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1. What are places of emergency shelter, and how are they different from protective structures?

On 1 January 2025 the “Act of 5 December 2024 on Civil Protection and Civil Defence” (henceforth “the Act“) entered into force, imposing new obligations on the relevant public administration bodies (civil protection authorities, “CP“) but also on investors, developers and property owners regarding the creation and maintenance of so-called collective protection facilities (“CPF“), meant to protect the population against threats resulting from natural disasters, acts of terror, or military operations.

There are three categories of CPF:

1) shelters – protective structures that are enclosed and hermetic and protect against most threats;

2) hideouts – protective structures that are not hermetic and protect only against some potential threats;

3) places of emergency shelter (“PES“) – facilities that do not meet the requirements for a shelter or hideout, i.e. are not “proper” protective structures, but are adapted to temporarily shelter people or protect them from certain threats.

All these categories of CPF can be either independent (free-standing) buildings or parts of larger buildings (e.g. the underground parking garage of a hotel adapted to serve as a PES).

Unlike protective structures, which should be formally located and created on an ongoing basis, PES are organised by CP bodies only in the event of the introduction of one of the states of emergency or a state of war, on the basis of decisions issued during that time that order the adaptation of a given facility (e.g. the basement of a building, underground garage or tunnel) to perform the function of a PES. Therefore, in peacetime and in the absence of a state of emergency, we are not dealing with facilities that already constitute PES formally, but with facilities that are adaptable to perform the function of a PES or are already adapted to potentially perform this function, i.e. facilities in which a PES can be organised if necessary.

The second important difference between PES and protective structures concerns the way they are financed. As a rule, protective structures should be co-financed to a large extent from public funds (targeted subsidies), whereas in the case of PES, a public grant is obligatorily awarded only for the organisation of a PES, i.e. after a state of war/emergency has been declared, while the award of a grant for the adaptation of a facility to the requirements of PES is optional for the competent CP body, i.e. the CP body may award a grant to cover part of the adaptation costs, but is not mandated to do that in any way, so in practice the costs will be borne by developers or owners of relevant facilities. However, the executive regulation on PES issued by the Internal Affairs Ministry (see section 3 below) stipulates that the competent CP body may provide the owner of the facility in which a PES is to be organised with construction materials to carry out the adaptation works.

2. Obligation to adapt newly constructed and existing buildings to perform the function of PES

Article 93 of the Act introduces an obligation to build protective structures (shelters and hideouts) in certain new public utility buildings, determined in accordance with the criteria set out in the Act itself and in a relevant executive regulation of the Council of Ministers, while Article 94 of the Act introduces an obligation to ensure the possibility of locating a PES in the underground storeys of newly constructed:

• multi-family residential buildings,
• detached parking garage buildings, and
• those public utility buildings (publicly and privately owned) in which the construction of protective structures is not required.

Under the above provision, all underground storeys in (new) residential buildings, garage buildings, as well as those public utility buildings in which it is not required to build a protective structure, must be designed and constructed in such a way as to make it possible to organise a PES in them. Thus, they have to meet the additional technical requirements for PES (discussed below) already at the design stage, before construction. However, the new requirements resulting from the above provision of the Act will fully apply only to buildings and structures built in the future, namely those for which, respectively, an application for a building permit, separate approval of an architectural and construction design, a plot or site development plan, or a notification of construction or of other construction works (where a building permit is not required) was submitted after 31 December 2025. If the relevant applications or notifications for the construction of a given facility are submitted before 1 January 2026, such facilities under the current regulations – as a rule – will not be subject to the general obligation to adapt them before construction to the requirements resulting from the provisions of the Act and its executive regulations, despite the fact that they will be completed and put into use after that date.

The above provisions concern mandatory compliance of newly constructed buildings with the technical requirements for PES. As for existing buildings and structures (not only public utility or multi-family residential buildings), the competent OL body may order their adaptation to these requirements in the event of the introduction of a state of war or a state of emergency, if possible in the given case. Therefore, the regulations in question are of significant importance, both for developers of planned buildings and for owners of existing ones.

