Microkawalerki (micro-apartments)

Microkawalerki are one-room apartments with an area of less than 25 square meters. Various sources classify residential premises with an area of 12 to 25 square meters as micro-apartments.

Microkawalerki are one-room apartments with an area of less than 25 square meters. Various sources classify residential premises with an area of 12 to 25 square meters as micro-apartments.

History of microkawalerki

Small living quarters have existed in Poland for a long time. In apartments from the time of the division of Poland and the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth there were no restrictions on the minimum size. If we turn to recent history, it should be said that the housing standards of the Polish People's Republic from 1974 established the minimum area of an apartment (cavalier) at 25 sq.m. - 28 sq.m.

In 1995 – 2002, there were restrictions on the minimum area of one room (16 sq. m) and the width of the rooms within the walls (for a one-room apartment: bedroom - min. 2.2 meters and kitchen - min. 1.7 meters)

From 2002 to 2018, similar restrictions were in force, according to which the minimum floor area was 16 square meters. m., and the width of the premises in a one-room apartment is respectively 1.8 meters (kitchen) and 2.2 meters (bedroom)

Since the beginning of 2018, regulations have been in force according to which the minimum usable area of an apartment is 25 sq.m.

From 1995 to 2018, de facto regulations were in force that obligated the construction of apartments with an area of at least 24 square meters. Towards the end of these rules, new microkawalerki apartments began to appear on the market in greater numbers. Changes in legislation introduced in 2018 (see paragraph 3) did not help limit the supply of such premises.

Recently, a new trend has emerged to use commercial premises for housing. However, it was stopped. These are the rules contained in the decree of the Minister of Development and Technology of October 27, 2023, amending the regulation on the technical conditions that buildings and their locations must comply with (2023, paragraph 2442). The mentioned legislative act introduces a rule according to which commercial premises in new buildings, as a rule, must have a usable area of at least 25 square meters. m. (as well as living quarters).

Moreover, from April 1, 2024, the construction of new commercial premises with an area of less than 25 square meters. m. will be possible only if they are located on the first or second above-ground floor and provide direct access from outside the building. The use of the maximum footage (min. 25 sq. m.) is excluded for residential buildings of collective residence and single-family houses with commercial premises.

The fate of microkawalerki

Laws restricting the construction of microkawalerki will soon come into force. However, this does not mean that micro-apartments will disappear from the secondary and rental markets.

Microkawalerki have little importance in the proposals of developers. Analysis shows that such premises have an area of up to 25 square meters. m., formally often commercial, but often, de facto, residential. They make up less than 2% - 3% of the market supply of developers. Soon the new micro-apartments will disappear. However, the smallest premises that were built earlier (including during the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Polish People's Republic) will remain on the market.

The rules described above will not apply retroactively, meaning, for example, that they will not apply to investments with a building permit issued before 1 April 2024.

An identical principle associated with the absence of the so-called retroaction, that is, the operation of a reverse law, was applied by the legislator earlier, which explains why apartments with a usable area of up to 25 square meters are freely offered on the secondary and rental markets. m.

The smallest residential premises of previous decades can be freely sold and rented in Poland, since the above rules regarding the size of micro-cavaliers did not and do not have retroactive effect.

...Almost microkawalerki - apartments divided into rooms

There is also the practice of dividing large apartments into tiny rooms. The sharp rise in rents seen in 2022 has helped fuel a phenomenon that is sometimes even more exciting than the presence of microcabinets on the market. We are talking about dividing large apartments with partitions to create smaller rooms. Construction supervision controls this issue. The District Building Supervision Inspectorate checks whether there has been an unregistered change in the use of the premises (see: Article 71 of the Building Law) and violations of regulations concerning, for example, sanitary installations, acoustics or ventilation.