You are buying a flat off plan and wondering whether the developer will meet the handover date? Nobody can guarantee it, but you can track it yourself, with no contacts in the industry. Four sources are enough: the dates written into the agreement and the prospectus, the schedule with the notices of completed stages, the public traces of the building site (the information board and the GUNB register) and the registers in which you can look up the developer’s company. Below, step by step: where to find each, how to compare them and what to do when a date slips.
Legal basis (legal position as at October 2026): the Developer Act (ustawa deweloperska), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 880, and the Construction Law (Prawo budowlane), t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 524. The provisions of the Act Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1669 that entered into force on 2 October 2026 concern the register kept by the UFG (art. 50 and 51), and the change from 11 November 2026 (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1077) concerns only art. 19b, that is, price data. They do not change the rules described below.
Which handover date does the developer promise, and which does it write into the agreement?
In an advert or on a development’s page you usually see a single date, for example “Q4 2027”. A developer agreement (umowa deweloperska) contains at least three separate dates, and the Act requires each of them (art. 35 ust. 1, as at October 2026):
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| What is in the agreement | Provision | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Start and end dates of construction work | art. 35 ust. 1 pkt 12 | When the building is meant to be physically finished |
| Date and manner of the notice of inspection, and the inspection date | pkt 17 | When you see the flat and record the defects |
| Date of transfer of ownership | pkt 7 | When you become the owner at the notary |
| Building permit number, issuing authority, whether the decision is final or has been appealed | pkt 11 | Your starting point for checking the site in the register |
| Contractual penalties and interest | pkt 14 | Only there if the parties provided for them |
The most important date is the transfer of ownership. This is the date the Act ties the right to withdraw from the agreement over a delay to (art. 43 ust. 1 pkt 6). The end of construction work is only the start of the road to the keys, as explained below.
The Act does not impose a contractual penalty and does not set its amount. If the draft agreement has no clause on a penalty for delay, there simply is none (art. 35 ust. 1 pkt 14: “if the parties so provided”). Check this point before you sign anything.
Where can you find these dates before signing the agreement?
In the information prospectus (prospekt informacyjny). The developer must give it to you free of charge, on a durable medium, before the reservation agreement or the developer agreement (art. 21 ust. 1–2). The model prospectus, which is an annex to the Act, has separate fields for the planned start and end of work, for the project schedule and for the date of transfer of ownership. If anything changes, the developer informs you by an addendum or a new prospectus (art. 22 ust. 1). We go through the full list of fields in the article on which fields of the information prospectus to check.
At the developer’s sales office. On your request, before you sign the agreement, the developer must make the following available for inspection on its premises (art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 3–6, as at October 2026):
- the building permit (or the notification);
- financial statements for the last two years and, where a special purpose company runs the project, those of the parent company as well;
- the building design;
- the occupancy permit decision, if it has already been issued.
Ask for these documents when you visit the developer’s sales office (biuro sprzedaży); if you want to go there with us, write to us before your first visit. Note the date of the building permit: you will need it when checking the GUNB register.
The schedule: how to track progress after signing
The project schedule (harmonogram przedsięwzięcia deweloperskiego) is the best tool you have. As at October 2026 it must have at least 4 stages, each covering 10 to 25% of the total project cost, with a completion date for each stage (art. 24 ust. 1–2).
You pay into the escrow account (mieszkaniowy rachunek powierniczy) after a given stage is completed, and the developer notifies you of this on paper or another durable medium (art. 8 ust. 1–3). With an open escrow account, the bank releases money to the developer no earlier than 30 days after the agreement is concluded and only after confirming that a stage is complete, in proportion to its share. The developer receives the remainder of the last stage after it hands the bank an extract of the notarial deed transferring ownership (art. 16 ust. 1–2).
So each notice of a completed stage is a date you can compare with the schedule. A simple table is enough:
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Stage | Date in the schedule | Date of the developer’s notice | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 |
If the notices arrive later and later compared with the schedule, the delay is growing and the final date is at risk before it formally passes. That is a signal to talk to the developer, not proof of bad faith. Accept any change of dates only in writing.
For developments built in phases, the schedule covers the investment project, that is, the part of the estate in which you are buying.
What does the information board on the building site tell you?
A building site must have a yellow information board with letters at least 6 cm high, visible from the public road or the access to it. It stays up until the occupancy permit is obtained (art. 45b of the Construction Law, as at October 2026). The board shows:
- the date and number of the building permit and the authority that issued it;
- the name and telephone number of the competent building supervision authority;
- the investor and the site manager, with telephone numbers.
Check that the permit number on the board matches the agreement (art. 35 ust. 1 pkt 11) and the prospectus. Take a dated photo of the board. On your next visit you will see whether anything has changed on the site.
