Overstated Flat Areas: Polish Developer to Pay PLN 4 Million for Misleading Buyers

The Regional Court in Warsaw has issued a ruling that is already being called a precedent for the Polish real estate market. On 8 October 2026 a developer was ordered to pay 26 buyers (14 households) around PLN 4 million — including the principal claims, interest and court costs. The case concerned two breaches: overstating the area of flats by including the space under partition walls, and a 7–8 month delay in transferring ownership.

Key fact: A Polish developer was fined PLN 4 million for overstating flat areas — buyers must verify usable area vs. billing area before signing.

The mechanism behind overstating flat areas in Poland is simple: the developer introduced into its contracts the notion of a “settlement area” (powierzchnia rozliczeniowa) — a term that does not exist in law. This “settlement area” included the metres under internal walls and stairs, and it was this figure that served as the basis for the price. In effect, buyers paid for space they could not use.

How much did buyers overpay because of the overstated area?

According to the case files, each claimant lost around PLN 53,000 on average. In the most serious cases the gap between the paid and the actual area cost buyers more than PLN 65,000. The rest of the award consists of contractual penalties for the delay in transferring ownership.

At Mokko Real Estate we regularly come across similar situations when assisting with new-build purchases: the difference between the “settlement” and the actual area can be 2 to 5 square metres per flat, which at Warsaw prices often means overpaying by tens of thousands of zloty.

How did the developer justify including walls in the flat area?

The developer argued that the 1997 PN-ISO standard allowed walls to be included in the area calculation and that only the 2015 standard prohibited it. The court rejected this argument, pointing out that such an interpretation contradicts the official position of the Polish Committee for Standardisation — the author of that standard. Introducing the extra-legal term “settlement area” gave buyers the false impression that the calculation method was laid down in generally applicable legal and technical rules and was not open to negotiation.

What to check when buying a flat from a developer in Poland

• How the contract defines the area — as “użytkowa” (usable floor area) or “rozliczeniowa” (settlement area)
• Whether the area includes the space under partition walls and internal stairs
• Which standard is used for the calculation: PN-ISO 70-2:1997 or the current PN-ISO 9836:2015
• Whether the contract provides penalties for late transfer of ownership
• Whether the developer is a separate special-purpose company (spółka celowa) and what the group structure looks like

What changed in Polish law on flat areas in 2026

Since 13 February 2026 a new rule has been in force: Article 5a of the Developer Act requires developers to set the price solely as the usable floor area (powierzchnia użytkowa) multiplied by its price per square metre. This directly rules out using a “settlement area” as the pricing basis in new contracts.

Step by step: what to do if you discover an overstated area

1. Order an independent measurement of the flat after receiving the keys — before signing the handover protocol
2. Compare the actual area with the one stated in the contract and in the Land and Building Register (Ewidencja Gruntów i Budynków)
3. Record the discrepancies in writing and send the developer a complaint demanding a recalculation
4. Contact the municipal consumer ombudsman (Rzecznik Konsumentów) — in the Warsaw case it was their support that played a key role
5. If the developer refuses, file a lawsuit; joining several claimants in a single case (as in this one) significantly reduces each claimant’s costs

A precedent on the developer’s structure: personal liability

Notably, the court ruled not only against the special-purpose company but also jointly and severally against its individual owner and a second legal entity in the structure. The developer had tried to escape liability by converting a limited partnership into a limited liability company. However, according to the case files, it overlooked Article 574 of the Polish Commercial Companies Code, which establishes joint liability in the event of a transformation. As a result, the buyers’ claims were secured by a charge on the personal assets of the actual owner.

At Mokko Real Estate we always recommend analysing the developer’s corporate structure before signing a contract — especially when the project is carried out by a separate special-purpose company. This directly affects how well you can actually protect your rights in the event of a dispute.

According to Rzeczpospolita, full conclusions should wait until the court’s written reasoning is available. Industry lawyers also point out that the use of the term “settlement area” as such was not found inadmissible — what was challenged were the specific contract wording and the calculation method. Nevertheless, for contracts concluded from 13 February 2026 the issue has already been settled by law.

If you plan to buy a flat from a developer in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Gdańsk or Poznań and want to know how to check the contract and the actual area before signing, contact Mokko Real Estate for a consultation.

Source: Rzeczpospolita — Nieruchomości.