In brief

• The Ministry of Development and Technology wants to ban intermediaries from collecting commissions from both sides of a transaction.
• The ministry claims the change will increase market transparency and reduce conflicts of interest.
• Buyers could pay as much as several dozen thousand zlotys less.
• Part of the industry fears difficulties in serving clients and rising service costs.

The ministry wants to reduce conflicts of interest

The Ministry of Development and Technology wants to ban real estate intermediaries from collecting commissions from both the buyer and the seller (Koniec podwójnych prowizji? Ministerstwo podtrzymuje plany, branża ostrzega – Business Insider Polska) (Rząd chce zakazać pośrednikom podwójnych prowizji. Jak pomysł rządu wpłynie na portfele kupujących mieszkania - Forsal.pl – forsal.pl). The ministry believes the change will increase market transparency and reduce conflicts of interest.

Buyers may pay less

Forsal.pl writes that when purchasing an apartment, buyers could pay as much as several dozen thousand zlotys less. The proposal is nevertheless controversial: some see it as client protection, while others see a threat to freedom of contract.

The industry points to risks

Some intermediaries fear that after the ban is introduced, it will be harder to serve clients, agencies will be less willing to cooperate with each other, and services may become more expensive. The industry also points to problems that the legislator may not have anticipated.

The draft is still under analysis

The draft is currently under analysis, and the ministry is maintaining its plans for the changes.