Remember that the “start of construction” in the legal sense means preparatory work: surveying, levelling the ground, setting up the site, building the connections (art. 41 ust. 1–2 of the Construction Law). A fenced site with cabins can therefore formally mean construction has already begun, even though no foundations are visible yet. The investor notifies the building supervision authority of the planned start of work (art. 41 ust. 4).
The GUNB register: does the permit exist and what stage is it at?
The register of applications, decisions and notifications (RWDZ) of the Chief Office of Building Supervision (GUNB) is at wyszukiwarka.gunb.gov.pl. As at October 2026:
- it is free and requires no login;
- it covers applications and decisions on building permits, and notifications, submitted since 1 January 2016;
- you can search by voivodeship and authority, town, street, plot number, cadastral precinct (obręb), type of project, category of building and dates;
- it shows the status of a case (for example under review, positive or negative decision, no objection), but not the text of the decision;
- it contains only first-instance decisions and not every kind of notification.
The plot number and precinct are in the prospectus. The same register is also useful for checking whether another building project is about to start next to your estate. We cover this in more detail in the article on how to find out what will be built next to a development.
Why does the date of the permit matter? A building permit decision expires if construction has not begun within 3 years from the day the decision became final, or if construction has been interrupted for more than 3 years (art. 37 ust. 1 of the Construction Law). If the permit is old and nothing is happening on site, ask the developer directly when the preparatory work started.
How long does it usually take to build an apartment block?
According to Statistics Poland (GUS), multi-family residential buildings completed in 2025 took on average 24.8 months from the start of construction to occupancy. For single-family houses it was 51 months, and for all residential buildings 42.2 months (GUS, “Efekty działalności budowlanej w 2025 r.”, published 30.06.2026, nationwide data).
This is a national average, not a norm for your development. It also does not measure the time from signing the agreement to getting the keys. It is useful as a reference point when you compare the start and end dates of work in the agreement with what you see on site.
From the end of construction to the keys: occupancy permit and inspection
The end of construction does not mean you have the keys yet. As at October 2026 there are three more steps.
1. The occupancy permit. A multi-family residential building belongs to category XIII of building structures. Before it is used, it needs a decision granting an occupancy permit (art. 55 ust. 1 pkt 1 lit. a of the Construction Law). The shorter route, a notification of completion with 14 days for an objection (art. 54 ust. 1), does not apply to such a building. The decision is issued by the building supervision authority after a mandatory inspection (art. 59 ust. 1, art. 59a). The investor attaches to the application, among other things, the site log, the technical design and the site manager’s statement that the building conforms to the design (art. 57 ust. 1).
Only the investor is a party to these proceedings (art. 59 ust. 7), so the authority will not send you the decision. Ask the developer when the decision became final: the inspection of your flat can take place only from that moment (art. 41 ust. 1 of the Developer Act). If the decision was issued before you signed the developer agreement, the developer had to make it available for your inspection on request (art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 6).
2. The inspection of the flat. It takes place after the occupancy permit decision becomes final, with you present and with a written record. The developer answers for reported defects within 14 days of signing the record and rectifies the accepted ones within 30 days of signing the record (art. 41 ust. 1–6 of the Developer Act).
3. The notarial deed transferring ownership. The date from art. 35 ust. 1 pkt 7 applies here, the most important one.
If you are planning to move or your tenancy is ending, count from the date of transfer of ownership, not from the end of construction work, and leave a margin. How to put a price on every additional month of waiting is shown in the article on what waiting for an off-plan flat costs.
The developer is late: what does the Act say?
If the developer does not transfer ownership to you by the date in the agreement, as at October 2026 you proceed as follows:
- You set an additional period of 120 days for the transfer of ownership. Only once it has expired without result can you withdraw from the agreement (art. 43 ust. 1 pkt 6 and ust. 3).
- You submit a statement of withdrawal in writing with notarially certified signatures, together with your consent to the deletion of your claims from the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta) (art. 45 ust. 1).
- The agreement is treated as never concluded, and you bear no costs connected with the withdrawal (art. 44 ust. 2). The developer refunds the money the bank released to it no later than within 30 days (art. 44 ust. 3).
You keep your claim for the contractual penalty for the period of delay even after withdrawal (art. 43 ust. 3), but only if the penalty is written into the agreement.
By withdrawing you lose the flat you were waiting for. It is worth making such a decision together with a lawyer who has read your agreement.
The developer’s company: what you can check in registers without logging in
The registers will not tell you whether the developer will make it. They will show you who you are signing with and what its accounts look like. As at October 2026, all of the search tools work without logging in:
- KRS (prs.ms.gov.pl/krs): the data of the company that is a party to the agreement. Often this is a special purpose company, not the brand from the advert.
