Owners Demand Money: Up to 335,000 Zlotys for Poles on Their Land

Property owners in Poland are increasingly asserting their rights to compensation from network operators for utility infrastructure, like power lines and gas pipelines, crossing their land.

This surge in claims follows a significant Constitutional Court ruling in December 2025. While legal precedents are still developing, initial court decisions indicate that compensation can be substantial, potentially reaching hundreds of thousands of zlotys. For decades, infrastructure such as power poles and high-voltage lines were frequently installed on private property without formal agreements with landowners. This issue is particularly prevalent with infrastructure built during the communist era, predating the introduction of the "easement of transmission" in the Civil Code in 2008. Since then, companies can use parts of private property through an established easement, for which the owner is entitled to remuneration.

In older cases, utility companies often invoked adverse possession, arguing they had acquired rights through long-term use without payment. However, the Constitutional Court's ruling on December 2, 2025, challenged this practice. The court questioned the legality of companies acquiring rights equivalent to an easement of transmission through adverse possession for periods before August 3, 2008, unless expropriation or an administrative decision had already occurred. Following this judgment, courts are scrutinizing the legal basis for using private land more closely.

Recent court decisions reflect this shift. For example, the District Court in Rzeszów awarded a property owner over 180,000 zlotys in one-time compensation, rejecting the utility company's adverse possession claim. In another case, the Supreme Court granted a landowner over 335,000 zlotys. Although the case law is not yet uniform, rulings increasingly reference the constitutional protection of property rights. Network operators are beginning to propose settlements, but their offers may be considerably lower than valuations by appraisers and sums awarded by courts.

Owners eligible for compensation are primarily those whose properties host transmission infrastructure installed without a contract, administrative decision, or prior payment. They can claim remuneration for the unauthorized use of their property, the establishment of a paid easement of transmission, and in some instances, compensation for diminished property value. The amount of remuneration depends on factors such as the type of installation and its size.