Remuneration for non-contractual use of premises

When is there non-contractual use of a property?

Non-contractual use of premises occurs when the owner of the premises occupies them without any legal title.

Such a situation may occur when an existing lease agreement expires due to certain factual and legal events, and the tenant continues to occupy the premises which were the subject of the previous agreement.

What can the owner of the premises do?

The owner of the premises (or the perpetual usufructuary) may address a claim for payment of remuneration for the non-contractual use of the property to the freeholder, i.e. the person who has possession of the property as owner.

In the case of non-contractual use, the freeholder occupies the premises without any legal basis for doing so.

Is each freeholder equally liable to the owner of the premises?

The owner is entitled to compensation from the mere fact of using the property without a legal title.

Whether this use is culpable on the part of the owner-occupier and whether the owner of the premises has actually suffered damage because of it are irrelevant.

However, the issue of culpability affects the aspect relating to the extent of the compensation due to the owner.

If the holder of the selfowner’s use of the premises is in bad faith, he is obliged to pay remuneration for the entire period of non-contractual use of the premises.

In contrast, a possessor in good faith is only obliged to pay remuneration from the moment he becomes aware that an action for possession has been brought against him.

Bad faith, on the other hand, means that the holder is well aware that he is not entitled to the use of the premises.

Bad faith is also present when the holder could easily have known that he was not entitled to use the premises.

The holder only has such knowledge from the moment it becomes aware that an action has been brought against it.

What must a Claimant asserting a claim for payment of remuneration prove?

When bringing an action against the freeholder of the premises, the Claimant must first of all prove that it has standing to bring the action, i.e. it must show that it is the owner of the property or its perpetual usufructuary.

If there is bad faith on the part of the defendant, the Claimant must further show that the possessor occupied the premises in bad faith.

Otherwise, there is a presumption of good faith on the part of the possessor of the property, to which the ordinary court is bound.

The claim for remuneration for the non-contractual use of the property should indicate the period to which the claim relates and its amount.

Determination of the amount of remuneration due to the owner shall be made on the basis of market price rates for the use of the property (rent).

Does the claim for remuneration for non-contractual use of the premises pass to the purchaser of the premises?

It is worth noting that the claim for remuneration for non-contractual use does not pass ipso jure to the new owner on the disposal of the property.

This statement remains consistent with the interpretation of the provisions of the Civil Code, which stipulate that upon delivery of the sold thing, the benefits and burdens of the thing and the danger of accidental loss or damage are transferred to the buyer.

However, these benefits do not include claims for remuneration for non-contractual use from the period before the sale of the premises.

However, the provisions of the Civil Code regulating these issues are dispositive, which means that the parties to a contract for the sale of real estate may make different provisions in the wording of the contractual provisions.

Suit fee A suit for payment of remuneration for non-contractual use of the premises is subject to a fixed fee (most PLN 1,000.00) if the value of the subject matter of the dispute does not exceed PLN 20,000.00.

Otherwise, the suit is subject to a proportional fee in the amount of 5% of the value of the object of the dispute, however, not more than PLN 200,000.00.