Giant queues in offices, double increase in the number of applications submitted and immense uncertainty – this is the reality of thousands of property owners in Poland. There is simply a real race against time to get ahead of a revolutionary change of regulations that can permanently block the anticipation of building on many properties. After 30 June 2026, it will become impossible in many places to get a popular “twilight”, i.e. a decision on the construction conditions. This has caused a wave of panic among investors who massively storm offices to safe their rights on much more favourable old rules.
The problem is burning due to the fact that fresh regulations introduce drastic restrictions, and local governments neglect to keep up with the preparation of the required planning documents. For many landowners, this is the last bell to make an application that will warrant them the right to realize their dreams of their own home. Time is decreasing, and the consequences of inactivity can be irreversible.
Last bell for unlimited permission. Why is time moving out?
Key changes come into force in 2 stages, and each date is critical to property owners. The first major change will come January 1, 2026. From that day on, the era of unlimited decisions on building conditions ends. All the ‘pans’ issued after this date will be valid only for 5 years. This means that if the owner does not start the investment during this period, the decision will expire, and the full procedure will should be repeated – already on new, much more restrictive rules.
However, the real revolution will come six months later. From July 1, 2026 the building conditions will be issued only in those municipalities which will be able to pass the alleged general plans. Moreover, the decision can only be obtained for plots in the ‘building areas’ plan. If the property is outside specified a zone, building a home will become legally impossible.
That's why the owners are massing their applications right now. It is crucial that all proceedings initiated until 31 December 2025 will be conducted on the basis of the existing rules. Even if the office issued its decision in 2026, but the application came in before the end of 2025, the investor will receive an unlimited right to build. This is the only and last chance to safe the value of your game for years.
Offices on the verge of a breakdown. Giant penalties and decision-making paralysis
A abrupt and massive influx of conclusions led to paralysis of many municipal offices. In the country, the number of papers filed has doubled as compared to last year, and in any popular locations, this increase exceeds even 1 100 percent. Officials work besides hard, and the deadlines for handling cases extend from week to week, frequently exceeding the statutory framework.
Local governments effort to save the situation by hiring additional employees for temporary contracts and subcontracting any of the tasks to external urbanist companies. However, this generates immense costs and does not full solve the problem. The situation is aggravated by the strategy of financial penalties which entered into force on 3 January 2022. According to the regulations, for each day of hold in the decision on the building conditions, the municipality must pay fine of PLN 500. Importantly, the money does not go into the applicant's pocket, but it feeds the state budget.
The punishment procedure may be triggered by the applicant himself, by submitting an appropriate reminder to the voivode. Although the strategy was expected to discipline the authorities, in the current situation of chaos and congestion it becomes an additional financial burden for municipalities that are barely coping with the avalanche of cases. Any deficiency of formality in the proposal further reverses the case by further weeks, exacerbating decision-making paralysis.
What is the general plan and why will it block the construction?
The forthcoming revolution is due to the introduction of a fresh planning tool – a general plan. This document, covering the full municipality, will replace the erstwhile studies of conditions and directions of spatial development. The main difference is its legal power. While the survey was only of a directional nature, General plan will be an act of local lawwhich means that its provisions will be binding on all future decisions.
The problem is that the municipalities have very small time to prepare specified complex and costly documents. According to the data at the end of April 2025, no of the 2479 municipalities in Poland has yet passed a general plan, and only a fewer twelve published its project. This shows the scale of delays and the hazard that many local governments will not make it before the deadline of 30 June 2026.
The fresh rules besides introduce drastic restrictions on the location of fresh investments. Upon the entry into force of the improvement of the "window" it will be possible to get only for parcels lying on the so-called. construction completion area. In order for specified an area to be designated, it must comply with strict criteria:
- There must be at least 5 existing buildings on it.
- The distance between each of these buildings must not exceed 100 metres.
In practice, this means no more building houses “on natural roots”, on agricultural parcels or distant from existing buildings. The chance of allowing will be mainly the owners of parcels pressed between existing houses.
What does this mean in practice for the owner of the plot? Last chance for old rules.
For each owner of an undeveloped plot, the current situation is simply a real race against time. The most crucial information is that the date on which the application is lodged is crucial, not its consideration. In order to guarantee that it is possible to build on old, unlimited rules, the application for a decision on the building conditions must be submitted no later than 31 December 2025.
Experts agree that inactivity is now the worst strategy. Dr Agnieszka Grabowska-Toś, a real property expert, emphasizes that although the chaos in the offices is enormous, the hazard of waiting is incomparably greater. "The Ministry of improvement and Technology, preparing the reform, should have foreseen that the offices would have much more work. possibly we should suspend the anticipation of charging penalties for delays," says the expert. Nevertheless, for the owners of the plots, the precedence should be to safe their rights.
Even if you don't plan to build in the coming years, getting a “saw” on old rules is an investment in the future and value of your property. The game with an unlimited construction licence will be worth much more than the 1 where no gazebo can be placed after 2026. Waiting for a fewer additional months for a decision is simply a tiny price compared to the hazard of full failure of building capacity.
Continued here:
You got a cut? The government changes the law, and you may lose the chance to build a house!
