More People Living in Allotment Gardens Despite Strict Legal Prohibitions

As living costs soar, an increasing number of people are illegally taking up permanent residence in family allotment gardens, risking eviction, loss of rights, and demolition orders.

Rising Cost of Living Drives Allotment Residence

Family Allotment Gardens are becoming a way for some people to lower living costs, but the regulations leave no room for interpretation. The plot is meant for recreation and plant cultivation, not permanent residence, and violating these rules can end with the loss of the right to the plot.

RODs have served for years as a place for recreation and seasonal time away from the urban hustle and bustle. With the rise in apartment prices and maintenance costs, however, attempts to use garden arbors as homes are appearing more frequently. According to regulations, this way of using the plot is illegal and can lead not only to garden board intervention, but also to eviction or a demolition order.

Plots Are Meant for Rest, Not Daily Life

Regulations clearly indicate that Family Allotment Gardens are designated for recreation and plant cultivation. Permanent residence on their premises is prohibited. Article 12 of the Family Allotment Gardens Act introduces an absolute ban on residence, and the regulations of the Polish Association of Gardeners specify that the arbor is not a residential building and cannot constitute the basis for registration.

The ROD regulations also state that the plot cannot be used for residence, understood as staying with the intention of focusing and realizing one’s life affairs. The allotment arbor is not a residential facility, and staying in it cannot be the basis for official confirmation of temporary or permanent stay.

Overnight Stays Allowed Only on an Occasional Basis

Simply staying overnight on the plot is not prohibited if it has an incidental character. A one-time campout, weekend stay, or night spent after gardening work does not violate the regulations. Occasional seasonal overnight stays are also permissible, as long as the recreational character of the stay is maintained.

The limit is crossed when the plot begins to function as a place of daily life. Spending many weeks on the plot, treating the arbor like a home, or pitching a tent for the entire summer remains inconsistent with the rules in force at ROD.

Boards Evaluate the Method of Plot Use

Whether a stay still has a recreational character is not decided by the number of days spent on the plot, since regulations do not define such a limit. The key factor is the purpose of the stay and how the arbor is used. ROD boards take into specific premises, such as year-round presence, equipping the arbor like a home, attempts at registration, or generating waste and traffic typical of permanent residents. If the stay loses its recreational character, the board can intervene.

Attempts to bypass regulations can lead to serious consequences. Some people heat arbors in winter, install full sanitary infrastructure, and collect correspondence at the garden address, trying to settle there permanently. In extreme cases, this can end in the termination of the lease agreement, or even eviction. Permanent residence in ROD is illegal, so the plot user who violates the regulations must reckon with losing the right to use it.

Additional Restrictions and Unauthorized Construction

The ban on residence is just one of the rules in force on ROD grounds. Regulations also include a ban on conducting gainful activity, renting, waste burning, building facilities without consent, excessive noise, intensive production crops, or leaving animals unattended. Plots have the character of a common space designated for recreation, integration, and social goals. For this reason, users are obligated to comply with rules of coexistence and maintain order.

Some allotment holders build structures exceeding the permissible 35 square meters, often equipped with full heating and installations. In such a situation, the Poviat Building Supervision Inspector may issue a demolition order. The allotment holder can also lose the right to any compensation for the illegally erected facility.