Łukasz Łanoszka and Mariusz Mielczarek for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna: “The dispute over the floor area under partition walls may change the housing market”
The method of calculating the usable floor area of apartments has become increasingly controversial after a ruling of the Warsaw-Praga District Court in April 2024. The court held that the area occupied by brick partition walls cannot be included in the usable floor area, which constitutes a departure from the developers’ current practice. The consequences of this ruling and its impact on the housing market are discussed in Dziennik Gazeta Prawna by partner Łukasz Łanoszka and senior associate Mariusz Mielczarek from KWKR law firm. Read the article in Polish here!
Current practice of developers
Until now, developers – relying on the Polish measurement standard PN-ISO 9836:1997 – have included the space under partition walls in the usable floor area of apartments, treating them as elements that could be dismantled. This practice was considered lawful, provided that buyers were clearly informed about the method of measuring the area.
The problem of interpreting “removability”
The key issue is how to interpret the concept of “removability” of partition walls. The measurement standard does not clearly define which specific walls may be regarded as removable. In practice, almost any internal wall (that is not load-bearing) can be dismantled in some way, which allowed the space beneath it to be included in the apartment’s floor area.
Far-reaching consequences for the market
The Warsaw court’s ruling may have far-reaching consequences for the entire real estate market. Excluding the area under partition walls would mean changing ownership shares in housing communities, which would affect voting, maintenance charges, and settlements. It could also lead to inconsistencies with land and mortgage registers, problems with certificates of self-contained units, and, in extreme cases, the loss of the minimum floor area required for an apartment to retain the status of a self-contained unit (25 m²).
Critical assessment of the ruling
Our experts take a critical view of the Warsaw court’s ruling, pointing out that it is based on an incorrect assumption regarding degrees of removability of partition walls and that it may undermine legal certainty in property transactions. If this line of case law becomes established, its consequences could affect not only developers but also buyers and housing communities.
How should the measurement standard concerning the inclusion of floor area under partition walls be interpreted? What could be the legal and practical consequences of excluding the space under partition walls from the usable floor area of apartments? How can developers defend themselves against claims from buyers regarding incorrectly calculated floor areas?
These and many other questions are addressed by Łukasz Łanoszka and Mariusz Mielczarek from KWKR law firm in their article published in Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
