The price list said PLN 690,000, but the draft contract shows a higher sum because a compulsory parking space or storage unit has been added. You can spot such charges before you reserve. The developer must show on its website not only the price of the flat but also the price of ancillary rooms and rights needed to use the flat (if they are not in the price) and of any other paid services, all with VAT (Article 19a(1) of the Developer Act). There are also costs that are not on the price list at all: the notary and the land and mortgage register fees. Below is a list of what to check and how to work out the full price.
Legal basis: the Act of 20 May 2021 on the protection of the rights of buyers of residential units or single-family houses and on the Developer Guarantee Fund (the “Developer Act”), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 880. All rules, rates and amounts in this text reflect the legal position as of October 2026.
The full price at a glance (as of October 2026)
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Item | Where to find it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price of the flat | price list on the developer’s website, prospectus, contract | with VAT; in contracts signed from 13.02.2026 it is usable area × price per m² (Art. 5a) |
| Storage unit, cellar, garage (ancillary rooms) | price list on the website, if not included in the flat’s price | Art. 19a(1) |
| Parking space, share in a garage | price list on the website, contract | VAT 8% or 23%, depending on how it is sold |
| Other services paid to the developer | price list on the website, contract | Art. 19a(1) |
| Notary and land and mortgage register | not on the price list | maximum fee, fixed court fees |
| Reservation fee | reservation agreement | not an extra charge: it counts towards the price (Art. 32(3)) |
What must the developer show in the price list?
Rules on price transparency (Articles 19a and 19b of the Developer Act) have applied since 11 July 2025. Under Article 19a(1) the developer publishes on its website:
- the price per square metre and the price of each unit;
- the price of ancillary rooms and rights needed to use the unit, if they are not included in the unit’s price;
- other services (the Act’s own term), if the buyer has to pay for them.
All these amounts are given with VAT. The developer also publishes a history of price changes with dates (Article 19a(1)-(2)), and every advertisement must give the address of the page with the price list (Article 19a(3)). The same data is sent daily to the minister and published on the dane.gov.pl portal (Article 19b). The prices on our website come from there, always with the data date.
One important point: if the prices given by the developer differ, you may demand the price most favourable to you (Article 19a(6)). A breach of these duties is a practice infringing collective consumer interests (Article 19a(5)). So before visiting the sales office, take a dated screenshot of the price list: flat, storage unit, parking space and any other items.
For more on where to find the price list and its history, see where to check a developer’s price and its history.
How is the price of the flat itself calculated?
For contracts concluded from 13 February 2026, the price of a unit is its usable area multiplied by the price per 1 m² (Article 5a of the Developer Act, added by the Act published as Dz.U. 2026 item 27). Area is measured under the Polish Standard in force on the day the building permit application or notification was filed. The method of measurement must be stated in the contract (Article 35(1)(15)) and in the information prospectus (the “Sposób pomiaru powierzchni” field).
What this means for you: if the contract mentions a garden or a terrace, ask whether it is counted in the area and price of the unit or listed as a separate item. Compare the answer with the website price list and the prospectus. We explain how a terrace and a balcony affect floor area and price in a flat with a terrace: floor area and price.
Storage unit and parking space: extra charge or part of the flat?
The Act on Ownership of Premises (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 232) lists as ancillary rooms, among others, a cellar, an attic, a storage unit and a garage (Article 2(4)). The common property consists of the land and those parts of the building and equipment that do not serve only the owners of individual units (Article 3(2)).
Developers sell parking spaces in different forms. The form determines, among other things, the VAT rate, so before reserving ask the sales office:
- Are the parking space or storage unit compulsory with this flat?
- In what form am I buying them: a share in a garage that is a separate unit with its own land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta), or a right to exclusive use of a space in the common parts?
- How much do they cost, and does the website price include VAT at the same rate as the contract?
- Do payments for the garage go to the same escrow account (mieszkaniowy rachunek powierniczy) as payments for the flat?
We collect parking and storage prices in Warsaw developments in a separate text: what parking spaces and storage units cost in Warsaw price lists.
Can a developer force you to buy a parking space?
Buying a flat together with a parking space can be a condition of the contract. In its judgment of 8 November 2012 (I CSK 49/12) the Supreme Court held that a clause obliging the buyer to acquire a unit together with a share in a multi-space garage was not a prohibited unfair term.
