Mysterious commission for the intermediary. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has no doubts about how things should be
A commission for a real estate agency is remuneration for the activities undertaken by the agent in connection with issuing an advertisement for the sale or rent of an apartment, showing the apartment to interested parties and completing formalities. It is usually a percentage of the purchase price or monthly rent.
It happens that agents collect commission from both parties to the contract and do not inform them about it. It is also rare for the advertisement to include information about the commission amount. This makes it difficult for people looking for a place to assess the actual amount they have to spend on purchasing or renting: in the case of an apartment listed for PLN 800,000, PLN (and taking into account that in large cities prices start from PLN 13,000 per square meter, so it is not an apartment) 2%. the commission will translate into an additional PLN 16,000. zloty. If the agency wants 3% for the services, the buyer must pay an additional PLN 24,000. zloty.
Information about the commission amount should be legible
According to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, information about the amount of the commission should be included in the content of the advertisement and not provided only at the customer's explicit request or at the time of concluding the contract.
“Information on the prices of his services should be provided both in real estate offices, on websites and in places where a given entrepreneur publishes advertisements. In this case, the maximum commission amount. The provisions of the Act on information on prices of goods and services and the requirements of the Ministry of Energy and Technology regulation apply here,” wrote the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in response to a question asked by Business Insider.
Tax when purchasing an apartment
People buying an apartment on the secondary market must also remember about the tax on civil law transactions. The tax is collected by the notary at the same time as the conclusion of the notarial deed transferring ownership of the real estate.
On August 31, 2023, regulations favorable to people buying their first second-hand apartment entered into force: they were exempt from PCC. The exemption applies to a buyer who is a natural person who, on and before the date of sale, did not have the right to any residential property (or an interest in such a right).
The purchase of an apartment on the primary market is subject to VAT, included in the price, which is paid by the developer. Tax transactionVAT is no longer subject to PCC.
