Biznes Fakty
Real estate. Reporting apartment defects to the developer. Parliament's decision
The amendment passed by the Sejm addresses the developers’ warranty for defects in apartments and houses purchased through development agreements.
A total of 434 MPs supported the amendment to the Act on the Protection of the Rights of Buyers of Residential Units and Single-Family Houses, with no opposing votes and no abstentions. The legislation is now set to be reviewed by the Senate.
Reporting Defects After Contract Finalization
This Act allows buyers to report defects to the developer under the warranty, even after a development agreement has been made between the involved parties.
A development agreement is formalized through a notarial deed and pertains to the transfer of ownership of a residential unit or a property developed with a single-family home to the buyer upon completion of the so-called development project.
This amendment was proposed by MPs from Poland 2050. They clarified that the legislation addresses „the existing loophole in this area by enabling the buyer to notify the developer about defects under warranty in instances of development contracts or other agreements (…), thus extending to contracts that are not sales agreements, following the transfer of ownership resulting from such agreements. Consequently, the proposed amendment aims to broaden protection to encompass additional types of contracts.”
Current Regulations Overview
Under the existing legal framework, a buyer of a property, whose ownership was transferred following a prior development agreement or another ownership transfer agreement with the developer, found themselves at a disadvantage compared to a buyer who acquired the property directly.
The regulations did not include references to the Civil Code’s provisions regarding warranties.
