The debt is paid off – the apartment is lost anyway. The cooperative’s new weapon
The joke is over – debtors in housing cooperatives will have to take into account the real risk of losing the cooperative right to the premises. Even after paying off the arrears.
This change in the law will certainly be appreciated by the authorities of many cooperatives and tenants who pay their liabilities on time. It is unfair, but currently the consequences of other people’s debts are borne by regularly paying members of the cooperative. We are even talking about the cooperative’s loss of financial liquidity.
Debtors have something to fear – after the change in law, courts will be able to rule on the expiry of the cooperative tenant’s right to the premises, even if the debt is repaid during court proceedings!
Poles’ terrible debt
It is worth realizing the scale of impudence of debtors. It is estimated that about 1.8 million adult Poles do not pay their bills, including rent. Dr. Jerzy Jankowski, president of the Audit Association of Housing Cooperatives of the Republic of Poland, reported about PLN 2 billion of debt in cooperative resources. The Association of Polish Cities (ZMP) has calculated that the debt in municipal resources alone amounts to approximately PLN 4.5 billion.
The situation is even more difficult in housing communities. – Cases in which arrears due to unpaid utility bills range from PLN 30,000 to PLN 100,000. PLN, are not uncommon – says Marek Urban, president of the National Chamber of Real Estate Management, in an interview with “Rzeczpospolita”.
– It’s not that poor pensioners don’t pay. The problem is the growing number of debtors aged 40-50, says Marek Wójcik, representative for legislation of the Association of Polish Cities, quoted by “Rzeczpospolita”.
Large debt collection from the minimum wage
The main problem with enforcing housing debts is that people who persistently evade paying rent today, even after initiating court proceedings, can keep their apartment if they repay the debt, even at the last stage of the process. And this is about to change.
After the change in cooperative law, if the court rules on the expiry of the right to an apartment, membership in the cooperative will definitely end. The cooperative will be able to allocate the premises to another person. Please note – these regulations, which will strengthen the position of the cooperative and protect the interests of other tenants, are to come into force in 2026!
Local governments and the Ministry of Justice propose yet another change in the regulations – introducing the possibility of deducting up to 25% of arrears. minimum wage. – After deducting this amount, there is over PLN 2,800 left on hand – argues Marek Wójcik from the Association of Polish Cities.
