Buying a Resale Property in Poland: Legal Risks and Checks

This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. How the rules apply depends on your individual circumstances, contracts, documents and deadlines. If you need advice or representation, the matter should be assessed by a qualified Polish lawyer. Twoja Sprawa helps you organise the documents for that assessment.

Key points

Who this guide is for

Contents

Why resale is a different game from new-build

Buying from a developer in Poland means you benefit from the full protective machinery of the Act of 20 May 2021 on the protection of buyers' rights: an escrow account (rachunek powierniczy) protects money paid in, the Developer Guarantee Fund (Deweloperski Fundusz Gwarancyjny) covers you if the developer goes insolvent, and a formal handover procedure gives you a clear route for raising defects. ✅

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On the resale market — where the seller is a private individual or another party not selling as a first-time developer — none of that applies. The only protection you have is the general statutory warranty for defects under the Civil Code (art. 556 et seq.), plus whatever you have checked yourself before signing the preliminary contract and paying a deposit. ✅ For a buyer coming from the UK — without the ability to quickly travel over, view the flat in person, or drop into an office — that difference matters in practice: you have to plan verification well in advance, because there is no institutional safety net comparable to a developer transaction.

Below are the six risks that come up most often on resale purchases, and how to check them even from abroad.

Risk 1: a mortgage or other charge

Every land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta, abbreviated KW — the closest Polish equivalent to the HM Land Registry title register, though structured differently) has four sections: I — description of the property, II — ownership, III — limited rights in rem other than mortgages (e.g. easements, life estate) and restrictions on disposal, IV — mortgages. ✅ Before you sign anything, check Section IV: if it shows a mortgage registered in favour of the seller's bank, the property secures that bank loan.

A mortgage does not automatically block a purchase — in practice, the seller usually repays the loan out of the deposit or the sale price, and the bank then consents to have the mortgage removed from the register. What matters is that the payment schedule and the notarial deed are structured correctly to protect this process — otherwise you risk buying a property that is still formally charged in favour of the seller's creditor. We cover the mechanics and practical steps in detail in Buying a Flat with a Mortgage in Poland (in Polish) — we do not repeat that full walkthrough here.

For a UK-based buyer, the key is timing: repaying the seller's loan, obtaining the bank's release, and getting the mortgage actually struck off the register are processes that take time, and you are coordinating them remotely, usually through a power of attorney and the notary.

Risk 2: a sitting tenant

Buying a flat where someone is actually living — under a lease or simply registered as a resident (zameldowanie, Poland's residence-registration system, distinct from ownership) without a clear legal title — is one of the most common sources of disputes after a resale purchase. Buying the property does not, by itself, remove a person physically living in it: the legal status of that occupant, any lease, and any deregistration required afterwards need separate verification and, in a dispute, can require court proceedings.

Because the legal mechanics of leases, notice, and eviction in Poland are extensive and go beyond the scope of this guide, we have set out the full checklist and steps in Buying a Flat with a Sitting Tenant in Poland (in Polish). The one rule that matters most for a UK-based buyer: always request a certificate of registered residents and a written statement from the seller about any lease agreements — before you pay a deposit, not after.

Risk 3: dożywocie (life estate)

Dożywocie — a "life estate" or lifetime maintenance right, with no exact one-word English equivalent — is a right that is neither a mortgage nor an ordinary tenancy, yet it can significantly limit what you actually acquire. The act on land and mortgage registers expressly lists the right of dożywocie as one of the statutory exceptions against which the public-reliance principle of the land register does not apply — meaning it can burden a property even if it is not obviously flagged for a layperson reading the register. ✅

In practice this happens when a previous owner transferred the property to the current seller in exchange for lifetime care and maintenance (for example, a parent transferring a house to a child in exchange for support). The person entitled under the dożywocie may retain a right to live in part of the property or to other benefits, regardless of who formally buys the property afterwards. The precise nature and scope of a given dożywocie entry requires an individual assessment by a lawyer based on Section III of the register and the underlying documents.

Risk 4: easements (służebności)

Section III of the register can also contain służebności — easements. These include a right-of-way easement (służebność drogi koniecznej, a right to cross the land), a transmission easement (służebność przesyłu, for gas, electricity or similar infrastructure), or a personal easement (e.g. a right for a specific person to live for life in part of a building). The act on land and mortgage registers states that the public-reliance principle does not protect a buyer against certain easements — including right-of-way and transmission easements, and easements established by administrative decision — even where they were not fully apparent from the register. ✅

For a house with land, or a building plot, checking easements matters in particular — they can restrict building, fencing off the land, or freely using the property in ways a buyer relying only on remote checks, without an in-person inspection, might not anticipate.

Risk 5: service-charge arrears

A property in a residential community (wspólnota mieszkaniowa) or housing cooperative (spółdzielnia mieszkaniowa) can carry unpaid service charges accrued by the previous owner. In practice, a new owner can end up facing part of that debt, or at least should expect the community or cooperative to pursue the charge against the property rather than only against the person who incurred it. For that reason, a certificate confirming no outstanding service-charge arrears (issued by the community's management or the cooperative on request) is one of the documents you should obtain before signing the preliminary contract — ideally through a power of attorney acting locally.