So ask about compulsory extras before you sign the reservation agreement, not at the developer agreement. If a flat priced at PLN 690,000 comes with a compulsory parking space, your budget and the loan amount must cover both items.
Withholding material information can be a misleading omission (Article 6(1) and (3)(1) of the Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices, Dz.U. 2023 item 845). The Act treats as material information, among other things, the price including taxes (Article 6(4)(3)). For developer prices, however, the main provision remains Article 19a of the Developer Act.
A garage and the protection of your money. A share in a garage unit that you buy together with the flat within the same development project is also covered by the Developer Act (Article 2(2)(3)-(4)). Payments for it go to the escrow account (Article 16(1)(2), Article 35(4)(7)). Only a separate purchase unconnected with the developer agreement falls outside the Act.
VAT on a parking space: 8% or 23%?
As of 7 October 2026, sales of residential units up to 150 m² are taxed at 8% (Article 41(2) and (12)-(12c) and Article 146ef of the VAT Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1263). Check the rate again before the notarial deed: the Minister of Finance announces any end to the Article 146ef period in a notice issued by 31 October 2026.
For a parking space the rate depends on the form of sale (as of October 2026):
- a parking space as a common part, or a right of exclusive use, sold together with the flat: at the rate for the unit, currently 8%;
- a share in a separate garage unit with its own land and mortgage register: 23% (judgment of the Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw of 7 December 2009, III SA/Wa 1110/09; the rates in 2009 were still 7% and 22%).
For a space priced at PLN 50,000 net, the difference between 23% and 8% is PLN 7,500 (our own calculation). Ask the developer which rate it will apply and check that the price on the list (stated with VAT) matches the price in the contract.
A cost after handover. Since 1 January 2025, a room for storing vehicles in a residential building belongs to the residential part of the building (Article 1a(2c) of the Act on Local Taxes and Fees, Dz.U. 2025 item 707). A garage in a block, including a separate unit, is therefore subject to property tax at the residential rate. For 2026 its upper limit is PLN 1.25 per m², and for “other” buildings PLN 12.00 per m² (M.P. 2025 item 726).
How much to allow for the notary and the land and mortgage register
These costs are not in the developer’s price list. The developer agreement is concluded as a notarial deed (Article 40(1) of the Developer Act). The notary’s fee, copies and court fees for the entry in the land and mortgage register for this agreement are borne by the developer and the buyer in equal shares (Article 40(2)).
Maximum rates are set by the regulation on maximum notarial fees (consolidated text Dz.U. 2024 item 1566). For a value from PLN 60,000 to PLN 1,000,000 the fee is PLN 1,010 plus 0.4% of the amount above PLN 60,000 (§ 3(5)). For a developer agreement half of that rate is charged (§ 6(15a)), and for a contract transferring ownership of a residential unit also half (§ 6(16)).
Court fees for entries in the land and mortgage register are set by the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 1228).
Example for a PLN 690,000 flat (our own calculation, maximum rates, as of October 2026):
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Cost | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Reservation fee (part of the price, not an extra) | max. PLN 6,900 | Art. 32(2)-(3) of the Developer Act |
| Notary fee for the developer agreement, your half | max. PLN 882.50 net, about PLN 1,085 gross | § 3(5), § 6(15a); Art. 40(2) |
| Notary fee for the contract transferring ownership | max. PLN 1,765 net | § 6(16) |
| Copies of the deed | PLN 6 net per page | § 12 |
| Entry of the claim under the developer agreement | PLN 150 (split with the developer) | Art. 43(3) of the Court Costs Act; Art. 40(2) |
| Opening the land and mortgage register | PLN 100 | Art. 44(1)(1) of the Court Costs Act |
| Entry of ownership | PLN 200 | Art. 42(1) of the Court Costs Act |
| Entry of the mortgage (if you borrow) | PLN 200 | Art. 42(1) of the Court Costs Act |
| Notary fee for creating the mortgage (if you borrow) | max. ¼ of the § 3 rate, calculated on the mortgage amount, + 23% VAT | § 7(1)(1) of the regulation |
| PCC on the mortgage (if you borrow) | PLN 19 for a mortgage for an undetermined sum, or 0.1% of the secured claim | Art. 7(1)(7) of the PCC Act |
Article 40(2) of the Developer Act concerns the costs of the developer agreement. Check the draft contract to see how the costs of the contract transferring ownership will be split. If you buy a parking space as a separate share in a garage, ask the notary how the fee and entries will be calculated for that item.
