Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Residential developers in Poland are placing a growing premium on sites where the route to construction is already clearly established, as lengthy permitting procedures and changes to the country’s spatial planning system increase the risks associated with acquiring land. Location and development potential remain fundamental to pricing, but the time required to secure planning and building approvals is becoming an increasingly important part of investment decisions.
The pressure is particularly visible in Poland’s largest cities. Walter Herz’s analysis of General Office of Building Control data indicates that obtaining approval for a multifamily project can take more than 14 months in Poznań and around 18 months in Warsaw. The estimated periods reach 280 days in Łódź, 267 days in Kraków, 256 days in Wrocław and 231 days in Gdańsk. These figures represent Walter Herz’s analysis of administrative records rather than statutory processing periods.
Longer preparation periods can materially affect project economics. Developers may commit capital to land several years before apartments reach the market, exposing projects to changes in financing costs, construction prices, selling prices and demand. While the construction period itself has not necessarily become significantly longer, Walter Herz identifies the pre-construction phase, involving planning, infrastructure, environmental and other approvals, as an increasingly difficult part of the development process.
Changes to Poland’s spatial planning system have added another source of uncertainty. The deadline for municipalities to adopt general plans expired on 31 August 2026, but only 877 plans had been adopted and published by then, equivalent to 35.37% of municipalities. Existing local plans and previously issued development-condition decisions remain valid, while applications submitted before the deadline can continue to be processed. Municipalities without an effective general plan nevertheless face restrictions on new development-condition decisions submitted after the deadline, subject to statutory exceptions.
The issue is particularly important because local spatial plans cover only around one-third of Poland. The approaching reform deadline also generated a surge in development-condition applications as investors sought to establish planning rights before the new restrictions took effect. Against this background, land with an effective local plan, valid development conditions or an advanced route towards construction is becoming more attractive than otherwise comparable sites dependent on a lengthy new planning process.
The pressure should not, however, be interpreted as a nationwide collapse in residential permitting. General Office of Building Control figures show that 3,093 permits for multifamily buildings were issued during the first half of 2026, compared with 2,859 a year earlier. Statistics Poland has also reported year-on-year growth in the number of homes covered by permits or construction notifications. The challenge identified by developers is therefore primarily the duration and predictability of individual procedures and significant differences between cities rather than an overall fall in approvals.
Integrated Investment Plans could provide another route for larger residential and mixed-use developments. The mechanism enables municipalities and investors to establish development parameters alongside commitments concerning associated public infrastructure. Its practical use remains limited, however, and its eventual significance will depend partly on implementation of the new planning system and the willingness of individual municipalities to use the procedure for major developments.
For investors, these changes are altering the economics of land acquisition. A less expensive plot carrying several years of planning uncertainty may ultimately be less attractive than a higher-priced site capable of moving towards construction relatively quickly. If lengthy procedures and planning uncertainty persist, the difference in value between development-ready land and sites without established planning rights could widen further, potentially feeding additional costs into future housing projects while making planning certainty an increasingly important component of residential land values.
