What changes in the Developer Act in 2024?

Nowelizacja prawa budowlanego

Table of contents:

  1. What should you know about the Developer Guarantee Fund?
  2. What changes in the procedure for accepting a property from the primary market?

 

The new developer law is being introduced under the enacted Law on the Protection of the Purchaser of Residential Premises or Single-Family Houses and the Developer Guarantee Fund, published on May 20, 2021. The new developer law will come into full force on July 2, 2024, after a two-year transitional period.

Key changes included in the developer law are:

Establishment of the Developer Guarantee Fund (DFG), which secures the financial interests of buyers of houses or apartments from developers. Introduction of the buyer’s right to refuse acceptance of the property due to its significant defects, with the option to withdraw from the developer agreement if the defect is not rectified within a specified period or if an expert confirms the existence of a significant defect. Requirement for developers to provide an informational prospectus before entering into a developer agreement with a client, specifying the information that must be included in such a document. Increased supervision over the allocation of funds held in residential escrow accounts by developers, and linking the payment schedule to the construction schedule. Limitation of the reservation fee to 1% of the property price, along with clarification of the conditions for managing such a fee and specifying situations where it may be refunded to the client signing the reservation agreement.

What should you know about the Developer Guarantee Fund?

The Developer Guarantee Fund is modeled after the Tourist Guarantee Fund. It provides financial protection for clients of developers in case of:

developer bankruptcy, bankruptcy of the bank managing the residential escrow account.

If a purchaser of a residential property from a developer withdraws from the agreement, among other reasons due to a significant defect in the property or due to the developer’s delay in transferring ownership rights to the property, funds from the Developer Guarantee Fund may be utilized.

Komu przysługują roszczenia z tytułu rękojmi za wady części wspólnych nieruchomości ?

What changes in the procedure for accepting a property from the primary market?

The most significant changes include the following regulations:

the buyer must participate in the technical acceptance of the residential property; a protocol must be drawn up during acceptance, in which the buyer can report defects in the residential property or single-family house; if defects are reported, the developer must provide a statement within 14 days from the date of signing the acceptance protocol acknowledging or rejecting the defects and stating the reasons for such rejection; the developer is required to rectify acknowledged defects in the residential property or single-family house within 30 days from the date of signing the acceptance protocol. If this obligation is not fulfilled within the stipulated time, the developer may propose another deadline for rectifying the defects, along with an explanation for the delay; the buyer may refuse to accept the apartment or house due to the identification of a significant defect and withdraw from the developer agreement if the developer fails to rectify the identified defect within the specified period or if an expert confirms the existence of a significant defect.