Polish tenancy law

Non-payment EVICTION OF RENT

Duration until process service 1800 is completed

Trial Duration 90

Enforcement Duration 720

Total Evict Tenant Days 270

Courts: Project Lex Mundi

 

Polish tenancy law is spread over the entire statute book. The Civil Code of 23 April 1964, Part 3, Title XV11, Article 1, Arts 659-692; the Tenancy Decree of 28 July 1948, the Tenancy Act of 2 July 1994, the Cooperative Housing Act of 15 December 2000, the Protection of Tenant's Rights Act, Common Housing and civil code amendments of 21 July 2001, and the amending Act of 9 May 2003, estate agents

Brief History: Polish landlord and tenant legislation has recently changed

The incoming Communist Government allocated homeless houses after the devastation of World War 11; up to 1974 families were still sharing one-family flats. New housing sources, cooperative housing and state-owned housing appeared in the 1960s. Pre-war rents were fixed and not increased until 1965.

Privatization quickly took place after 1989. 'Allocation tenants' were offered in municipal flats, sometimes at 5% of the market value. State-owned housing companies were sold to private companies, with local tenants. Under the Rent Regulations of the Housing Act of 1994 the local authorities were responsible. The date for the end of the rent regulation was set for 2004 and evictions were introduced.

There is legal uncertainty in the present situation. The 1997 Polish Constitution enshrines contradictory fundamental rights and freedoms while at the same time asserting an obligation to protect tenants' rights and limiting ownership rights only if law does not violate the substance of the law. As a result, many new legislation relating to housing has ended up in the Constitutional Court. In two decisions in 2000, the Court removed the restriction of the landlord's right to free rental under the 1994 Housing Act. Parliament replied with the very pro-tenant July 2001 Act on Protection of Tenant Rights, Communal Housing Stock and the Civil Code (UOL) Amendments which limited all rent increases to a proportion of inflation in Art 9.3. By October 2002, this particular article had been decided by the Constitutional Court.

House of Poland Row

The core of UOL was to give occupants of all homes, irrespective of their legal form, a high degree of protection. These provisions were compulsory and could not be exempted. After the adoption of the UOL, proprietors reluctantly dropped by up to 75% in some regions and the supply side dropped significantly. Because it appeared risky, developers lost interest in investment. Even the buildings remained empty. Some owners began to request higher rents and cash deposits as a guarantee to compensate for the increased risk.

This crisis prompted Parliament on 9 May 2003 to adopt an amendment to the UOL which removed all time limitations on time limits and enabled rents to be indexed.

Construction of new residences has now increased considerably. A housing boom is ongoing, encouraged by lower rates of interest. Foreign investors are active in the hope of replicating the profits they have made in their own housing booms, particularly from Spain, Ireland and Italy.