The subject of this publication is to determine whether it is permissible to apply Art. 491 of the Civil Code in the event of a creditor’s delay within the meaning of Art. 486 § 2 of the Civil Code. This issue is not only theoretical, but above all practical. It is not uncommon for a creditor to evade fulfilling its obligations. In the event of a negative answer to the question asked, the debtor, e.g. a contractor for construction works, would be deprived of the right to withdraw from the legal relationship (in the absence of a different contractual provision) pursuant to Art. 491 of the Civil Code. As a consequence, the debtor (contractor) would still be obliged to perform the performance, i.e. incur construction costs for the period of waiting for the handover of the construction site, including labor costs, purchase of materials, rental of machinery and equipment, despite the fact that the creditor (investor) does not perform the obligations that condition the fulfillment of the benefit by him, e.g. he does not hand over the construction site. This problem is not resolved by the regulation of Art. 486 § 1 of the Civil Code, which does not grant the debtor in this case the right to withdraw from the legal relationship arising from the contract (see Art. 486 § 1 of the Civil Code). Despite the important nature of the analysed issue, it has not yet been the subject of broader considerations in the doctrine and jurisprudence.