buyer's rights step by step

Stage	Your right	Legal basis
1. Choosing an offer	Price per m² of every flat, prices of parking spaces and storage rooms and other charges – on the developer's website, with price history; if there is a discrepancy you can demand the price more favourable to you	Art. 19a (from 11 July 2025)
2. Before signing	A free information prospectus with attachments on a durable medium; access to the developer's documents (KRS, land and mortgage register, building permit)	Art. 21, 26
3. Reservation	Written agreement; fee max. 1% of the price in the prospectus, credited towards the price; refund if the mortgage is refused, double refund if the developer fails to perform the agreement	Art. 30–34
4. Developer agreement	Notarial deed; mandatory elements (price, floor area, finishing standard, deadlines, escrow account, DFG, withdrawal conditions); notary and court fees split in half	Art. 35, 40
5. Price	Price = usable floor area × price per 1 m², floor area measured according to the Polish Standard	Art. 5a (contracts from 13 February 2026)
6. Payments	Only into the escrow account, after completion of stages in the schedule (min. 4 stages, each 10–25% of costs); the bank checks the construction	Art. 8, 16–17, 24
7. Handover	Report listing defects; 14 days to accept or reject (no response = acceptance), 30 days to remove them; with a material defect you can refuse the handover	Art. 41
8. Deed transferring ownership	Ownership free of encumbrances (other than those you agreed to); the bank releases the final part to the developer only after the deed	Art. 15–16, 25
9. After the purchase	Statutory warranty (rękojmia) for physical and legal defects under the Civil Code – 5 years for real estate	Art. 41a (from 9 September 2025), Civil Code

1. Transparent prices on the developer's website

Since 11 July 2025 the developer must run a website on which, from the start of sales, it publishes the general part of the prospectus, the sales office address, the price per m² of every flat on offer, the prices of ancillary rooms and rights (e.g. a parking space) and any other charges you will pay – including VAT. When a price changes, it gives the date of the change and keeps the previous prices. The website address must appear in advertisements and offers. If the price at signing differs from the published one, you can demand a contract at the price more favourable to you (Art. 19a). The data are also sent daily to the dane.gov.pl portal (Art. 19b).

2. Information prospectus and developer documents

Before the reservation agreement or developer agreement, the developer gives you, free of charge, an information prospectus (prospekt informacyjny) with attachments on a durable medium (Art. 21). It must also inform you of changes to the prospectus during the reservation (Art. 33). At your request, it makes available at its office documents such as an extract from the KRS, the current state of the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta), the building permit and financial statements (Art. 26). How to read the prospectus: Developer information prospectus – red flags; how to check the company: How to check a developer before buying.

3. Reservation agreement – max. 1% of the price

The reservation agreement (umowa rezerwacyjna) is concluded in writing for a fixed term; if you are applying for a mortgage, the reservation period should allow time to obtain the credit decision (Art. 31). The reservation fee cannot exceed 1% of the price in the prospectus and is credited towards the price. It is returned to you without delay if the bank refuses the mortgage because of your creditworthiness or if the developer changes the prospectus without informing you, and in double the amount if the developer fails to perform the reservation agreement (Art. 34). Details: Reservation agreement with a developer.

4. Developer agreement at a notary

The developer agreement takes the form of a notarial deed, and the notary's fee and the costs of entries in the land and mortgage register are split equally between the developer and the buyer (Art. 40). The agreement must include, among other things, the price, a description of the flat and its finishing standard, the date of transfer of ownership, the payment schedule, the escrow account and DFG contribution details, and the withdrawal conditions (Art. 35). Your claim to the transfer of ownership is entered in the land and mortgage register (Art. 38). Since 13 February 2026, new agreements state the price as usable floor area multiplied by the price per 1 m² (Art. 5a). What to check in the contract: Developer agreement – what it must contain.

5. Escrow account and the DFG

You pay money only into the residential escrow account kept for the development. With an open account, the bank releases it to the developer in stages after checking the construction; with a closed account, only after the deed transferring ownership. On every payment the developer pays a contribution to the Developer Guarantee Fund, which refunds money in cases such as the developer's bankruptcy. We describe this in detail in the article Escrow account and DFG – how your money is protected, and the bankruptcy scenario in Developer bankruptcy – what happens to the money you paid.