3. Regulation of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration regarding PES

On 9 July 2025, the “Regulation of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of 9 July 2025 on the conditions for organising, and on the requirements to be met by, places of emergency shelter” was issued (Journal of Laws 2025 of 14 July 2025, item 932) (henceforth the Regulation). The draft of the Regulation had gone through a long legislative path, including opinions and consultations, and the final text adopted and announced last month significantly differs from the original one from February 2025 discussed in one of the previous articles on this subject. As its title indicates, the scope of the Regulation covers two areas: (i) the organisation of PES by CP bodies (where necessary and possible under the law) and (ii) technical requirements for PES.

4. Conditions for organising PES

In the first place, the Regulation lays down rules to be followed by CP bodies in determining whether it is possible to organise a PES in an existing building (§ 2 and § 3). To this end, CP bodies assess the existing technical condition of the building and its installations, and its design and construction documentation. If it is determined that it is possible to organise a PES in the building, the OL body is responsible for developing documentation specifying the scope of technical solutions necessary to adapt the building or its part to perform the function of a PES, and on this basis determines the list of works that must be performed once it issues an order to adapt the facility to perform the PES function (e.g. construction of supports strengthening the load-bearing capacity of the ceiling and protections of window openings and entrances), which, as mentioned above, can only happen in the event of a state of war or a state of emergency. If such an order is issued, the adaptation of the facility to perform the function of a PES will require, besides the execution of the above adaptation works (as well as any repair and maintenance works necessary to ensure safe use of the facility) e.g. ensuring adequate access to the PES (communication routes), including the removal of vehicles and unnecessary equipment hindering access, blocking escape routes or occupying the necessary space; putting up appropriate signage; or fitting the place with the required installations, appliances, furniture and necessary equipment (§ 10). According to the Regulation, a PES may only be organised in a building or its part which:

1/ enables compliance with the technical requirements for PES as specified in the Regulation,

2/ in respect of which no demolition or reconstruction permit has been issued that would result in non-compliance with the above-mentioned technical requirements, and in which no damage to the load-bearing structure has been discovered that could pose a threat to safe use;

3/ is located within up to 500 metres of places where people are permanently present;

4/ has the capacity to shelter at least 15 people;

5/ is not in the possession of units intended for militarisation and militarised; and

6/ is not intended for the storage of cultural goods of the third category.

5. Technical requirements for PES

The technical requirements for PES organised within buildings (as distinct from so-called free-standing PES) laid down in the Regulation can be divided into requirements concerning:

1/ design and construction (§ 5 and Appendix No. 1 to 2 thereto);

2/ fire safety and the possibility to evacuate people (§ 6);

3/ protection of persons against direct fire and shrapnel (§ 7);

4/ installations and equipment (§ 8);

5/ capacity (§ 9).

The capacity of a PES is the number of people who can safely take shelter in it, assuming that the minimum free space per person, calculated on the floor, is 1.5 m², and 2 m² for a person with a disability in a wheelchair. The competent CP body determines the capacity of a PES taking into account the above standard of minimum usable area and the safety of users, including the availability of air with an appropriate concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide, the expected time of providing protection and the number of emergency exits from the PES. When determining the capacity of a PES, only free, undeveloped area of rooms with a height of at least 2 metres is taken into account, in which long-term storage is not anticipated, and which can be allocated entirely for PES users. This does not include apartment owners’ storage rooms in basements, nor does it include technical and storage rooms, access to which may be limited. The capacity of the PES then determines the requirements for evacuation solutions and equipment. As indicated above, the minimum capacity of a PES is 15 people. The Regulation does not impose an obligation to provide a specific PES capacity depending on, for example, the type of building and the number of its users (e.g. 50% of the assumed number of inhabitants of a multi-family residential building), but, as indicated above, the Regulation gives the competent OL body the power to determine the capacity of a PES.

Detailed construction requirements for PES are included in annexes to the Regulation. Annex 1 lays down requirements for designing buildings in a way that allows PES to be organised in them, in particular the required load-bearing capacity and the assumed so-called exceptional loads that the structure is to withstand. Annex 2 lays down requirements for structural elements of a PES located in an underground storey recessed at least 1.5 metres below the adjacent terrain (requirements for materials from which ceilings, load-bearing walls, external walls with windows or without, or supports reinforcing the load-bearing capacity of ceilings are to be made) or in a tunnel.

