They had poles on their plots for years. Now the courts are awarding huge amounts to owners

Owners of properties with power poles, transmission lines or gas pipelines are increasingly returning to old court disputes. All thanks to the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of December 2, 2025, which questioned the practice of allowing energy companies to acquire the right to use private land without formal expropriation.

Courts began to receive applications to resume proceedings regarding adverse possession of rights related to the use of other people’s real estate. Plot owners are trying to reopen cases where companies were previously found to have acquired land use rights without having to pay compensation.

Transmission easement after the Tribunal’s judgment

The turning point was the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal in the case number P 10/16. The Tribunal found that the practice of energy companies acquiring the right to use private plots through adverse possession, if the owner had not previously been formally expropriated, is unconstitutional.

As a consequence, owners of land through which power lines or other transmission facilities run may apply for the establishment of appropriate rights for remuneration. They may also demand compensation for previous use of the property without appropriate grounds.

The first favorable decisions

Although a uniform line of jurisprudence has not yet been developed, attorneys representing real estate owners indicate that courts are increasingly analyzing cases through the prism of the protection of property rights. The first final decisions issued after the Constitutional Tribunal’s judgment are of particular importance.

According to the information cited, courts are beginning to dismiss allegations of adverse possession and award owners remuneration for limiting property rights. Constitutional arguments regarding the protection of private property are playing an increasingly important role.

Over 180 thousand PLN for the owner of the plot

One example is the decision of the District Court in Rzeszów of March 17, 2026 regarding overhead and underground power lines. The court did not accept the objection of adverse possession and upheld the earlier decision regarding the establishment of a paid right to use the real estate.

As a result, the owner of the plot was awarded a one-time remuneration exceeding PLN 180,000. zloty. The case is indicated as one of the first final decisions showing the practical effects of the Constitutional Tribunal’s judgment.

More and more owners are returning to old issues

The first rulings encourage subsequent land owners to re-analyze previously completed proceedings. This especially applies to properties where power poles, transmission lines or other infrastructure elements have been located for years.

Although the direction of jurisprudence is still developing, it is already clear that the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal has opened the way to re-examination of cases that for years seemed to have been definitively concluded.