Will apartment owners no longer pay for it? The government is preparing an important change

The applicable regulations do not specify precisely which parts of the balcony belong exclusively to the owner of the premises and which are part of the common property. The Act on the ownership of premises only states that common property consists of the land and those parts of the building and equipment that do not serve exclusively the owners of individual premises.

This structure of regulations has for years led to disputes over who should pay, among others: for repairing balustrades or balcony structural elements. Court jurisprudence was also not always uniform. The Supreme Court indicated, among other things, that the owner is responsible for expenses relating to the parts of the balcony used exclusively by the residents of the premises, while the renovation of structural elements permanently connected to the building should be borne by the community.

Renovation of a balcony in a housing community. The government wants a clear division

The disputes are to be ended by the draft amendment to the Act on the ownership of premises, numbered UD312. It was included in the list of legislative works of the Council of Ministers on February 20, 2026. The project envisages extending the definition of common property.

The structural elements of balconies, loggias and terraces are to be directly included in the common property. In practice, this is intended to clearly divide the liability of the apartment owner and the community and reduce the need to resolve similar cases on the basis of judgments regarding specific buildings.

The community will be responsible for the balustrade and balcony slab

The project assumes that the common part will include, among others: girders, balcony slab with insulation, balustrade and other balcony elements that are parts of the building’s facade. Therefore, the housing community would be responsible for their maintenance.

However, the internal balcony space would remain on the owner’s side. If the project is adopted in the proposed form, the community will not be able to oblige the owner to finance the renovation of structural elements, even if it tried to assign such responsibility to him in its resolution.

When might the new rules come into force?

The change is not yet law. The project must be adopted by the Council of Ministers, then go through the Sejm and Senate and be signed by the president.

It was originally assumed that the act would enter into force 30 days after its publication in the Journal of Laws. However, in the course of inter-ministerial arrangements, this period was extended to three months. Only after the legislative process is completed will it be known when the new rules of liability for balcony renovations will actually come into force.