Government will not set a maximum amount of commission for real estate agents

The issue of real estate agents’ remuneration and, in principle, the lack of any state regulatory mechanisms in this respect, is one of the elements of the debate on the domestic real estate market. As a result of the parliamentary interpellation, the Ministry of Development and Technology expressed the government’s position in this respect.

In the MP’s interpellation no. 25796 attention was drawn to high commissions reserved by real estate brokers, sometimes even reaching 3-4% of the value of flats sold through their agency. The commission is reserved on both sides of the transaction and, in addition, sometimes a minimum commission amount is introduced. As indicated in the interpretation, the amount of the commission often exceeds the notarial fee, which consists of the court fee, tax on civil law transactions, notary fees and VAT. The author of the interpellation expressed a postulate appearing in the public debate that the remuneration of real estate agents should be dealt with in a similar way as the remuneration of notaries used to be dealt with – regulating it by law.

In response, the Ministry of Development and Technology indicated that regulating the remuneration of real estate agents would violate the Polish Constitution and the freedom of economic activity regulated therein. However, such restrictions can only be introduced by way of a law and only for reasons of important public interest. In the Ministry’s view, the current form of the provisions regulating the activity of an estate agent is sufficient, and further interference with them could lead to a restriction of the said freedom of activity.

The Ministry has also pointed out an important difference between the services of a notary and the agency offered by a real estate agent. With regard to real estate sale agreements, the use of the former is mandatory, as the validity of the sale of the property depends on it. This cannot be said of the services of a real estate agent, which are entirely voluntary.