Poland wants to ban realtors from charging commission from both sides of the transaction: what will change when buying housing

Poland is preparing new rules for the real estate market that could noticeably change the relationship among buyers, sellers, and realtors. The government wants to prohibit the same intermediary from receiving payment simultaneously from both the seller and the buyer of one property.

But double commission is only part of the reform. The project is also expected to limit the practice of not showing a property without first signing a contract with an agency, to prohibit the publication of other people's listings without a contract with the owner, and to give the trade inspection authority more powers to audit realtors.

For buyers, this is especially important: today, a person can independently find an apartment online, call the listing, and right before the viewing be confronted with a demand to sign a contract with an intermediary and agree to a commission.

What exactly do they want to prohibit

The core norm of government project UD424 is formulated quite clearly: one intermediary should not receive payment simultaneously from both parties of one transaction.

At present, Polish law does not directly forbid this. A realtor can enter into one contract with the seller and another with the buyer, and then receive payment from each of them.

The government considers that this model creates a conflict of interest risk.

The seller wants to obtain the highest price and favorable terms. The buyer, on the contrary, wants to pay less and get the most advantageous conditions for himself.

When one intermediary receives money from both, the question arises: whose interests does he actually represent during negotiations.

This does not mean buyers will stop paying realtors altogether

There is an important nuance here.

The proposed prohibition concerns receiving money by the same intermediary from both parties of a specific transaction.

It does not automatically introduce a rule that “the realtor is always paid by the seller” or “the buyer no longer pays a commission.”

A buyer will still be able to hire his own intermediary, who will search for property and represent precisely his interests. The seller will work separately with his own agent.

The main change is that one intermediary should not end up financially tied to both the seller and the buyer at the same time.

The apartment must be shown without an imposed contract

For an ordinary buyer, another part of the project is no less important.

The Polish authorities specifically point out the practice where a person independently finds a listing for sale or rent, but the realtor agrees to show the property only after concluding a contract with him.

After that, the buyer or renter becomes the intermediary's client and has to pay a commission, even though he initially did not ask the agency to find the property.

The government calls such cases the actual imposition of an intermediary service.

After the rule change, a realtor must not make the viewing of a property depend on prior conclusion of an intermediary contract.

Realtors may be prohibited from copying owners' listings

Another problem concerns listings themselves.

The government notes that intermediaries sometimes copy offers that property owners posted themselves and then publish them under their own name.

In some cases the price is altered too—for example, the assumed intermediary fee is added to it.

This leads to a situation where the same apartment appears on different websites at the same time with a different price and different information, making it hard for the buyer to understand who is actually authorized to sell it.

The project provides for two new rules.

• An intermediary may publish a listing only after entering into a contract with the property owner.
• The listing must clearly state that it was posted by an intermediary, not directly by the owner.

In this way the authorities want to reduce the number of duplicate and unauthorized offers.

For what exactly a realtor will receive a commission

Another important question is the content of the service itself.

At current Polish law largely leaves the list of intermediary duties to the contract between the agency and the client.

The government acknowledges that некоторые contracts describe the realtor's work in such a general way that the client finds it hard to determine what specific actions were actually performed for his money.

The project therefore proposes to set a minimum list of intermediary duties directly by statute.

That is, regardless of how detailed a particular contract is, the client should have a basic set of services for which the realtor is responsible.

The exact list should be specified in the text of the new rules.

Why the authorities focused specifically on double commission

The government's main argument is transparency.

When an intermediary works for the seller, it is clear who his client is: he should find a buyer, arrange the presentation of the property, and help his customer complete the transaction.

When he is hired by the buyer, the logic is reverse: the agent searches for suitable offers and should help the buyer assess the terms of the transaction.

But if both sides start paying, the boundary becomes less obvious.

That is why the authorities want to move to a model in which the intermediary's financial link with one side of the transaction should make it clearer whose interests he represents.

But realtors dispute this logic

Within the industry, the attitude to the reform is mixed.

Some professionals consider the term “double commission” to be too simplistic. They point out that one agent can have two different contracts and perform different services for the seller and the buyer.

Moreover, the prohibition on payment from both sides does not by itself guarantee overall lower intermediary costs.

If an agent can receive remuneration from only one client, the commission amount for that party could in theory change.

So the practical effect of the reform will depend not just on the prohibition itself, but also on how the market restructures tariffs and agency operating models.

Trade inspection will be able to oversee realtors

The new rules are expected to be supported by stronger supervision.

Poland's Trade Inspection is to receive expanded powers.

It will be able to verify, for example:

• how clearly the client was informed about the terms of the contract;
• whether the intermediary performs the mandatory set of services;
• whether he receives money from both sides of the transaction;
• whether he demands signing a contract before showing the property;
• whether he has the right to publish a particular listing;
• whether the listing indicates that the agency posted it.

Violators face monetary sanctions. In more serious cases, the authorities want to be able to demand cessation of illegal practices, up to potentially banning the intermediary from business.

The sizes of possible fines are not defined in the published provisions so far.

When the new rules will take effect

Nothing has changed yet for transactions already concluded.

The project has number UD424 and is on the list of legislative works of the Polish government. Its adoption by the Council of Ministers is planned for the third quarter of 2026.

After that, the bill still has to go through the further legislative procedure.

So for now a realtor can still receive payment from the seller and the buyer, provided he has appropriate contracts.

But the direction of the reform is clear: Polish authorities want to ensure that the buyer understands in advance whose interests are being represented, what exactly he is paying for, and whether an intermediary can demand money simply for access to a listing the buyer found independently.