Buying an apartment from a developer in Poland as a foreigner: what should you check before signing an agreement?

Buying an apartment from a developer in Poland involves checking more than its price and finishing standard. Before signing an agreement, you should verify, above all, the property’s legal status, the developer’s financial position, the arrangements for financing the development, the scheduled completion date, and the buyer’s rights in the event of delay, defects or non-performance of the agreement.

Visualisations of the development and its attractive location, as well as the promise that the keys will be handed over within a few months, may serve to distract the buyer from the most important questions: 

• What exactly is included in the price?
• When will the apartment be completed and handed over? 
• What remedies are available if the development does not proceed as agreed? 

It’s vital that these issues are reviewed before you sign a reservation agreement or development agreement, especially before paying the developer.

For a foreign buyer, purchasing property in Poland may involve additional requirements. Depending on the buyer’s nationality and the type and location of the property, a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration may be required. This requirement does not apply to every transaction, so it should be assessed on a case-by-case basis before any agreement is signed.

It is also important to remember that, under Polish law, signing a development agreement (umowa deweloperska), paying the full price and receiving the keys do not yet make you the owner of the apartment. Ownership is transferred to the buyer only under a separate title transfer agreement executed as a notarial deed (“umowa przeniesienia własności”, informally also named as “umowa końcowa”) after the development has been completed.

A foreign buyer should therefore approach the purchase of an apartment from a developer in stages. Different documents, deadlines and risks need to be checked at each stage, from the reservation agreement and information prospectus, through to the development agreement and purchase financing, to the technical handover of the apartment and execution of the title transfer deed.

Check the developer

Establish the full legal name of the entity with which you will sign the agreement. A well-known developer may sell apartments through a separate special-purpose company established for a single development. This is common, but the group’s previous projects do not mean that the parent company is liable for the seller’s obligations. Check the rules of representation disclosed in the National Court Register (KRS), the available financial statements, and any information concerning restructuring or insolvency proceedings.

Check the company’s share capital. Some development companies have only the statutory minimum share capital of PLN 5,000. The amount of share capital alone does not determine whether a developer is solvent, but such a low amount should prompt closer scrutiny of its financial position, the way in which the development is financed, and the protections available to buyers. You should also verify the rules of representation disclosed in the National Court Register (KRS), the available financial statements, and any information concerning restructuring or insolvency proceedings.

Review the development documents

Ask for the information prospectus and all its appendices before signing any agreement, including a reservation agreement. Review the document carefully, including the developer’s experience, the finishing specification, the apartment plan, the development schedule, and information about the surrounding area. Keep the version you receive. You should be able to compare any subsequent changes with the original arrangements.

Review the Land and Mortgage Register and other documents

In the land and mortgage register, check the owner or perpetual usufructuary, third-party rights, claims, mortgages, and any notices of pending applications. A mortgage in favour of the bank financing construction does not necessarily prevent the purchase. You must, however, review the bank document specifying the conditions on which the apartment will be separated and acquired free of that mortgage once the price has been paid. A sales representative’s assurance that ‘the bank will release everything later’ is no substitute for such a document.

Check the building permit, legal access to public roads, and planning documents concerning neighbouring land. A green area shown in a visualisation may in fact be a plot intended for another building. If a particular feature is material to your decision, such as an unobstructed view or specified equipment, determine which documents confirm it.

Establish what you are actually buying

In addition to the apartment itself, check the legal nature of any parking space, storage unit, garden and terrace. An exclusive right to use part of the common property is not the same as ownership of that area. Ask the developer for plans precisely marking the relevant areas and draft provisions setting out the rights you will acquire.

When buying a house or a unit in a terraced development, also establish whether you will acquire a separate plot of land or a share in a larger property combined with a contractual division for use.

Check whether you need an MSWiA permit to acquire the property

If you are not a Polish citizen, check whether a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) is required before signing a reservation agreement. Citizens of the European Economic Area and Switzerland are generally exempt from this requirement.

For nationals of countries outside the EEA and Switzerland, an important exemption applies to the acquisition of an independent residential unit. That exemption does not, however, apply to property located in a border zone, which includes Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot. In such cases, acquiring an apartment may require a prior permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration. Remember that merely holding a PESEL number or a residence card does not automatically qualify you for an exemption.

Coordinate the reservation and mortgage timelines

A reservation agreement temporarily removes a selected apartment from the developer’s offer. Under the statutory framework, it must be made in writing to be valid, and the reservation fee may not exceed 1% of the price stated in the information prospectus. Before making the payment, check the reservation period, the price, the refund conditions, and the obligations that will arise when the reservation period ends.

The law provides for the reservation fee to be refunded in certain cases, including where the buyer fails to obtain a positive mortgage decision or a promise of a mortgage because of an adverse creditworthiness assessment. This is not, however, a universal right to recover the payment following every refusal by a bank or change of plans. The agreement should also address a situation in which the bank accepts the customer but rejects the property, offers an insufficient loan amount, or does not issue its decision before the reservation expires.

Before signing the development agreement, confirm with the bank the conditions for releasing each loan instalment. A preliminary mortgage affordability estimate is not a financing decision. Align the payment dates with the bank’s requirements and, if financing remains uncertain, negotiate an express right to withdraw from the agreement on specified terms. A mortgage refusal after the development agreement has been signed does not, by itself, give the buyer a general statutory right to withdraw.

