The ban will come into effect in 2026. No more such fences on the property

- A draft regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology on the technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location has been published.
- According to the proposed regulations, "the fence must not pose a threat to the safety of people and animals."
- Another new solution is the introduction of an obligation to install renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic panels.
Due to changes in the Act of 7 July 1994 – Building Law, it was necessary to issue a new regulation specifying the technical requirements for buildings . The draft regulation has just been published. It contains guidelines on, among other things, the location of buildings, installations, playgrounds, and the organization of waste collection points.
The fence must not pose a threat to the safety of people and animals.Significant changes also apply to fences. According to the proposed regulations, " a fence must not pose a threat to the safety of people and animals ," so the draft states that:
sharp-edged elements, barbed wire, broken glass and other similar products and materials must not be placed on the fence at a height of less than 2.2 m.
This is a significant change, because until now the regulations allowed the installation of additional security measures on fences no less than 1.8 m high.
The draft also stipulates that gates and wicket gates in fences must not open outward from the building plot . Furthermore, gates in fences adjacent to multi-family residential buildings, public buildings, or collective housing buildings must not impede access to the building for people with special needs. Their width must be at least 0.9 meters.
Another new measure is the introduction of mandatory installation of renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic panels. The new requirement will apply to:
- public buildings;
- collective housing buildings (e.g. hotels, student dormitories);
- farm buildings with an area exceeding 250 m2 - provided that it is technically, functionally and economically justified.
This change does not directly apply to single-family homes , but may be important in the case of larger workshops or agricultural buildings.
The new thing about the existing regulation is Chapter 8 - it was introduced in connection with the entry into force of the Act on facilitating the preparation and implementation of housing investments and accompanying investments, which introduces the need to ensure a minimum share of residential premises accessible to disabled people.
According to the regulations, the number of these units must be at least 6% of all residential units in a building. In smaller buildings (up to 16 residential units), at least one unit must be adapted to the needs of disabled people.
The changes also apply to garages.
Due to the imposition of the obligation to install passenger lifts from the second floor inclusive in public buildings and collective housing, underground garages constituting a storey of these buildings will have to be equipped with passenger lifts
- according to the document.
Another new development is the regulation regarding playgrounds . According to paragraph 1, in the case of the construction of a single multi-family residential building with more than 20 apartments, as well as in the case of the construction of a complex of multi-family residential buildings, a children's playground must be provided, also accessible to people with special needs.
As stated, 20 percent of the area planned for the square is to be located on a "biologically active surface."
Moreover, in the case of a playground, it is necessary for it to receive "at least 2 hours of sunlight on equinoxes, during the 4 hours preceding and 4 hours following the sun's peak." Paragraph 4, in turn, contains a regulation regarding the need to equip the playground with seasonal shading elements, which must cover at least 20 percent of its surface.
There is also a requirement that in the case of the construction of a complex of buildings with more than 20 apartments, a recreational area should be provided that is also accessible to people with special needs.
In existing buildings there is no obligation to apply the provisions of the draft regulationDo the draft provisions assume that we will have to adapt existing buildings to the new requirements? No. The regulation clearly states that if a building is not undergoing construction, reconstruction, or change of use, and is not subject to design work, there is no obligation to apply the provisions of this draft regulation – the building should comply with the regulations in force at the time of its construction.
The situation is different in the case of extension, superstructure, reconstruction and change of use of a building, in which case the provisions of the regulation apply to the part being extended, superstructured or rebuilt or subject to change of use.
portalsamorzadowy