Today's article from the series entitled "Tuesday Mornings for the Construction Industry" once again concerns the announced statutory changes, as at the end of January 2026, the List of Legislative and Programmatic Works of the Council of Ministers published the assumptions for further changes to the Act amending the Act on the Protection of the Rights of Purchasers of Residential Premises or Single-Family Houses and the Developer Guarantee Fund ("Development Act") (project number UD361).
According to the Ministry of Development and Technology, buyers on the primary market currently have limited access to consistent, up-to-date, and comparable information about developers. Business verification is fragmented, time-consuming, and sometimes unreliable, relying on numerous sources of varying quality. This leads to a situation where the decision to sign a development agreement is made amidst uncertainty, and the risks materialize in practice only during the project's implementation. The response is proposed to be statutory intervention, which will increase transparency and security of trading, while also clarifying developer obligations and strengthening protective mechanisms for buyers.
Another extension of the DOM Portal
The central instrument will be the expansion of the DOM Portal as a publicly accessible database on developer performance, which will continue to be maintained by the Insurance Guarantee Fund. The portal will be supplemented with data from administrative sources, including the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the General Inspectorate of Banking Supervision, and the National Court Register (KRS). This is intended to allow buyers to quickly check a developer's investment history, information on administrative sanctions and official warnings from supervisory authorities, as well as compare entities and assess their credibility.
The announced project indicates additional categories of information that are to appear as part of the extended functionality of the DOM Portal, in particular:
- Identification data about the developer;
- Data on investment projects and investment tasks;
- Information on possible delays in the implementation of investment projects;
- Information on contributions paid to the Developer Guarantee Fund;
- Information on any penalties imposed in the course of administrative proceedings and on ongoing court proceedings regarding the restructuring or declaration of bankruptcy of the developer.
Changes to the prospectus
The second important element is a modification of the information prospectus template, which is an integral part of the development agreement. The future project will include expanding the section on the developer's history and experience to include information on criminal and civil proceedings related to their business activities.
At the same time, the prospectus will be supplemented with a uniform template for property finishing standards, including detailed technical parameters. According to the project's authors, this will result in greater transparency of technical and legal documentation and create a basis for more effective complaint handling.
Acceptance of premises: procedure, form and binding protocol
The procedures for the acceptance of residential premises or single-family homes are also to be modified. Consumers will be able to submit an acceptance report along with a list of defects electronically or by post, which will allow for the inclusion of reports prepared by technical specialists. At the same time, the developer (or their representative) will be required to participate in the acceptance process. The project's authors indicate that "reported defects are to be binding and subject to statutory deadlines." The exact nature of this will be revealed after the presentation of a detailed project. However, the goal is to reduce disputes over the actual nature and scope of the reports.
Minimum standards for advertisements and offers
The announced changes also address the initial sales stage: advertisements and offers directed at consumers. Minimal information requirements are planned, ensuring that customers receive basic information about the subject of the offer from the outset. Specifically, the developer is to provide, among other things, the project address, apartment floor plans with floor areas, information about adjacent rooms, and clearly mark visualizations as illustrative materials.
Reservation Agreements: Stronger Fee Refund
The changes will also apply to provisions regarding reservation agreements, including an increase in the refund of the reservation fee in the event of a developer's default. The rationale behind the changes is to discourage unilateral contract terminations in the face of rising market prices and to ensure greater stability in trading.
Prohibition of price indexation after conclusion of the contract
One of the more interesting assumptions of the changes is the planned statutory ban on indexing the price of a flat or single-family home to the buyer's detriment after signing a development agreement or a binding contract. The drafters describe this as a guarantee of price stability for the buyer, while simultaneously shifting the risk of changes in investment costs to the developer as a professional entity.
Special Purpose Vehicle and Warranty Liability
The changes also provide additional protection in the event that a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) implements the investment. If it were to cease operations before the expiry of the warranty period for defects, it would be required to designate another commercial company to assume the related obligations. This is intended to prevent the practical enforcement of buyers' claims from lapsing due to the disappearance of the entity that implemented the investment before the warranty period for defects expires.
In summary, the project's authors expect the changes to result in increased transparency and security in the housing market, stronger consumer positions, and a level playing field between developers. It's also difficult to assess whether this goal will be achieved, but it will certainly result in even greater formalization of the investment process in the housing market.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of February 16, 2026.
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