Do not use the terms ‘reservation fee’, ‘advance payment’ and ‘deposit’ interchangeably. Each has different consequences for how the payment is settled or refunded. First establish the legal nature of the payment and the refund rules, and only then transfer the funds.

Calculate the full price and establish where your payments will go

Compare the total purchase cost. In addition to the apartment, you may be charged for a parking space, storage unit, share in an access road, buyer-requested alterations, or other items. Your budget should also include finishing works, mortgage costs, notarial and court fees and, where necessary, translation and interpreting costs.

Establish whether the price per square metre is fixed and whether the agreement provides for additional payments. Provisions concerning indexation, increases in material costs, changes in taxes, and settlement of differences in floor area require particular scrutiny.

Verify the housing escrow account and the scope of protection provided by the Developer Guarantee Fund. Remember, however, that not every purchase of a completed apartment or commercial unit is covered by the same level of protection.

Distinguish the construction deadline from handover and transfer of ownership

The agreement should distinguish between completion of construction works, satisfaction of the conditions for the building to be occupied, technical handover of the apartment, delivery of the keys, and execution of the title transfer agreement. The construction completion date does not guarantee that you will be able to move in on that day. When planning a move or terminating your current tenancy, the most important date is the realistic handover date for an apartment fit for the agreed use.

Check which obligation is secured by a contractual penalty. Review the applicable rate, the basis for calculation, any cap, and whether damages exceeding the penalty may be claimed. Broad exclusions of liability for contractors, utility providers or administrative procedures require an individual assessment rather than automatic acceptance.

If the developer proposes to postpone a deadline, read the entire amendment. A change of date may be accompanied by a waiver of claims arising from the delay to date. Not every such clause will necessarily be effective, but signing it may give rise to an additional dispute. If you intend to preserve your claims, this should be stated expressly.

When buying an apartment from a developer in Poland, be certain to retain correspondence and evidence of additional costs, such as extended rent or storage charges. Incurring these costs does not guarantee reimbursement, but without supporting documents it may be difficult to prove the amount of the loss and its causal link to the delay. In turn, exercising a statutory right to withdraw because ownership was not transferred on time requires the developer first to be given an additional period of 120 days. Merely missing the contractual deadline does not terminate the agreement.

Attend the handover with the documents and an independent specialist

The Polish term ‘developer standard’ does not, by itself, define a uniform finishing specification. The agreement and its appendices should specify which installations, plasterwork, windows, doors and other elements are to be provided. Before the handover, compare the agreed specification with the apartment, preferably with the assistance of an independent engineer. Check, among other things, moisture levels, ventilation, windows and doors, floors, installations, and whether the room layout matches the documentation.

Ensure that all identified defects in the flat are recorded in the handover report and retain photographs. Do not allow a written entry to be replaced by a promise that ‘the developer’s team will fix it later’. Also establish whether the meeting constitutes the formal statutory handover or merely an earlier technical inspection. A statutory handover may take place only after specified conditions concerning the building’s admission to use have been satisfied.

Remember that a material defect in the apartment may trigger specific rights, including the right to refuse acceptance or, subject to the statutory conditions, to withdraw from the agreement. A minor scratch does not automatically give the buyer the same rights as a serious defect that prevents the apartment from being used. If you intend to refuse acceptance, obtain a sound technical justification and ensure that the statutory procedure is followed correctly.

Signing the handover report does not prevent you from reporting defects discovered later. As a rule, the developer is liable under the statutory warranty for physical defects identified within five years after the property is handed over.

Review the final notarial deed as carefully as the first agreement

Before signing the final deed, meaning the title transfer agreement, check the land and mortgage register again, review the mortgage release documents, confirm the final settlement of the price, and verify that the rights being acquired are described correctly. Also examine any powers of attorney granted to the developer and the provisions governing management of the common property. Broad consent to future changes to the development or to the use of common areas may remain significant long after you receive the keys.

Be cautious of statements that the developer has performed all its obligations, that the parties have no claims against each other, or that the buyer accepts all deviations. If defects remain outstanding or there is an ongoing dispute concerning delay, the final agreement should reflect that position. Any settlement agreement must identify precisely which claims it resolves and the period to which it applies.

A development agreement creates an obligation to transfer the relevant rights in the future. Ownership is acquired through subsequent legal steps and, where separate ownership of a newly constructed apartment is established, an entry in the land and mortgage register is also required. Neither full payment nor receipt of the keys replaces these formalities.

The notary is responsible for ensuring that the transaction is lawful and should provide the necessary explanations. The notary does not, however, replace an independent review of the agreement from the buyer’s perspective or a technical inspection of the apartment.

Buying an Apartment from a Developer in Poland – What to prepare before making a decision

Before reserving an apartment, obtain the draft agreement, the information prospectus or other applicable information package, the finishing specification, the plans, and the relevant land and mortgage register numbers. Ask for a complete breakdown of costs and the documents governing release of the apartment from the mortgage. Establish the financing arrangements and whether an MSWiA permit is required. Only then can you assess whether the price and deadlines are proportionate to the risks you are assuming.