- Repository of Financial Documents (rdf-przegladarka.ms.gov.pl): the company’s filed financial statements.
- Court and Commercial Gazette (Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy, prs.ms.gov.pl/msig): notices concerning the company.
- National Debtors Register (Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych, krz.ms.gov.pl): check whether the company appears in it.
If a special purpose company runs the project, also ask before signing for the financial statements of the parent company, which the developer must then make available for inspection (art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 4).
If you are a foreigner: what to keep in mind when checking the handover date
The documents will be in Polish. The prospectus, the agreement, the schedule and the notices of completed stages come in Polish. The developer agreement is made as a notarial deed (art. 40 ust. 1 of the Developer Act), and a notarial deed is drawn up in Polish. If you do not speak Polish, the notary or a sworn translator (tłumacz przysięgły) translates it (art. 2 § 3 and art. 87 § 1 pkt 1 of the Notaries Act). Ask for a translation of the draft agreement in advance, not on the day of signing: the dates, the clause on a penalty and the conditions for withdrawal are all in the draft.
Do not leave the checks until later. It is easier to compare the dates in the agreement, the permit number and the data from the GUNB register before you sign, while you can still put questions to the developer and show the draft to a lawyer.
Plan your rent around the ownership transfer date. If you are renting during construction, go by the date of transfer of ownership in the agreement, not the end of construction work, and leave a margin in case of delay.
Checklist: the handover date step by step
Before the reservation and the agreement:
- The draft agreement contains three dates: for the work, the inspection and the transfer of ownership, and the prospectus contains the date of the work, the schedule and the date of transfer of ownership.
- The agreement provides for a contractual penalty for delay in transferring ownership.
- The number and date of the building permit are the same in the agreement and on the board, and in the GUNB register a search by address or plot number shows a case with a positive decision.
- The agreement states whether the building permit is final and whether it has been appealed.
- The schedule has at least 4 stages, each with a completion date.
- The company that is a party to the agreement is in the KRS, and its statements are in the RDF.
During construction:
- You enter each notice of a completed stage in the table and compare it with the schedule.
- Every few months you take a photo of the site with the board.
- You accept changes of dates only in writing.
Before the keys:
- You ask the developer whether the occupancy permit decision has been issued and when it became final.
- You schedule the inspection only once that decision is final.
You can compare the declared handover dates of developments in the catalogue of new flats in Warsaw with handover dates. Treat them as a starting point: what counts is the date written into the developer agreement.
See also: Multi-phase development: what to check before buying and Developer agreement and a refused mortgage.
FAQ
Which date in a developer agreement is the real handover date?
As at October 2026, a developer agreement (umowa deweloperska) contains several separate dates: the start and end of construction work (art. 35 ust. 1 pkt 12), the notice of inspection and the inspection itself (pkt 17) and the transfer of ownership (pkt 7; Developer Act, t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 880). The Act ties your right to withdraw from the agreement over a delay to the ownership transfer date.
How do I check that the developer has a building permit?
The permit number, the issuing authority and whether the decision is final must be stated in the developer agreement (art. 35 ust. 1 pkt 11). The same number is on the information board at the site. You can check the status of the application and the decision free of charge and without logging in on the GUNB register (wyszukiwarka.gunb.gov.pl), which covers cases from 1 January 2016. It does not contain the text of the decisions (as at October 2026).
How can I tell that construction is late before the contractual date passes?
The best signal is the project schedule. It has at least 4 stages, each with a completion date (art. 24 of the Developer Act), and the developer notifies you of the completion of a stage on paper or another durable medium (art. 8). Note the dates of those notices and compare them with the schedule. Legal position as at October 2026.
What can I do if the developer does not transfer ownership on time?
As at October 2026, you set the developer an additional period of 120 days. If it misses that too, you can withdraw from the agreement (art. 43 ust. 1 pkt 6 and ust. 3), and you keep your claim for the contractual penalty for the delay (art. 43 ust. 3), provided the penalty is written into the agreement (art. 35 ust. 1 pkt 14). Within 30 days of receiving your statement the developer refunds the money the bank released to it from the escrow account (art. 44 ust. 3).
How long does it take on average to build an apartment block in Poland?
According to Statistics Poland (GUS), multi-family residential buildings completed in 2025 took 24.8 months on average from the start of construction to occupancy (publication “Efekty działalności budowlanej w 2025 r.” of 30.06.2026). This is a national average, not a norm for any particular development.
Choosing a flat that is still being built and want to check the dates before signing? Write to us before your first visit to the sales office. We will register you with the developer and go there together, go through the information prospectus, the schedule and the draft agreement with you, and point out what to ask the developer or a lawyer. We serve clients in 7 languages. We do not charge a buyer on the primary market 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. Legal position as at October 2026.