He took 20 thousand. PLN to replace the furnace, the fund demanded a refund. The court issued a surprising verdict

Mr. Albert from Małopolska signed documents regarding the replacement of the furnace, installation of a heat pump and modernization of the central heating and hot water installations. As described by “Gazeta Wyborcza”, the contractor estimated the work at PLN 44,000. PLN and assured that the owner of the house would not have to pay anything extra. The whole thing was to be financed from the Clean Air program.

The problem occurred when settling the investment. With a delay of several weeks, the contractor submitted an application for payment of the second tranche along with the settlement. According to the Provincial Fund for Environmental Protection, the deadline was August 8, 2024, and the documents were received only at the beginning of October.

Refund of subsidies from the Clean Air program. The fund wanted PLN 20,000. zloty

In November, WFOŚ terminated the contract and demanded the beneficiary to return the advance payment of PLN 20,000. zloty. At the same time, the fund did not question that the thermal modernization of the house had been completed in its entirety.

Mr. Albert’s representative, attorney Marcin Wolski, pointed out that the money went directly to the contractor, not to the beneficiary. In his opinion, the most important purpose of the contract should be to perform thermal modernization works, and not only to meet the deadline for submitting documents. However, the Fund argued that, in accordance with the program regulations, the responsibility for the implementation of the contract rests with the beneficiary.

The court dismissed the fund’s lawsuit

The case went to court in Miechów. He did not agree with the arguments of the WFOŚ and dismissed the lawsuit against Mr. Albert. The Fund was also ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings. However, the ruling is not final.

The lawyer representing the beneficiary said in an interview with “Gazeta Wyborcza” that this was the first such verdict in his law firm. In his opinion, it shows that the request for the return of subsidies by the WFOŚ does not have to be automatically considered justified. However, this is the position of the representative of one of the parties to the dispute, and the judgment itself may still be appealed.

Over 400 beneficiaries represented by the law firm

WFOŚ justified its position with the obligation to protect public funds under the Public Finance Act. The National Fund for Environmental Protection reported that PLN 600 million was to be lost from the program as a result of abuses.

According to the lawyer, Mr. Albert’s case is not an isolated one. His law firm represents over 400 beneficiaries from whom provincial funds are demanding the return of subsidies. This does not mean, however, that all these cases are the same or will end in a similar outcome.

Over a thousand proceedings concerning irregularities

Problems also concern the relationship between beneficiaries and contractors. Minister of Climate Paulina Hennig-Kloska said that law enforcement authorities are conducting over a thousand proceedings related to irregularities in the implementation of the program. Among them she mentioned, among others: misleading beneficiaries, unreliable or falsified documents, collecting advance payments without performing work and inflating costs.

The head of the Ministry of Climate also emphasized that since the launch of the new edition in March 2025, the program has been – in her opinion – safe for beneficiaries and can be continued. PLN 913 million was paid under the new edition, and further grants are in progress.