Only if you secure it legally. A personal easement of residence, created in the deed of gift and entered in the land register, gives a lifetime right to live there and binds any subsequent owner of the flat. Without it, you live in the recipient's flat by their courtesy.
What happens without protection
A gift transfers ownership at once and in full. From the moment the deed is signed the flat belongs to the recipient, and you are a household member there with their consent. While relations are good, nobody notices. The problem surfaces on the recipient’s divorce, their financial trouble, enforcement against the flat or a simple change of plans.
A spoken assurance that “mum obviously stays in her own place” is not a right to the property and does not pass to anyone further down the line.
How a personal easement of residence works
It is created in the same notarial deed as the gift and entered in the land register. From that moment the right of residence is publicly disclosed and binds every subsequent owner. If the recipient sells the flat, the buyer acquires it together with the easement, because they see it in the register before the transaction.
The easement is lifelong and personal: it cannot be sold or inherited, and it expires with the death of the person entitled.
A life-maintenance contract as an alternative
Dożywocie goes further than an easement alone. The acquirer receives the property, but in exchange undertakes to maintain the transferor for life: to take them in as a household member, provide food, care in illness and arrange the funeral. That is a contract about everyday care, not just a roof, and it requires genuine willingness on the other side.
The tax and succession consequences also differ, so discuss the choice between a gift with an easement and dożywocie with a notary before signing anything.
What is most often forgotten
The entry in the land register. A mention of the easement in the deed binds the parties, but it is the register entry that makes it effective against the next buyer. Check the register to confirm the easement was actually disclosed, rather than assuming the notary office did it automatically.
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