16:52 1 July 2025
Developers in crosshairs of UOKiK in dispute over usable area in apartments
Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz has requested intervention from Poland’s competition authority (UOKiK) regarding the practice of including space under non-load-bearing partition walls in apartment floor area calculations—something she calls a major developer “scam.” Until September 19, 2021, developers could legally include such space under the then-valid PN-ISO 9836:1997 standard. Since then, new regulations prohibit this.
Although the Polish Association of Developers recommended excluding this space post-2021, older projects still follow earlier rules. The minister insists the law must be enforced and victims should have legal recourse. She has formally asked UOKiK to act. The upcoming law on price transparency is expected to resolve future disputes by requiring developers to clearly state the price per square meter of usable space.
