Developers' chief: housing policy focused only on social housing is not enough

In an interview published by "Rzeczpospolita" on 23 October 2026, Maciej Wandzel, president of the Polish Association of Developers (PZFD), said a housing policy that relies solely on social housing falls well short. It should be remembered that this is the view of a representative of the development industry.

The housing shortage

According to Wandzel, in 2025 Poland had 434 dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants. Two decades earlier the figure was 332. The European average he cited is 514 dwellings per 1,000. He believes the shortage of homes causes social tension.

Limits of social housing

The head of PZFD welcomes the increased funding for social housing in recent years, but considers the scale of the sector too small. He recalled deputy minister Tomasz Lewandowski's announced target of 20,000 rental and municipal homes a year. In Wandzel's view, even meeting it would not solve the affordability problem. He added that most Poles want to own their home rather than rent.

He also pointed to the draft 2027 budget. It provides PLN 3.4bn for the social and municipal housing programme, although PLN 5bn had originally been announced. In his view, this shows that public spending cannot grow indefinitely. He also noted that local authorities lack experienced staff to build estates at the pace of developers. He called for publishing data on the actual building costs of TBS and SIM bodies.

Two demands on the government

The first concerns procedures. According to PZFD research, the path from buying a plot to handing over the keys takes 6–7 years, of which construction itself accounts for two. As an example of more efficient practice, Wandzel cited Łódź. Its local authority, despite the same rules, is said to have shortened procedures. He says that today the supply of homes in Łódź is more than twice annual sales.

The second is the cost of credit. According to the president, Poland has the second most expensive mortgage in Europe, after Hungary. Wandzel pointed to the lack of stable interest rates. Loans with a temporarily fixed rate, popular only recently, usually offer five years of fixed interest. In Europe, he says, more than half of loans have a fixed rate for over 10 years. He is not calling for subsidies. He wants the government to compare solutions from other countries and hold talks with banks, the KNF and the NBP.

A dispute over legislation

Wandzel also criticised how laws are made. In his view, most comments from consultations are rejected and there is no discussion of the direction of housing policy. He regarded work on the new technical conditions for buildings as an exception. He does not understand why the regulation has not yet been signed. The previous one expired in September 2026.