Legal Status of Housing Communities in Poland

Abstract

The number of housing communities in Poland is on the rise as they have a property right known as “separate ownership of the premises”. Housing communities are now an important alternative to the still popular housing cooperatives. Housing cooperatives have many legal orders, and their legal status varies. Polish housing communities do not have legal personality, which raises questions about their legal status. The author of this article explains about the legal regulations around housing communities, analyses the contents of the Polish legal doctrine, and reviews important judgments regarding the legal character of housing communities. In conclusion, the author recognizes Polish housing communities as “defective legal persons”, i.e., they are subject to rights that are independent of those of the owners of premises and therefore have legal capacity. In this respect, the Polish model bears similarity to the model adopted in the German legal system.

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