The beginning of 2023 has brought a number of significant changes to the law, not just construction law, that are worth knowing now. Therefore, we want to highlight several of them in today's "Poranek" (Morning), and we will analyze some of them in detail in subsequent articles. We have also prepared a list of changes to the Construction Law that will actually come into effect in January 2023.
I. OMNIBUS Directive
On January 1, 2023, significant changes to consumer law came into force, implementing three EU directives: the Goods Directive, the Digital Directive, and the Omnibus Directive. These directives impose numerous new obligations on businesses entering into contracts with consumers. Developers are also required to comply with these regulations.
In connection with the implementation of the European Parliament directive, also known as the "Omnibus Directive," a number of national legal acts have been amended, including the Act on Information on the Prices of Goods and Services (hereinafter "Act"), the Consumer Rights Act, and the Civil Code. The provisions of the amended acts apply to price information in trade between businesses and between businesses and consumers. The goal of these changes is to enable consumers to easily evaluate and compare product prices based on consistent and transparent information, so they can make more informed purchasing choices .
Pursuant to Article 4, Section 2 of the Act, whenever a price reduction for a good or service is announced, information about the reduced price must also be displayed, alongside the lowest price for that good or service that was in effect in the 30 days prior to the introduction of the reduction. However, in accordance with the definition contained in Article 3, Section 1, Item 4 of the Act, a good shall be understood as a thing, including energy and transferable property rights. Therefore, since real estate, as defined by the Code, constitutes a thing, the sale of real estate (e.g., a house, a residential unit, a share in a garage) is also covered by the provisions of the Act .
Given the above, it is crucial for developers to indicate, when announcing a price reduction (in connection with a promotion), the lowest price from the 30-day period prior to the introduction of the reduction . It follows from the above that this obligation will not apply to price changes that are not announced at all , as is the case with standard price list or price catalog changes. Furthermore, Article 6a of the Act will not apply to general marketing claims, such as "best/lowest prices ," that promote a seller's offer by comparing it with offers from other sellers without referring to a price reduction or creating the impression that one has been applied.
II. Amendment to the Act on Spatial Planning and Development
Regardless of the announced major reform of spatial planning (which we wrote about in article #116, others), smaller changes to this act are being introduced. On December 22, 2022, the President of the Republic of Poland signed an amendment to the Spatial Planning and Development Act, under which property sellers who fall into a planning loophole may file claims for compensation with municipalities.
The amendment, among other things, aligns the amount of compensation that municipalities will have to pay for real estate in line with the Constitutional Tribunal's judgment of May 22, 2019 (ref. SK 22/16). According to this judgment, if a new plan is adopted after a planning gap, the municipality is obligated to pay the seller of the property compensation equal to the difference between the old and new plan. In the Tribunal's opinion, the existing law violated the constitutional principle of property rights protection. The current law provided that local plans adopted before January 1, 1995, remained in force until new plans were adopted, but no longer than December 31, 2003.
III. Amendment to the Waste Act
Since the beginning of the year, the provisions of the amendment to the Waste Act regarding construction and demolition waste have been in force. According to these provisions, specifically Article 101a of the Act, from January 1, 2023, construction and demolition waste will be subject to selective collection, divided into at least six fractions . These sections include wood, metals, glass, plastics, plaster, and mineral waste, including concrete, bricks, tiles, ceramic materials, and stones. This means that construction waste can no longer be placed in a single container; it will instead have to be sorted on-site. The same will apply to renovation waste.
It's worth recalling that Article 3, Section 1, Item 32 of the Waste Act states that the entity providing the service is the producer of waste generated as a result of services related to construction, demolition, renovation of facilities, cleaning of tanks or equipment, and cleaning, maintenance, and repairs. Unless the service agreement provides otherwise, the entity providing the service is the one responsible for proper waste management. Therefore, the contractors, not the investor, are responsible for proper waste management (unless the agreement states otherwise). Therefore, it's worth reminding all contractors of these changes, especially if the construction is being carried out without the involvement of a general contractor.
IV. Changes to the Construction Law – effective from January 2023.
The end of 2022 brought numerous announcements of changes to the Construction Law, but these are not yet in effect, and we don't know their final content. Therefore, we have prepared a list of the most important changes that will come into effect on January 27, 2023:
- the definition of construction documentation is changed (Article 3, point 13), which will include "a building permit or notification with an attached construction design, construction log, partial and final acceptance reports, drawings and descriptions for the construction of the facility, surveying documents and a measurement book",
- the provisions are unified in connection with the exclusion of the obligation to appoint a construction manager , which in certain cases will rest with the investor, i.e. Article 45, Article 46,
- an entire chapter is added – 5a* (Articles 47a-47v) covering provisions related to the construction log , including the possibility of keeping the construction log in electronic form (we will prepare a separate article about this),
- the existing chapters 5a and 5b have not been changed, but their number is changed to 5b and 5c, respectively,
- the content of Article 60 is changed, which imposes on the investor the obligation to provide construction documentation, adding that if the log was kept in electronic form, the investor will have to print it or submit it saved on a data carrier,
- a new chapter 5d (art. 60a-60r) and art. 62b are introduced concerning the construction log book, including the obligation to keep it in an electronic system (these changes will be analysed in detail in a separate article), and art. 64 sec. 1 and 2 are repealed,
- changes in the penal provisions related to maintaining a construction book – Art. 93 points 8) and 9) – with the changes coming into force on 1 January 2023.
Many other announced changes, including those further simplifying the construction of single-family homes and the digitalization process, have yet to be passed by Parliament. We will certainly write about them once they reach the Sejm.
Next week, we'll analyze selected elements of the digitalization of the investment and construction process. We'll begin with the e-CRUB system.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of January 5, 2023.
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