Abstract:

The article examines the enforcement by a housing community of warranty entitlements in respect of physical defects in common property under Polish law. Its aim is to determine the current legal position of the housing community in this respect and to assess the proposed amendments to the Act on Ownership of Premises. The study applies the doctrinal legal method, based on the interpretation of applicable legal provisions, case law, and proposed legislative solutions. The analysis focuses in particular on the rules for classifying building components as part of the common property, the criteria for assessing their defects, the scope of entitlements vested in purchasers of premises, and the possibility of transferring those entitlements to the housing community. It is demonstrated that, under the current legal framework, the housing community does not have ex lege standing to pursue warranty claims relating to physical defects in the common property, and that the exercise of such claims requires their prior acquisition from the purchasers of the premises. The proposed grant to the housing community, by operation of law, of a claim for removal of the defect should be assessed positively, as it reduces the practical difficulties associated with the need to obtain assignments. At the same time, leaving claims for damages pursued under the general rules outside the scope of the proposed regulation means that the proposed solution only partially eliminates the problems arising from the current framework for the enforcement of claims by the housing community.