Legal nature of the payments made by the former tenant pursuant to the Polish law protecting tenants

Abstract

This paper deals with the relationships between the owner of the apartment and the former tenant. According to the Polish law, the latter is obliged to periodic pecuniary payments while the individual still occupies the apartment after the tenancy contract ends. However, it is not clear whether these payments should be assessed as damages for the profits lost by the owner or rather as rent for using the flat. In the author’s opinion, the distinctions should be made between the situation of the apartments owned by the municipality and the private flats. The first situation, common in Poland, where municipalities deals with issues of homelessness, may be assessed similarly to the tenancy contract. Yet, according to the general rule applying to the private apartments, the discussed payments may be viewed only as damages, to which the landlord is entitled.