Revolutionary changes concerning appeal against the building permit
The legal position of the investors active at the Polish construction market towards their neighbours may improve shortly.
The higher chamber of the Polish parliament (in Polish: Senat) is currently working on an amendment to the Act of 7 July 1994 – Construction Law ("Construction Law") adopted by the lower chamber of the Polish parliament (in Polish: Sejm) on 7 November 2025 ("Amendment"). The Amendment modifies the rules for appealing against a building permit.
Currently, appeal against building permit is subject to the general rule set out in the provisions of the Act of 14 June 1960 the Code of Administrative Procedure. According to this rule, an appeal does not require detailed justification. It is sufficient if the appeal shows that the party is not satisfied with the building permit issued.
In practice, this means that a neighbour who is a party to the proceedings concerning building permit can, without much effort, paralyse the investment process for a long time. In fact, it is sufficient for this neighbour to lodge an appeal against the building permit within fourteen days of its receipt, meeting the aforementioned liberal statutory requirements.
In order to limit such practices, the Amendment significantly tightens the criteria that an appeal against a building permit must meet. It provides that an appeal against a building permit must contain allegations relating to the decision as well as the scope of the claim that is the subject of the appeal. In addition, the appellant should provide evidence to support the claim contained in the appeal. If the appeal does not meet the above requirements, the appeal authority should request the appellant to remedy the formal deficiencies within a specified period, not less than seven days. The request to remedy the formal deficiencies should be made no later than fourteen days after the appeal is received.
Raising the bar for neighbours interested in eliminating a building permit will undoubtedly limit the possibility of using an appeal as a means of putting pressure on the investor. On the other hand, it is also worth remembering that increasing the formal requirements for appealing against a building permit does not change the general rules governing the appeal procedure. In light of this general principle, the appeal authority will still not be bound by the scope of the appeal or the allegations presented therein. Its task is not to review the building permit itself, but to re-examine the entire case from the beginning.
If the Amendment comes into force in the form adopted by the lower chamber of the Polish parliament (in Polish: Sejm), it will give investors a real opportunity to shorten the path to obtaining a final building permit.
