Poland: Handover Protocol on a Flat Sale
A handover protocol on a flat sale records the state in which a flat passes from seller to buyer: which keys were handed over, what the meters read, what stays in the flat and which defects both sides noticed on the day. The Polish version of this article carries a printable form in Polish. It is a neutral model, not legal advice. Agree with a notary or lawyer how the protocol relates to the notarial deed before both parties sign.
For other situations: the rental handover protocol and the Polish developer handover checklist.
The protocol and the sale contract
The Civil Code describes a sale as the seller undertaking to transfer ownership of the thing and hand it over, and the buyer undertaking to take it and pay the price (art. 535 § 1). Handing over is one of the seller's two obligations, and the protocol documents it. The protocol is not the sale contract: a contract obliging a party to transfer ownership of real property should be made in a notarial deed (art. 158, first sentence), and a unit can be a separate property (art. 2(1) of the ownership act). So the protocol accompanies the deed; it neither replaces it nor changes it, and the role it plays in your deal is set by the contract and the notary. What these provisions do not say: we found no model protocol or list of fields in them, so the form is our proposal.
The community and the change of owner
An owner of a unit in a building with separated units is part of the wspólnota mieszkaniowa (art. 6 of the ownership act). An owner is obliged, among other things, to share in the costs of management (art. 13(1)), advances are paid in advance by the 10th of each month (art. 15(1)), and the board must keep and update the list of owners and their shares (art. 29(1b)). So on a sale it is worth reporting the change of owner to the board and writing the date in the protocol (the form has a field), agreeing in the contract who pays advances and utilities and until when, and asking the board about the unit's account and recording whether that certificate or information was handed over, without assuming it is required.
What the Polish form also records
Besides keys, meters and furnishings, the form has optional fields for the seller's statement on persons registered as residing in the flat and their deregistration, for whether the utility contracts were transferred to the buyer or are still to be, for the energy and gas meter-point numbers, and for an identity document. Fields marked optional can be left out; write down only the personal data the parties really need. Ask a notary or lawyer how the protocol relates to the deed and to the settlements between the parties.
How Unitify relates to this protocol
It does not generate handover protocols and has nothing to do with flat sales: it is a platform for owner-occupied buildings, associations and the companies that manage them. If your community uses Unitify, the new owner and the board can communicate in the resident app and track requests in requests; the interface is not yet in Polish. On the board's work: Wspólnota Mieszkaniowa: Duties and the Board. Euro prices are net of VAT; see pricing and the Poland page.
Frequently asked questions
Does the handover protocol replace the notarial deed?
No. The protocol is a separate document about the state of the flat on the day it is handed over. A contract obliging a party to transfer ownership of real property should be made in a notarial deed (art. 158, first sentence, of the Civil Code), and a unit can be a separate property (art. 2(1) of the ownership act).
When is the protocol written on a flat sale?
When the flat is handed to the buyer. The Civil Code describes a sale as the seller undertaking to transfer ownership and hand over the thing, and the buyer undertaking to take it and pay the price (art. 535 § 1). The date of handover comes from the contract; the protocol records what the handover looked like.
What should the protocol contain on a sale?
The parties, the address and the land and mortgage register number, the notarial deed, the number of keys, remotes and cards, meter readings with the date, the furnishings left in the flat, the condition of each room, defects with photos, documents handed over and both signatures. The Polish form has these fields.
Must the sale be reported to the community's board?
The ownership act obliges the board to keep the list of owners and their shares up to date (art. 29(1b)), so a change of owner should reach the board. The form has a field for the date it was reported. How to report it in your community is for the board to say.
Who pays the board advances for the month of the sale?
That has to be settled in the sale contract and checked with a notary or lawyer. The ownership act says an owner shares in the costs of management (art. 13(1)) and that advances are paid in advance by the 10th of each month (art. 15(1)), but the settling between seller and buyer is left in the form as a blank.
Does Unitify generate a sale handover protocol?
No. The form is for printing and filling in by hand. Unitify is a platform for owner-occupied buildings, associations and their managers, not a tool for flat sales.