Is the balcony falling apart? The new regulations will indicate who will pay for the repairs

The government has prepared a draft amendment to the Act on the ownership of premises, which is intended to clearly define responsibility for the renovation of balconies in multi-family buildings. According to the proposed regulations, housing communities will be responsible for the structural elements of balconies, while apartment owners will be responsible for their finishing and ongoing maintenance.

The project is intended to end long-standing interpretation disputes that often reached courts and led to divergent rulings.

Renovation of a balcony in a block of flats. What will the community pay for?

The project assumes that the common property will include not only the land and parts of the building serving all residents, but also the structural elements of balconies, loggias and terraces.

This means that the housing community will finance repairs of the balcony slab, insulation, girders, balustrades and other load-bearing elements. It will be the responsibility of removing damage such as falling concrete, corrosion of reinforcement or damaged insulation.

What is the landlord responsible for?

After the new regulations enter into force, the owner of the premises will still be responsible for maintaining the balcony in proper condition and finishing it. His duties will include, among others: replacing tiles, painting, and furnishing the balcony with furniture or flower pots.

The division of responsibilities is intended to eliminate doubts that have caused conflicts between residents and housing communities for years.

The project is intended to improve safety

Currently, the regulations do not clearly indicate which parts of the balcony are part of the common property and which belong to the owner of the apartment. As a result, similar cases often end up in courts, and the case law is not uniform.

As the authors of the project point out, the lack of clear rules makes it difficult to make decisions about necessary renovations. They also remind us of the tragic accident in 2023 in Sosnowiec, where the collapse of a balcony slab led to the death of a woman and serious injury to her husband.

The draft amendment to the Act on the ownership of premises (UD312) is currently at the opinion stage. According to the proposal, the new regulations would enter into force 30 days from the date of announcement of the act.