Neighbours Complaining About You? A Guide for Tenants in Poland

Take the complaint seriously: find out what it is about, talk to the neighbour and let your landlord know before the matter reaches the building manager or the police. A single complaint is not grounds for terminating your lease. Gross or persistent breaches of the house rules are – including under an occasional lease (najem okazjonalny), where, once the agreement ends, vacating the flat follows a simplified procedure.

What neighbours complain about most often

• Noise – loud music, gatherings, footsteps and furniture being moved, especially in the evening and at night.
• Renovation work – drilling outside the hours allowed by the building's rules.
• Common areas – belongings left on the staircase, bikes and prams in the hallway, rubbish not cleared away.
• Pets – dogs barking while the owner is out, mess on the stairwell.
• Smoke and smells – smoking on the balcony or in common areas.
• Tenant turnover – frequently changing occupants, which neighbours associate with short-term rentals.

Which rules apply

House rules and quiet hours

No statute sets quiet hours at night. They are laid down in the house rules (regulamin porządku domowego) of housing communities and housing cooperatives – usually 22:00–6:00, but it is worth checking the rules of your particular building (they are often posted on the staircase or available from the property manager). The Act on Ownership of Premises (ustawa o własności lokali, consolidated text Dz.U. z 2026 r. poz. 232) requires the owner of a flat to observe the house rules (Art. 13(1)). If the owner, through their conduct, grossly or persistently breaches those rules, the housing community (wspólnota mieszkaniowa) may even demand that their flat be sold at auction (Art. 16). That is why landlords usually react quickly to complaints: they answer to the community, and lease agreements normally oblige the tenant to follow the house rules.

Petty Offences Code: disturbing the peace

Under Art. 51 § 1 of the Petty Offences Code (Kodeks wykroczeń, consolidated text Dz.U. z 2026 r. poz. 1372), anyone who disturbs the peace, public order or night-time rest by shouting, noise, an alarm or other disorderly behaviour is liable to detention, restriction of liberty or a fine. A fine for a petty offence is, as a rule, between 20 and 5000 zł (Art. 24 § 1). The provision is not limited to night-time – disturbing the peace during the day can also be an offence, although it is easier to prove at night. A police call-out and the officer's report give the landlord and the neighbours concrete evidence in any later dispute.

Civil law: nuisance (immissions)

Art. 144 of the Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny, KC) prohibits activities that interfere with the use of neighbouring properties beyond the average degree. A tenant can rely on this protection just as an owner can, because the rules on protecting ownership apply accordingly to protecting a tenant's rights (Art. 690 KC). This matters when you are the one suffering from a troublesome neighbour.

When complaints could cost you your flat

The Tenants' Rights Protection Act (ustawa o ochronie praw lokatorów, consolidated text Dz.U. z 2023 r. poz. 725 as amended) provides two routes. Under Art. 19e, both also apply to an occasional lease:

• Termination by the landlord (Art. 11(2)(1)): if the tenant, despite a written warning, grossly or persistently breaches the house rules, making it a nuisance to use other flats, the owner may terminate the agreement with one month's notice, effective at the end of a calendar month. The notice must be in writing and state the reason.
• A neighbour's lawsuit (Art. 13(1)): in the same situation, another occupant or the owner of another flat in the building may bring an action asking the court to terminate the lease and order the flat to be vacated.

Under an occasional lease the consequences are particularly severe. Once the agreement has ended, the owner serves a demand to vacate the flat with a deadline of no less than 7 days, and if the tenant does not move out, applies to the court for an enforcement clause to be attached to the notarial deed in which the tenant submitted to enforcement (Art. 19d). The tenant then has to move to the address given in the statement by the owner of another property (oświadczenie właściciela), which the market commonly calls a "guarantee" (poręczenie) or an "address for the occasional lease" (Art. 19a(2)(3)). We describe the details in our article on the eviction procedure under an occasional lease.

How to respond to a complaint – step by step

1. Establish the facts. What exactly is the complaint about, when did it happen, is this the first warning? Sometimes the noise is actually coming from another flat.
2. Talk calmly with the neighbour. Many conflicts end with an explanation and a small change: felt pads under furniture, a rug, moving a speaker away from the wall, wrapping up gatherings earlier.
3. Check the building's rules. In particular the quiet hours and permitted renovation hours, and the rules on using common areas and keeping pets.
4. Let your landlord know. It is better that they hear about the problem from you – together with what you have already done about it.
5. Reply in writing if you have received a written warning. That warning is what opens the way for the landlord to give notice. Respond to the allegations factually and describe the steps you have taken.
6. Keep records if the complaint is unfounded. Note dates and times, keep the correspondence, ask other neighbours for their account. Try mediation involving the property manager or the landlord.

When you are the one complaining about neighbours

A tenant is not defenceless against a troublesome neighbour. If your night-time rest is disturbed, you can call the police, and you can report repeated breaches to the building manager and your landlord. If the nuisance is gross or persistent, the Tenants' Rights Protection Act allows another occupant – which includes you as a tenant – to ask the court to terminate the offender's legal relationship (Art. 13(1)). You can also invoke protection against nuisance (Art. 144 in conjunction with Art. 690 KC).

Tips for landlords

• Do not respond to a single complaint by giving notice – talk to the tenant first.
• If the problem recurs, send a written warning describing the breaches. Without it, notice under Art. 11(2)(1) will be defective.
• Gather evidence: letters from the property manager, police reports, neighbours' accounts.
• Remember that under an occasional lease the fast-track route to vacating the flat works only if the agreement was reported to the tax office (urząd skarbowy) within 14 days of the start of the lease (Art. 19b).

If a dispute with the neighbours has turned into a threat of termination, also read what to do when your landlord demands you move out early. For advice on your specific case, you can book a free consultation.

Frequently asked questions