Which laws regulate the Polish real estate market? A practical overview in a nutshell

The Polish real estate market is not governed by one single “super law.” Instead, several key legal acts work together to regulate:

• ownership of apartments and houses,
• buying, selling, and renting property,
• construction and renovation,
• spatial planning,
• taxes related to transactions.

Below is a practical list of the most important laws — with a short explanation of when you actually encounter them as an owner, buyer, or landlord.

1. Civil Code – the foundation: ownership, sales, rentals

Official name: Act of 23 April 1964 – Civil Code.

What does it regulate?

• ownership and other property rights (Book Two: ownership, co-ownership, easements, perpetual usufruct),
• lease and tenancy agreements (Articles 659+ for leases, 693+ for tenancy),
• sale agreements, including property sales.

In practice:

• every sale or rental agreement is based on the Civil Code,
• anything not clearly written in the contract is automatically governed by the Code.

2. Land and Mortgage Registers Act – legal status of property

Official name: Act of 6 July 1982 on Land and Mortgage Registers and Mortgage.

What does it regulate?

• the purpose and operation of land and mortgage registers,
• entries such as ownership, mortgages, easements,
• the principle of public reliability of registers (why you can trust them).

Today, land registers are kept electronically in a central system.

In practice:

• you check the land register before buying property,
• banks establish mortgages in the register,
• notaries rely on this act in every transaction.

3. Real Estate Management Act – valuation, public property, land divisions

Official name: Act of 21 August 1997 on Real Estate Management.

What does it regulate?

• management of state- and municipality-owned property,
• property valuation rules (valuation reports),
• land division, consolidation, expropriation,
• planning and betterment fees.

In practice:

• applies when buying land from a municipality,
• regulates professional property valuation,
• forms the legal basis for how property valuation works in Poland — including in tools like Estify.

4. Ownership of Premises Act – housing communities

Official name: Act of 24 June 1994 on Ownership of Premises.

What does it regulate?

• establishing separate ownership of residential and commercial units,
• rights and obligations of unit owners,
• management of common property.

In practice:

• applies whenever a housing community exists,
• governs shared costs, voting rules, and ownership shares.

5. Housing Cooperatives Act – cooperative apartments

Official name: Act of 15 December 2000 on Housing Cooperatives.

What does it regulate?

• legal status and purpose of housing cooperatives,
• rights to cooperative apartments,
• conversion of cooperative rights into full ownership.

In practice:

• crucial if your apartment belongs to a housing cooperative,
• determines your legal rights and ownership options.

6. Tenants’ Rights Protection Act – rental relations

Official name: Act of 21 June 2001 on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights, Municipal Housing Stock, and amendments to the Civil Code.

What does it regulate?

• rights and obligations of landlords and tenants,
• protection against illegal eviction,
• rent increases and termination rules,
• municipal housing responsibilities.

In practice:

• applies to almost every private rental,
• cannot be excluded by contract terms,
• forms the core of what is commonly called “tenant protection law.”

7. Construction Law – building and renovation

Official name: Act of 7 July 1994 – Construction Law.

What does it regulate?

• design, construction, maintenance, and demolition of buildings,
• responsibilities of public authorities in construction matters.

In practice:

• applies when building a house,
• when extending or modifying a building,
• when carrying out major renovations (e.g. structural walls),
• determines when notification is enough and when a permit is required.

8. Spatial Planning and Development Act – what can be built and where

Official name: Act of 27 March 2003 on Spatial Planning and Development.

What does it regulate?

• spatial planning policy of municipalities,
• land-use designation and development rules,
• local zoning plans and development conditions.

In practice:

• determines local zoning plans (MPZP),
• governs development condition decisions (WZ),
• should always be checked before buying land or planning an investment.

9. Developer Act – protection when buying new property

Official name: Act of 20 May 2021 on the Protection of Buyers of Residential Premises or Single-Family Houses and the Developer Guarantee Fund.

What does it regulate?

• protection of buyers’ payments (escrow accounts, guarantee fund),
• developer agreements,
• disclosure obligations (information prospectus).

In practice:

• applies when buying from a developer before construction is completed,
• protects buyer funds if the developer encounters problems.

10. Tax laws – PCC, PIT, VAT in real estate

a) Civil Law Transactions Tax (PCC)

Official name: Act of 9 September 2000 on Civil Law Transactions Tax.

• Usually 2% when buying property on the secondary market (with statutory exemptions).

b) Personal Income Tax (PIT)

Official name: Act of 26 July 1991 on Personal Income Tax.

• governs taxation of property sales,
• provides a 19% tax on gains, with possible exemptions (housing relief) if conditions are met.

c) Value Added Tax (VAT)

Official name: Act of 11 March 2004 on VAT.

• applies mainly to developers and business sellers,
• many private secondary-market sales are VAT-exempt under specific conditions.

11. Other regulations that may matter

Depending on the situation:

• Geodetic and Cartographic Law (land records, maps, transaction databases),
• laws on conversion of perpetual usufruct into ownership,
• special regulations (heritage protection, environmental law).

Summary: a legal “map” of the Polish real estate market

If you remember only a few key acts, let it be these:

• Civil Code – ownership, sales, rental contracts.
• Land and Mortgage Registers Act – legal status and mortgages.
• Real Estate Management Act – valuation and public property.
• Ownership of Premises / Housing Cooperatives Acts – communities and cooperatives.
• Tenants’ Rights Act – landlord–tenant relations.
• Construction Law & Spatial Planning Act – building and land use.
• Developer Act – primary market protection.
• PCC, PIT, VAT – transaction and income taxes.

This is exactly the legal environment in which Estify operates. Its algorithms don’t just analyze market data — they are grounded in how Polish law defines ownership, transactions, and valuation. As a result, Estify reports are based on real regulations, not abstract averages pulled from online listings.