A PES is to be organised in a way that limits the possibility of fire, and in the event of its occurrence, ensures that the spread of fire and smoke is limited. The provisions concerning the possibility of evacuation and rescue of people are very extensive, and the requirements depend on the capacity of the PES. In the case of a PES organised in a underground storey or garage, at least one emergency exit should be provided for every 200 persons of capacity started, and at least one reserve exit for every 400 persons of capacity started (in PES with a capacity bigger than 30 people), and in the case of a tunnel – at least two exits to the outside that are a minimum of 15 metres apart, or at least one reserve exit. Exits must have the indicated width and height. As a rule, the reserve exit should be located outside the zone of forecast debris, i.e. at a distance equal to at least a third of the building’s height from the external wall, and also have appropriate dimensions. Inability to locate the reserve exit outside this zone means the need to limit the capacity of the PES to 300 people, with a minimum cubic capacity per person of 30 m³, and to provide alternative evacuation solutions described in detail in the Regulation.

The requirements for the protection of persons using the PES against small-calibre shelling, shrapnel and detached elements of doors or gates boil down to the appropriate protection of window openings, gates and entrances, through the use of appropriate covers and partitions of windows and entrances, vestibules and protective doors, and the designation of a protective zone at the garage door, details are specified in Appendix 3 to the Regulation.

Depending on the assumed capacity of a PES, installations should be provided (or connections enabling the distribution of such installations and/or the connection of devices) for: the supply of drinking water, sewage disposal or collection (as well as toilets), ventilation, and maintenance of appropriate concentrations of oxygen (at least 18%) and carbon dioxide (max. 2.0%) for at least 48 hours, supply of electricity with appropriate technical parameters, illumination of the entire PES area with artificial light with an intensity of at least 50 lx, heating, drainage (if necessary), reception of radio messages, preparation of meals. As a rule, gas installations or appliances cannot be included in PES, unless they can be shut off by valves located within the PES.

The Regulation also lays down technical conditions and rules for organising so-called free-standing PES (such as anti-aircraft slits and trenches) intended for short-term sheltering of people. However, these conditions and rules are addressed only to CP bodies and do not apply to private entities.

6. Equipping and preparing PES for use

It should also be mentioned that on 1 July 2025, another executive regulation of the Minister of Internal Affairs pertaining to PES (among other things) was issued, namely the “Regulation of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration on preparing a collective protection facility for use, detailed conditions for the operation of protective structures and for ensuring order within them, and on their necessary equipment” (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 933). This regulation sets out in detail the manner in which a PES should be prepared for use. According to § 3, the preparation of a PES for use includes:

1/ checking the correct implementation of solutions adapting the place to serve as PES;

2/ verification of the proper operation of installations and technical devices that are expected to be used during the operation of the facility in hazardous conditions, including electrical and ventilation installations and emergency lighting;

3/ ensuring that the entrance to the facility is protected against the effects of heavy rain or snowfall;

4/ opening the entrance and emergency exit doors permanently;

5/ ensuring that the facility is equipped with: first aid kits, flashlights with spare batteries/accumulators, disinfectants and personal hygiene products, garbage bags, handy firefighting equipment, equipment for performing simple work aimed at opening doors and clearing, or clearing debris from buried emergency exits, water and food supplies in the form of canned food and ready-made meals with a long shelf life, in the quantities specified in the Regulation.

If the owner or manager of a given facility reports to CP body circumstances that may preclude the performance of the PES function by such facility, the competent CP body checks the facility and assesses the possibility of organising a PES in it, and if the problems reported by the owner or manager are confirmed, the CP body may agree to waive the requirement to prepare a PES in the facility.

7. Concluding remarks.

The new regulations on technical requirements for PES, which will be binding for developers submitting building permit applications from 1 January 2026 onwards – and therefore will require appropriate consideration in the design documentation – will pose a major challenge for project owners, architects and contractors. They will probably result in building permit issuance proceedings taking longer time, also due to the fact that the new regulations do not specify all the procedural details of the implementation of these requirements (e.g. making arrangements to ensure that construction designs meet these requirements). In many cases, the new regulations may also adversely affect the profitability of projects, not only due to additional expenditures that will not always be covered by the end-users or from public funds, but also due to the need to allocate specific areas of new buildings and plots to protective solutions (e.g. areas designated for PES, remote emergency exits), which owners may not be able to compensate for by using these spaces as dual-function.