Maintenance and Repair Obligations in Poland (Residential Leases)

The division of maintenance and repair responsibilities in Polish residential leases is not left entirely to contractual negotiation. In force since 10 July 2001, the Act of 21 June 2001 on the Protection of Tenants' Rights (specifically Articles 6a and 6b) establishes a mandatory statutory framework that clearly allocates major structural repairs to the landlord and routine minor maintenance to the tenant.

1. Landlord's Obligations (Art. 6a of the Act of 2001)

Under Article 6a paragraph 1 of the Act, the landlord is obliged to:

• Deliver the premises in a condition fit for agreed use at the commencement of the tenancy.
• Maintain the premises in this condition throughout the duration of the lease.

Article 6a paragraph 2 and 3 specifically identifies the following as the landlord's responsibility:

• Internal Installations: Repair and replacement of internal installations for water, gas, hot water (excluding fittings), sewage, central heating (including radiators), and electrical systems (excluding sockets and switches).
• Structural Elements and Replacements: Under Art. 6a para. 3, the landlord is responsible for the replacement of window and door joinery, heating furnaces, floors, floor coverings, and plaster.
• Building Envelope: Walls, ceilings, external facades, and the building's roof.
• Common building elements: Repairs to shared building infrastructure (staircases, lifts, common area lighting) managed through the housing association (wspólnota mieszkaniowa).

2. Tenant's Obligations (Art. 6b of the Act of 2001)

Article 6b paragraph 2 of the Act enumerates the categories of maintenance and repair that fall on the tenant during the tenancy:

• Floors and Tiles: Repair and maintenance of floors, floor coverings, and wall tiles (Art. 6b para. 2 pt. 1).
• Painted and plastered walls: Under Art. 6b para. 2 pt. 9, the tenant is responsible for painting or wallpapering and repairing damage to wall and ceiling plaster. Routine repainting after a standard tenancy period is a tenant obligation.
• Doors and windows — maintenance: The tenant is responsible for the repair and maintenance of windows and doors (Art. 6b para. 2 pt. 2). However, the replacement of window and door joinery remains the landlord's responsibility under Art. 6a para. 3.
• Electrical sockets and switches: Under Art. 6b para. 2 pt. 5, the tenant is responsible for the repair and maintenance of electrical sockets and switches within the premises.
• Sanitary fixtures — maintenance and replacement: Under Art. 6b para. 2 pt. 4, the tenant is responsible for the repair and replacement of sanitary equipment, including kitchen stoves, water heaters, bathtubs, shower trays, toilet bowls, sinks, and faucets (tapware).
• Individual Heating: Under Art. 6b para. 2 pt. 7, the tenant is responsible for the repair and maintenance of individual central heating (etażowe centralne ogrzewanie), and its replacement if it was not originally installed at the landlord's expense.
• Light fittings: Replacing light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, and other consumable lighting elements.

3. Capital Works: The Landlord's Investment Responsibility

Beyond routine maintenance, the landlord is responsible for capital works (remonty kapitalne) — major structural interventions that go beyond day-to-day upkeep:

• Full replacement of the central heating system (unless it is individual heating not installed at the landlord's expense).
• Complete re-piping of water and sewage infrastructure within the walls.
• Replacement of the building's roof or insulation when structurally necessary.
• Structural repairs to load-bearing walls, ceilings, or foundations.

These capital works are typically coordinated through the housing association (wspólnota mieszkaniowa or spółdzielnia mieszkaniowa) for multi-unit buildings, with costs funded through the building's renovation fund (fundusz remontowy) — a regular levy paid by property owners.

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