POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Michał Wielhorski, Mateusz Prokopiuk, Małgorzata Wąsowska and Klaudia Michalec, act legal Poland
1. General 1.1 Main Sources of Law There are many sources of real estate law in Poland. Among them are: • the Civil Code; • the Construction Law; • the Land Registers and Mortgages Act; • the Spatial Planning and Development Act; • the Real Estate Management Act; and • the Formation of the Agricultural System Act. 1.2 Main Market Trends and Deals The real estate market is constantly shaped by a number of different factors, including legal, eco - nomic, political, social and technological factors. Market trends in 2024 are indicated here, bro - ken down into the investment market, the office space market and the retail space market. Investment Market In the scope of the investment market, the aver - age transaction value is on an upwards trend. In 2024, the volume of investments in the Polish real estate market increased by around 130% year-on-year. In terms of the number of trans - actions, there was a 46% increase. The invest - ment market structure in Poland in 2024 showed clear sectoral diversification. The office and retail sectors dominated the investment volume, each accounting for around a third of the total trans - action value. The warehouse and industrial sec - tor maintained its strong position, accounting for more than a quarter of the total investment volume. The greatest interest was focused on modern logistics facilities located in key distri - bution hubs. Office Space Market Since 2020, a clear trend has been observed in the office space market towards the optimisa -
tion of office space by tenants, driven by several key factors. The rising costs of running a busi - ness, a reduced number of office visits, chang - ing employee needs, and new work models (eg, hybrid work) are prompting companies to seek more flexible and efficient office solutions. In response to these changes, businesses are increasingly opting for smaller but more func - tional spaces. Offices are now being designed with a view to increased employee mobility and more emphasis on collaboration and meeting areas rather than traditional desks and individual workstations. In 2025, it is expected that businesses will con - tinue to follow the trend of office space optimisa - tion, with many employers declaring a gradual reduction in remote working to one or two days per week. Additionally, there is growing interest among tenants in flexible office solutions such as flex offices, hot-desking, and co-working spaces. Renegotiating lease agreements against new ones In 2024, one noticeable trend in the office space market was the shift towards lease renewals by existing tenants rather than the signing of new contracts. In the Warsaw market, renegotiations accounted for 46% of all transactions, which translates into an increase of 3% compared to 2023. Net demand, which includes new leases and expansions, decreased by 6% compared to 2023 – corresponding to 400,000 m². In 2024, the Warsaw market witnessed eight office space lease transactions exceeding 10,000 m², totalling almost 111,100 m². The four largest agreements were signed by tenants from the financial sector, including Santander Bank’s pre-let at The Bridge for 24,500 m² and renegoti - ated deals by Confidential Client at Atrium Gar -
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