Three distinct parties are usually involved in the delivery of a construction project: the project owner, the general contractor, and the subcontractor (or subcontractors). But whereas the relationship between the project owner and the general contractor on the one hand, and the relationship between the general contractor and the subcontractor on the other, are contractually based, there is no contract between the project owner and the subcontractor. To secure the subcontractor’s right to be paid for their work, however, the Polish law explicitly provides for a situation in which the subcontractor, in the event of the general contractor’s failure to pay, can seek payment directly from the project owner. The legal basis for that is the stipulation in Article 6471 of the Civil Code that the project owner is jointly and severally liable with the general contractor for payment of the subcontractor’s fee. Article 647 lays out clear conditions for when the subcontractor is entitled to do that. But as we will see, Article 647 is not the only legal option available to the subcontractor to successfully seek payment from the project owner.

Originally published in PMR Construction Insight: Poland - March 2022.