No more limits of penalties for delays of developers? A breakthrough sentence for thousands of buyers

The District Court in Wrocław, when considering the case in the appeal proceedings, took into account the appeal of the buyer of the premises, considering that the developer in the developer agreement may not limit the amount of the possibility of claiming interest by the buyer due to the culpable delay of the developer in the issue of the premises or concluding the contract transferring ownership to the buyer. In the judgment of March 14, 2025, the court stated that such a contractual provision was an abusive clause.

Developers unpunished? No longer

As the lawyer explains, the essence of the case was the issues of contractual penalties for developers late with the issue of premises.

– The development agreement between the parties included provisions that indicated that the contractual penalty for delaying the developer – either in the transfer of the premises or in the conclusion of the promised contract is defined as statutory interest for each day of delay, but at the same time cannot exceed 2 percent. Prices of the premises – explains Magdalena Sadłowska, a legal advisor from the K&L Legal law firm in an interview with “Wprost”.

He points out that in this particular case the developer’s delay took place in the issue of the premises lasting nearly 50 days, while the contractual penalty (interest for delay for each day of delay) reached its upper limit in the middle of this period – after about 20 days.

– The developer’s further delay, even constituting a multiple of this period, would not bring any negative consequences, including financial ones, for the developer. During the delay, the buyer of the premises was forced to rent another premises and pay rent in this respect, and thus incurred costs to increase the amount of damage – explains the lawyer.

Battle with abusive clauses – developers in trap

The court of first instance dismissed the tenant’s claim, including the request to award the full amount of compensation for the developer’s late delay, considering that the provisions of the development agreement are not abusive clauses. In the Court’s opinion, the Lessee had the opportunity to individually negotiate the content of the contract, but he did not use this possibility.

As the expert notes, in accordance with interpretation and case -law, that a given provision of the contract can be considered unlawful and, as a consequence, as an invalid and abusive clause must be met in total, three conditions.

– The first of these is the lack of individual negotiating entries (e.g. by imposing a contractual pattern by a professional entity without the possibility of renegotiating by the consumer). The second premise is a contradiction with decency, and the third gross violation of consumer interests. Interestingly, the court of first instance dismissed the claim despite the fact that similar provisions as those whose annulment was demanded by the buyer of the premises, were recognized by the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection as abusive entries and appear in the official register of prohibited clauses. These are clauses No. 156 and 1396 – explains Magdalena Sadłowska.

What does the judgment mean for consumers?

What does this judgment mean for buyers of real estate that the developer does not spend the premises on time? According to a lawyer, this is an extremely important decision because it gives hope for a search in analogous facts.

– Currently, we are dealing with stagnation on the real estate market. Developers, not having many willing to buy, do not invest in the construction and finishing of subsequent premises, for fear that the funds will be frozen – says Sadłowska.

As he notes, there are often significant delays in the release of these premises, which for which purchase and sale agreements have already been concluded.

– For these consumers, an opportunity to assert their rights and careful analysis of the contract. In addition, it is worth considering that those buyers who are just looking around the market and are looking for an investment suitable for themselves, consulted the content of the development of the development agreement with a lawyer. This can significantly reduce the risks and allow them to effectively protect their rights and interests for the future – he concludes.