Apartments for PLN 1? This is how developers are trying to get around the new recipes

In September, the amendment to the Act of May 21, 2025 entered into force regarding a change in the provisions on the protection of the rights of the buyer of a dwelling or a single -family house and the functioning of the Developer Guarantee Fund. New regulations are introduced by, among others Obligation to reveal the prices of offers of apartments.

Just a few days after the new regulations entered into force, over a thousand complaints about developers who are trying to get around the price requirement were received to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK). It turns out that from the first day of the act, some companies apply practices to circumvent regulations.

– The Act on the openness of the real estate market was to introduce a revolution in terms of transactions transparency, forcing developers to public and open presentation of price lists. Reality, as always, verified this just idea and turned out to be more complicated. Instead of full transparency, some of the industry focused on creative accounting and marketing techniques, which aim is to “obscure” the real cost of purchasing the premises – notes in an interview with “Wprost” lawyer Alan Majewski, Senior Associate at the GWLEX office.

“Apartment for a zloty”?

The most common method of “bypassing” the obligation is to publish symbolic amounts in announcements, e.g. “PLN 1 per square meter”, which do not reflect the actual value of the premises.

– The “apartment for PLN 1” is the most bright example that has been widely heard, and we observe its effects today in the form of numerous notifications addressed to UOKiK. This is obviously not a real opportunity, but – to put it mildly – a very nonchalant way of fulfilling statutory obligations. Developers assign a symbolic price (e.g. PLN 1 or PLN 1/sq m) to the premises themselves, while the actual cost of the transaction is hidden at strict prices of mandatory additional elements – says Alan Majewski.

As he notes, the new regulations were to create clear, collective price lists, while although prices are formally published (according to the wording of the Act), they do not fully reflect reality.

How do developers fulfill their new obligation?

To illustrate how statutory obligations are carried out in market practice, the expert cites three examples.

– In the first of them the situation looked in such a way that the developer indicated the price per sq m, while the total price was given a much smaller, less visible font. Next, another development company gave the total cost of the apartment, while without a distinguished price for a square meter of space. Not only that, the link leading to the details of the offer did not work, so the interested customer was unable to verify the full offer of the offer – says Adw. Majewski.

As he emphasizes, such activities show that some companies deliberately hinder customers with a quick and transparent comparison of housing prices. The lack of a collective price list and non -working links also make it difficult to analyze the market by independent tools.

– There are also situations in which the developer does not present a collective price list, on the basis of which you can make a comparison, but requires clicking on each apartment separately to see the price and its history. What is the purpose of the cited actions? Well, it can be assumed that it is about discouraging less determined customers and blocking automatic price aggregation tools, which allows developers to control first contact with the client, hindering buyers quickly and objective price comparison. Promotions and discounts are no longer determined in advance, but become an element of negotiations. So to get information about the final transaction price, the buyer must have a conversation directly with the developer. It is necessary to mention the practice of artificial price pumping in order to be able to give the customer a discount encouraging to buy. Thanks to this, the developer does not have to make public price corrections, while maintaining the appearance of the stable value of the apartments sold or the entire investment – says the expert.

Changing the competitive strategy of developers

The expert also indicates changes in the market strategy of developers after the entry into force of the Act on the openness of the prices of apartments.

– We can observe a change in competitive strategy. Developers minimize the fight on a comparable base plane of the base price, transferring it to the plane more difficult to quote added value and individual negotiations. Often, immeasurable bonuses, such as offering a ‘free’ parking space, a storage room, household appliances or flexible payment schedules (e.g. 10/90 percent), make the comparison of offers to become complicated – notes Majewski.

Such practices significantly hinder buyers with a rapid assessment of the actual value of apartments. The buyer must also value bonuses, which were actually included in the final purchase price, which complicates a simple price calculation per square meter.

– In fact, these bonuses were included in the final purchase price, while the buyer must value the value of the bonus himself, which disturbs a simple price calculation per square meter – says the lawyer.

Publicity of housing prices and consumer rights

What can a consumer do in response to such development tricks? Lawyers emphasize that the new regulations give customers real and effective tools that allow them to protect their rights in such situations.

– The basis in such situations is solid documentation – it is an absolute key. You should immediately make a screenshot (Screenshot) of each publicly offered price with a visible date. The law is on the client’s side: if the price on offer is lower than that provided in the contract, the buyer has the right to demand sales at the price from the offer – explains Mec Majewski.

As he emphasizes, it is equally important to demand a full, final transaction price.

– The buyer must clearly demand the presentation of the total amount, taking into account all mandatory elements, such as parking spaces or storage rooms. The developer is obliged to provide such information – this is not an option, but a requirement of law – notes the expert.

Doubts? Report to UOKiK

In the event of any ambiguity or suspicion of circumventing the regulations, consumers should immediately report the case to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

– The Office actively monitors the market and has tools to force compliance with transparency principles. Treatment of premises for PLN 1 is considered to be misleading the consumer. Developers risk severe financial penalties (10 % turnover) and orders for changing market practices, which may negatively affect their image and investment stability.