Billed as “the biggest real estate experiment in the world”, the most expensive single-story apartment ever sold in Poland has caused a stir after its owner, the IT mogul Rafał Zaorski, gave the public the opportunity to buy shares in the 485 sq/m flat. Purchased by Zaorski for PLN 22.9 million in 2022, Zaorski announced over Christmas that he would sell 20,000 ‘virtual keys’ to the property for PLN 5,000 a piece.

W ubiegły czwartek 11 stycznia 2024 r. na polecenie zarządu i administracji Złotej 44 zablokowano moim gościom wejście do wind i uniemożliwiono im dostęp do mojego apartamentu.
Zarząd złotej stwierdził bezprawnie, że w moim apartamencie o pow 485m2 na 50p może przebywać maks… pic.twitter.com/p9zVaCyoRc

— Rafał Zaorski (@rafal_zaorski) January 14, 2024

Described as a cross between “a social experiment and an epic flip”, Zaorski says buyers will need to work out how to jointly manage the property. Located on the 50th floor of Warsaw’s Zlota 44 building, the apartment is capable of legally holding 300 people at the same time.

According to Zaorski, it will be down to key holders to create a timeshare schedule to decide who uses it and when. Unsurprisingly, residents of the prestigious block have reacted with fury. After being thrown out of Zlota 44’s Whatsapp group, Zaorski revealed that one tenant had even threatened to “take him to the forest.”

The story, and in particular the feud between Zaorski and the building’s management, has now taken another twist. After 7,897 people registered for shares, Zaorski says that in mid-January one group of guests was blocked from entering the elevators after the administration stated that only a maximum of 25 guests could visit the apartment. Set to devolve into a messy legal conflict, the social experiment already seems destined to cause further furore.