What you do not add. A sale subject to VAT is not subject to tax on civil-law transactions, PCC (Article 2(4)(a) of the PCC Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 191). The exception: a buyer of the sixth and every further unit in a building or buildings on one plot pays 6% PCC (Article 7a). For a first flat this exception does not apply to you.
Costs calculator: how to work out the full price
Each development page has a “Full purchase price” calculator. You enter the price of the unit, the storage unit and the parking space, choose the stage (under construction or finished unit) and tick whether you are taking a loan. The calculator gives an estimate based on maximum notary fees and fixed court fees. The notary and the bank will give the exact costs. See it in use on the NU! development in Wola: the full purchase price calculator on the NU! page in Wola.
A foreign buyer’s situation: what this means for you
The developer agreement is concluded only as a notarial deed (Article 40(1)). If you do not speak Polish and no translation is attached to the deed, the notary translates it personally or through a sworn translator (Article 87 § 1(1) of the Notary Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 614). You receive the website price list, the prospectus and the draft contract in Polish, so it helps to keep the figures from the table above beside them and check each item: parking space, storage unit, VAT, notary costs. If a word is unfamiliar, ask us before you visit the sales office. Notary and court fees are not part of the price: put them in your budget in advance, especially if you finance part of the price with a loan.
Checklist before the reservation agreement
- Take a dated screenshot of the price list on the developer’s website: flat, storage units, parking spaces, other paid services.
- Ask for the information prospectus. The developer hands it over free of charge, on a durable medium, before the reservation agreement (Article 21(1)-(2)).
- Ask in writing whether the parking space or storage unit is compulsory and in what form you are buying it.
- Find out the VAT rate for each item and compare it with the price including VAT on the list.
- Check in the prospectus and the contract how the area is measured and whether a garden or terrace is included in the price of the unit.
- Work out the notary and court costs using the table above or the calculator.
- The reservation fee is at most 1% of the price in the prospectus (Article 32(2)), so for PLN 690,000 at most PLN 6,900. It counts towards the price (Article 32(3)).
See also: after key handover: service charges, electricity and meters.
FAQ
Must a developer publish the price of a parking space on its website?
Yes, if the parking space is not included in the price of the flat. Under Article 19a(1) of the Developer Act (Dz.U. 2026 item 880, legal position as of October 2026) the developer publishes on its website the price per square metre and the price of each unit, the price of ancillary rooms and rights needed to use the unit if they are not included in that price, and any other paid services. All amounts are stated with VAT.
Can a developer make me buy a parking space with the flat?
In its judgment of 8 November 2012 (I CSK 49/12) the Supreme Court held that a clause requiring the buyer to purchase a flat together with a share in a multi-space garage was not a prohibited unfair term. So ask about compulsory extras before the reservation agreement and compare the answer with the price list on the developer’s website.
What VAT applies to a parking space?
It depends on what you buy. A space in the common parts, or a right to its exclusive use, sold together with the flat is taxed at the rate for the flat, currently 8%. A share in a separate garage unit with its own land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta) is taxed at 23% (Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw, III SA/Wa 1110/09). For a space priced at PLN 50,000 net the difference is PLN 7,500 (as of October 2026).
How much is the notary for a PLN 690,000 flat?
For the notarial deed of the developer agreement the maximum fee is PLN 1,765 net. You split it with the developer, so your half is PLN 882.50 net, about PLN 1,085 including VAT. For the contract transferring ownership the maximum fee is also PLN 1,765 net. On top come copies (PLN 6 net per page) and court fees for the land and mortgage register (as of October 2026).
What if the price in the contract differs from the price on the developer’s website?
Under Article 19a(6) of the Developer Act, if the prices given by the developer differ, you may demand the price most favourable to you (as of October 2026). Keep a dated screenshot of the price list and compare it with the price in the prospectus and the draft contract.
Chosen a flat and want to know the full price before you reserve? Write to us before your first contact with the sales office: we will register you there and go to the meeting with you. We will go through the information prospectus and the draft contract with you, including the compulsory extras and their prices, and point out what to ask the developer or a lawyer. A buyer on the primary market does not pay us a fee. Our remuneration on the primary market comes from agreements with developers.
Jawno · +48 692 649 839 · infojawno@gmail.com
This text is for information only and is not legal advice.