6. Flat handover and defects

Before the deed transferring ownership, you inspect and accept the flat in person, once the occupancy permit has been obtained (Art. 41). You list defects in the report. The developer has 14 days to accept or reject the defects with a justification – if it says nothing, the defects are deemed accepted. It removes accepted defects within 30 days; if it does not manage, it sets a new deadline, and after that passes you can have the defects removed at its expense. If there is a material defect the developer does not accept, you can refuse the handover; a second inspection requires a construction expert's opinion. Checklist: Flat handover from a developer – checklist.

7. When you can withdraw from the contract

• Within 30 days of signing – if the agreement lacks mandatory elements, is inconsistent with the prospectus, you did not receive the prospectus or information about changes to it, or the data in the prospectus are untrue.
• Within 60 days – if the developer does not have the mortgage bank's consent to separate the unit free of encumbrances.
• Delay – if the developer fails to transfer ownership by the contractual date: you give it 120 days, after which you can withdraw and keep your claim for the contractual penalty.
• Material defect – if the developer does not remove an accepted material defect or the defect is confirmed by an expert.
• Account and bank – if, after termination, the developer does not conclude a new escrow account agreement, or does not change a bank for which the BFG guarantee condition has been met.
• Bankruptcy – if the trustee (syndyk) demands performance of the contract.

When you withdraw on these grounds, you pay no costs and no withdrawal fee (Art. 44). The developer returns the money paid out to it from the account within 30 days, and if it does not, the DFG refunds it. The withdrawal statement is made in writing with a notarised signature (Art. 45). More: Withdrawing from a developer agreement and Developer delay – contractual penalties.

The developer can also withdraw from the contract: if you fail to pay an instalment despite a written demand with a 30-day deadline, or if you twice, at least 60 days apart, fail to turn up for the handover or the deed (Art. 43(7)–(8)).

8. Statutory warranty after the purchase

After ownership is transferred, the developer is liable for physical and legal defects under the statutory warranty (rękojmia) rules for sales in the Civil Code – since 9 September 2025 this is stated expressly in Art. 41a of the Act. For real estate, the warranty lasts 5 years from the handover of the unit. How to report defects: Developer warranty (rękojmia) – 5 years.

Changes to the Developer Act 2025–2027

From	What changes for the buyer	Act
11 July 2025	Transparent prices per m² and price history on the developer's website; right to the more favourable price if there is a discrepancy; price data on dane.gov.pl	Dz.U. 2025 poz. 758
9 September 2025	The Civil Code statutory warranty applies directly to defects of the flat (Art. 41a)	Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1167
13 February 2026	Price in the contract = usable floor area × price per 1 m², floor area according to the Polish Standard (Art. 5a)	Dz.U. 2026 poz. 27
11 November 2026	Uniform format for price data submitted to the data portal	Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1077
2 April 2027	Housing Transactions Data Portal (Portal Danych o Obrocie Mieszkaniami – Portal DOM) run by the UFG – transaction price statistics	Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1669

Frequently asked questions

Summary

The Developer Act guides the buyer through the whole process: from transparent prices and the prospectus, through a reservation for max. 1% and the contract at a notary, to the escrow account with the DFG, the handover with deadlines for defects and the right to withdraw. Before you sign a reservation or contract, check the prospectus, the type of escrow account and the deadlines – and if in doubt, have the contract reviewed.

We review reservation and developer agreements together with our lawyer: developer agreement review. Looking for a flat? See new flats in Warsaw, flats from 800,000 zł to 1 million zł and offers in Wrocław, or book a free consultation – buyers usually pay us no commission, because our fee is normally paid by the developer.

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

Sources

• Ustawa z 20 maja 2021 r. o ochronie praw nabywcy lokalu mieszkalnego lub domu jednorodzinnego oraz Deweloperskim Funduszu Gwarancyjnym – Act on the protection of the rights of buyers of a residential unit or single-family house and on the Developer Guarantee Fund, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 880.
• Nowelizacja z 21 maja 2025 r. – amendment of 21 May 2025, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 758 (price transparency).
• Nowelizacja z 9 lipca 2025 r. – amendment of 9 July 2025, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1167 (statutory warranty, Art. 41a).
• Nowelizacja z 4 grudnia 2025 r. – amendment of 4 December 2025, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 27 (price per m², Art. 5a).
• Nowelizacja z 17 października 2025 r. – amendment of 17 October 2025, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1669 (Portal DOM).
• Nowelizacja z 17 lipca 2026 r. – amendment of 17 July 2026, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1077 (price data format).