What changed for property buyers in Poland in 2026

2026 did not bring one big reform for home buyers in Poland. It brought many smaller changes, spread over the year, that together change how you compare prices, borrow and sign. Here they are in the order they took effect, with the legal source for each.

13 February: price equals area times price per m²

Since 13 February 2026, a developer contract and a reservation contract must state the price of a flat or house as usable area multiplied by the price per square metre. Usable area must be measured according to the Polish Standard that applied when the developer applied for the building permit.

Why it matters: the final area of a flat often differs slightly from the plan. With the price set per square metre in the contract, both sides know exactly how the price changes if the measured area changes. Before you sign, check that the contract states both numbers and how a difference in area is settled.

The rule applies to contracts signed from that date (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 27).

Price lists: the second year of open prices

The price disclosure rules adopted in 2025 have now been in force for all developers since 11 September 2025. A developer must publish on its own website the price per m² and the total price of every flat on offer, the price of parking spaces and storage rooms if they are sold separately, and any other payments the buyer must make, all including VAT. Every change must be dated, and previous prices stay visible. The data also go to the government portal dane.gov.pl once a day.

One rule protects you directly: if the price offered when signing differs from the one published, you can demand the more favourable price.

The next step takes effect on 11 November 2026: developers must send their price data in one standard electronic format set by the Minister of Digital Affairs (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1077). For buyers, this should make it easier for services like Havkey to compare projects automatically. We explain how to read a price list in a separate article this week.

5 March: a lower NBP rate

The Monetary Policy Council cut the NBP reference rate to 3.75% with effect from 5 March 2026, after cuts totalling 1.75 points in 2025. It has kept the rate there since, including at the meeting on 6–7 October. WIBOR 3M, which most variable-rate mortgages follow, was about 3.90% in mid-October. We compared Polish and euro-area rates in How mortgage rates moved in Europe in 2026.

June: stricter creditworthiness checks

Lower rates did not mean easier loans. Market reports describe stricter guidance from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) on assessing creditworthiness from 19 June 2026: banks rely more on actual spending visible in account history and less on declared living costs. Industry estimates suggest some borrowers lost 10–15% of their maximum loan. Each bank applies the rules in its own model, so ask for a fresh calculation if your application is older than a few months.

Support programmes: what exists and what does not

• Bezpieczny Kredyt 2% is not coming back in its previous form.
• Rodzinny Kredyt Mieszkaniowy (Family Housing Loan) still lets you buy without your own down payment: Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) guarantees the missing part. But the flat must fit under a price limit per m² set every quarter. In the third quarter of 2026 the Warsaw limit was more than zł 1,000/m² below typical market prices, according to money.pl, so in practice the programme works mostly in smaller cities.
• No new preferential mortgage programme was introduced in 2026.

1 July: the planning reform takes effect

An amendment to the spatial planning act took effect on 1 July 2026 (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 781). It moved the deadline for municipalities to adopt their general plans (plan ogólny) to 31 August 2026. After that date, new planning decisions for land outside a local plan (warunki zabudowy) depend on the general plan. Lawyers disagree on how strict the transition will be in practice.

This matters if you are buying land or a house that still needs a planning decision. Ask the municipality whether its general plan is adopted and where the plot lies in it. A flat in a project that already has a building permit is not affected.

19 November: notaries and foreign buyers

From 19 November 2026, when the buyer is a foreigner, the notary sends a copy of the deed to the Ministry of the Interior (MSWiA) through an electronic repository and charges the parties a fee for it. The amount will be set by regulation (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1099). Buying a separate flat still does not require a permit, and the notary still identifies you by your passport.

For Ukrainian citizens, one more date is worth noting: UKR status under the special act expires on 4 March 2027, and applications for the three-year CUKR card are accepted until then. Your status does not affect the deed, but it does affect what a bank will lend you. Our guide on buying property in Poland as a foreigner explains both.

What to do with all this

1. Compare the price per m² from the contract, not the brochure. It now has to be there, and it has to match the website.
2. Save the price list. Take a dated screenshot of the flat's price and price history before you sign a reservation.
3. Recalculate your loan. Rates are lower than a year ago, but the tests are stricter.
4. Check the paperwork, not just the rules. Escrow account, land register and building permit are still the core checks. See how to check a developer in Poland.

Havkey dates every check it shows for a project, so you can see what has been verified since these rules changed. Browse the catalogue.