Poland continues to face a major issue: the lack of affordable housing. Although numerous new developments are underway, prices remain extremely high, and developers are confronted with new challenges. New regulations impose new procedures, additional obligations, and, as developers predict, new factors driving up housing prices. Time will tell whether these changes will improve housing availability or lead to further price increases.
2026 will bring the end of the so-called “Lex Developer Act.” This regulation provided the foundation for many housing projects and contributed to the development of accompanying infrastructure such as schools and other facilities. It generally aimed to enable faster implementation of residential investments, even in the absence of or contrary to local zoning plans. However, the act faced strong criticism from urban planners, local authorities, and activists, and often led to conflicts with local communities. At the same time, developers criticized the obligations imposed on them, such as the 2023 amendment introducing parking requirements, which effectively excluded many urban plots from development and increased project costs. In 2026, “lex developer” will be replaced by new spatial planning regulations ensuring that investments align with municipal master plans. This reform is intended to enhance public consultation and promote urban planning in a broader, more coherent context. Investors will still be required to provide accompanying public infrastructure for projects, supporting the ongoing “city-building” trend. Residential developments will continue to be accompanied by modern public facilities such as schools, though now more harmoniously integrated with comprehensive spatial plans. Future developments in a given area will be based on integrated investment plans, adopted at the request of an investor and resulting from negotiations between investors and local governments, also ensuring consultations with local communities, all in line with municipal master plans (or, until their adoption, local spatial development studies). Starting from July 2026, building conditions decisions may only be issued for areas covered by such master plans. This has already raised concerns and uncertainty, as many municipalities are behind schedule in preparing these plans (the effective date of the changes has already been postponed by six months).
In January 2025, new regulations on civil protection and civil defense came into effect. The act introduces, inter alia, obligations for new public and multi-family residential buildings. Underground levels of such buildings (if no defensive structure exists) must be able to serve as temporary shelters. This requirement will increase development costs. Developers will be entitled to apply for subsidies covering up to 100% of such additional expenses. However, only time will tell how these applications will be processed in practice, causing more uncertainty for investors.
Further confusion is being caused by an amendment to the so-called “Developers’ Act.” It imposes new obligations on developers to publish property price information on their websites and to submit daily reports to the Minister for Digitalization. The regulation has been widely criticized for its vague wording and practical ambiguities. It poses new risks for the real estate sector, as non-compliance could constitute a breach of collective consumer interests, punishable by a fine of up to 10% of annual turnover for the previous financial year and a requirement for the developer to sell a property at a more favorable price if discrepancies are found between disclosed prices and the ones finally offered to the given investor.
Starting May 20, 2026, short-term rental services will be subject to Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on data collection and sharing related to short-term accommodation rental services (amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724). While Poland’s government is still working on the regulations on the national level, one political group has preannounced its own proposal introducing far-reaching restrictions. New EU-wide registration and verification mechanisms will likely reduce investor interest in purchasing apartments for short-term rental purposes, negatively impacting the real estate development sector.
Another widely discussed proposal is the so-called “Supply Act.” It aims to increase the availability of land for residential construction, as the shortage of well-located plots remains one of developers’ biggest challenges and a key factor behind high housing prices. However, it is still unclear when the act will be passed and in what final form.
Finally, the Polish market has long awaited legislation on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Although the government announced that work on the bill was nearing completion in spring 2025, recent statements indicate a reversal of this position and a firm rejection of residential REITs. This is possibly a foretelling of the abandonment of the REIT concept altogether. Experts warn that it would represent a missed opportunity for the development of the real estate market in Poland.
By Katarzyna Sulimierska, Partner, and Agnieszka Gul-Czajkowska, Counsel, Schoenherr
This article was originally published in Issue 12.10 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