Risk 6: physical defects and the 5-year warranty

On the resale market, the seller is liable by operation of law to the buyer for physical and legal defects in the property under the statutory warranty rules, unless that liability has been effectively limited or excluded in the contract. ✅ Key facts:

This matters especially for a UK-based buyer, because a remote inspection (via video call or photos) is more likely to miss issues such as damp, faulty installations, or structural defects only apparent in person. For a full checklist of what to do once a defect surfaces, and the claims involved, see Hidden Defects in a Flat After Purchase — What to Do (in Polish).

How to verify all of this remotely from the UK

Risk What to check How, from the UK
Mortgage Section IV of the land register Online, ekw.ms.gov.pl (free, using the register number)
Sitting tenant Certificate of registered residents, lease agreements Power of attorney / trusted person on the ground; seller's written statement in the preliminary contract
Life estate and easements Section III of the land register Online, plus a lawyer's review of the register extract if anything is unclear
Service-charge arrears Certificate from the community/cooperative Application usually filed in person or via a power of attorney, typically on paper
Physical defects Technical condition of the flat/building Trusted person, agent, or a building surveyor with a video walkthrough; do not rely solely on listing photos
Planning status (house/plot) Local zoning plan, general plan, risk of unauthorised construction Municipal geoportals online; extract from the plan — see Planning Permission, Building Status and Unauthorised Construction in Poland

You can check the land register yourself, from anywhere in the world — the Electronic Land and Mortgage Registers system (ekw.ms.gov.pl) is free, and all you need is the register number. ✅ Paper certificates (arrears, registered residents) typically require an application filed in person or through a power of attorney — one of the main reasons a notarial power of attorney and a trusted person in Poland are practically indispensable for a resale purchase run from abroad.

If your situation also requires a fuller review of the legal status before you sign anything, see Legal Due Diligence Before Buying Property in Poland and How to Check the Polish Land and Mortgage Register.

If your situation is more complex — for example you suspect charges that are not obviously visible in the register, or the seller is slow to produce documents — Twoja Sprawa helps you organise the transaction documents for further assessment; a free initial assessment is a sensible first step before you pay a deposit.

Documents you will need

Common risks and mistakes

  1. Signing the preliminary contract and paying a deposit before checking Sections III and IV of the land register. This is the cheapest, fastest check available — skipping it is the most common mistake among buyers based abroad.
  2. Relying on the seller's verbal assurances about tenants, arrears, or easements instead of insisting on written certificates.
  3. Not checking for a life estate or easements. These rights are not always covered by the public-reliance protection of the land register, so a register that looks "clean" at a glance does not guarantee there are no encumbrances.
  4. Skipping the physical inspection and buying "from photos" alone — without an in-person walkthrough by someone you trust, defects that may or may not be covered by warranty are easy to miss.
  5. Ordering paper certificates (residency, arrears) too late. These processes are not as fast as checking the register online and can delay completion.
  6. Using an imprecise power of attorney for the person acting on your behalf when collecting documents and negotiating locally.

Checklist

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy a flat that still has a mortgage on it? Yes, this is a common situation in practice — the seller usually repays the loan from the price received or from the deposit, and the bank then consents to have the mortgage removed from the register once repaid. What matters is that this process is properly structured in the contract and the payment schedule; see our guide on buying a flat with a mortgage for the mechanics.

What happens if there is a tenant living in the flat that I did not know about? The legal status of that person (tenant under a lease, someone registered as resident without a clear title, or another situation) needs separate document review and can, in difficult cases, require court proceedings. That is why a certificate of registered residents and a written statement from the seller about any lease agreements should be obtained before you pay a deposit, not after.

What is the difference between a life estate (dożywocie) and a personal easement? Both can involve a right for a third party to live in the property, but they rest on different legal bases and have different effects on a new purchaser. The precise classification of a specific entry in Section III of the register requires an individual assessment by a lawyer.

Does a "clean" land register guarantee there are no risks? Not entirely. The public-reliance principle of the land and mortgage register protects a good-faith buyer, but it has statutory exceptions — it does not apply, among other things, against rights burdening the property by operation of law, against a life estate, or against certain easements. The register is the starting point for verification, not the end of it.

Who is responsible for the previous owner's unpaid service charges? This depends on the specific circumstances and requires confirmation of the current provisions on the ownership of premises / cooperative housing law before completion. In practice, a certificate of no arrears from the community or cooperative is a standard document requested before the preliminary contract is signed.

Can I verify all of these risks without travelling to Poland? Partly. You can check the land register yourself online from anywhere in the world. Paper certificates (registered residents, service-charge arrears) and a physical inspection of the property, however, usually require a power of attorney or a trusted person acting on the ground in Poland.

How long does the warranty period last after buying a resale property? As a general rule, five years from the date the property is handed over to the buyer — longer than for movable goods (2 years). The warranty does not, however, cover defects the buyer knew about when signing, and it can be limited in the contract in specific cases.

Deadlines

Related guides

Przeczytaj po polsku: Zakup nieruchomości z rynku wtórnego w Polsce – ryzyka i kontrola prawna

Sources

Information verified on: 11 July 2026.

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