Neighbors’ consent to the activity. An apartment is an apartment, right?

Madzia Karwowska in the series “Czterdziestolatka” only managed to utter a short “Jesus Maria” when informed that in the apartment next door a Working Woman who is not afraid of any work will be overlocking. An overlock is a type of professional, multifunctional sewing machine. Objection didn’t even occur to her.

Polish law does not prohibit registering a company at your home address, just like in a rented apartment. However, business cannot be a nuisance to neighbors – that’s the theory. In practice, peace is difficult to enforce, which is why the Ministry of Development wants to put some order in this matter.

Freedom, Tomek, in your own house. Change of attitude

A new provision will soon appear in the Act on the ownership of premises, which will oblige the owner of the apartment to obtain the consent of the community and neighbors to change the purpose of the premises – e.g. from residential to commercial or short-term rental. And if he is refused, he will be able to go to court to revoke the resolution. The idea to connect neighboring premises will also require consent.

Currently, the consent of the community is not required if the change of use of the premises concerns one’s own apartment, the new activity does not require construction works interfering with the common parts of the building (façade, ventilation shafts or staircase), the new method of use is not burdensome for neighbors – for example, it does not generate noise or odors.

Predictable neighborhood is the law of Poles

“The legal system should protect the good faith of people purchasing apartments in a residential building,” argues the Ministry of Energy and Technology. “This leads to a change in the function of the premises without the consent of the community, contrary to the decisions issued in the construction process, which also affects neighboring premises and common property. These include, for example, cases of transforming a residential premises into premises performing utility functions (commercial, service), such as a medical office or a law firm,” explains the ministry.

After the new regulations come into force, the community will be able to adopt real estate use regulations in the form of a resolution and, consequently, enforce the new rules against people who break them.

The project is only at the beginning of its journey through the legislative process. It is waiting for approval by the Council of Ministers. As RMF radio reported, there is no unanimous agreement on this matter in the ruling camp. Poland 2050 makes support for the ministry’s project dependent on two issues. The first is to shorten the vacatio legis and speed up the implementation of the regulations as much as possible. The second is the issue of designating zones for short-term rentals – some politicians want local governments to designate the zones, and others want housing communities to be responsible for this.