Renting a flat in Poland: the questions foreigners ask

The headline price in a Polish listing is usually only the rent you pay the owner, and the building's service charge and the utilities come on top. The service charge is called czynsz administracyjny (the building's monthly service charge). It goes to whoever runs the building and usually pays for upkeep, cleaning and repairs, often also water, heating and rubbish collection. Example for a two-room flat of 47 m²: rent 4 200 zł + czynsz administracyjny 520 zł + utilities about 130 zł = 4 850 zł a month. The listing headline shows only 4 200 zł. In Polish, czynsz alone can mean either payment, so ask which one a number means. More in the guide to czynsz administracyjny.

Media are the utilities: electricity, gas, water, heating and sometimes internet. Some are paid inside the czynsz administracyjny, and some come as separate bills, so the contract should say which is which. Many are paid as a zaliczka (a fixed monthly advance) based on an estimate. Later comes the rozliczenie (the settlement against what you actually used). If you used more than the advances covered, you pay the difference. If you used less, you get money back or pay less later. Before you sign, ask how the rozliczenie works, who pays a settlement that arrives after you move out, and whether the meters will be read on the day you move in and the day you leave.

In an ordinary lease, the kaucja (security deposit) may not be more than 12 times the monthly rent, counted at the rent on the day you sign (ustawa o ochronie praw lokatorów, the Tenants' Protection Act, Art. 6 ust. 1). The landlord must return it within one month after you move out, minus anything you still owe under the lease (Art. 6 ust. 4). In najem okazjonalny (a special fixed-term lease) the cap is 6 times the rent (Art. 19a ust. 4). At move-in, sign a protokół zdawczo-odbiorczy (handover protocol) with dated photos. In an ordinary lease that is the law's default (Art. 6c), but a private landlord's contract may change it (Art. 6f). More in the deposit guide.

Umowa najmu okazjonalnego (an "occasional lease") is a fixed-term lease of up to 10 years, offered by a private owner who does not run a rental business (Art. 19a ust. 1). It must be in writing, or it is void (Art. 19a ust. 6). You sign a notarial deed accepting enforcement and promising to leave by the deadline in the landlord's demand. You also name another flat you could move to, with its owner's written consent (Art. 19a ust. 2). The notary's fee for your deed is capped at one tenth of the minimum wage: at most 480.60 zł in 2026 (Art. 19a ust. 7). For newcomers, that address is the hard part. More in the najem okazjonalny guide.

Landlords and agencies commonly ask for an identity document, a residence document and proof that you can pay: your passport or ID card; your visa or karta pobytu (residence card), which shows how long you can stay; and proof of income or a job, such as an employment contract, a letter from your employer or recent bank statements. Some also ask for a PESEL (the Polish personal ID number; see the next answer). For najem okazjonalny you also need the notarial deed and the consent for another address. Show originals at the viewing or the signing. Before you send passport scans, make sure the flat and the person are real (see scams below).

No: the lease rules of the Kodeks cywilny (Civil Code, Art. 659–692) and the Tenants' Protection Act do not require a PESEL (the Polish personal ID number) to sign a lease. Some landlords still ask for one. Meldunek, or zameldowanie (registering your address), is a separate duty under the ustawa o ewidencji ludności (the Population Register Act). EU, EEA and Swiss citizens register within 30 days of arriving at the address (Art. 41 ust. 1–2). Other foreigners register by the 4th day after arriving (Art. 41 ust. 3). A stay of up to 30 days needs no registration (Art. 42 ust. 2). Registration only records where you live and gives no right to the flat (Art. 28 ust. 4).

A typical rental scam asks you to pay before you have seen the flat: a "reservation" fee by BLIK (a Polish instant-payment code in banking apps), a deposit or a "key fee". Polish police advise never to pay any of these before you have seen the flat in person and checked the owner or agent. Other warning signs are a price far below similar flats, pressure to decide today, and an "owner abroad" who will post you the keys. Ask for the flat's księga wieczysta (land register) number. Anyone who has it can view the register for free at ekw.ms.gov.pl. Compare the owners listed there with the ID of the person you meet. More in the scams guide.

The Polish act on estate agents does not say whether the tenant or the landlord pays the prowizja (the agency fee), or how much: each agency agreement sets it. That act is the ustawa o gospodarce nieruchomościami (the Real Estate Management Act, Art. 179a–181). The agreement must be in writing or in electronic form (with a qualified e-signature), or it is void (Art. 180 ust. 3). A copy of the agent's liability insurance is attached to it (Art. 181 ust. 3a). "Bez prowizji" in a listing means "no commission": ask whether that means no fee for you, and get the answer in writing. Ask about the fee before the viewing, not after. More in the agency fee guide.

In an open-ended lease with monthly rent and no notice period in the contract, notice is at least 3 months, ending on the last day of a calendar month (Kodeks cywilny, Art. 688). In a fixed-term lease, neither side can give notice unless the contract says when (Art. 673 § 3). A landlord can end an ordinary lease only for reasons in the Tenants' Protection Act, in writing, with the reason stated (Art. 11 ust. 1). In the cases listed in Art. 11 ust. 2 — for example rent arrears of at least three full payment periods after a written warning and an extra month to pay, using the flat against the contract despite a written warning, or subletting without written consent — the landlord's notice is only one month, to the end of a calendar month. A rent rise needs 3 months' written notice, or longer if the contract says so (Art. 8a). Rises may come at most every 6 months (Art. 9 ust. 1b). In najem okazjonalny, rent rises only as the contract allows (Art. 19c ust. 1).

A fairly priced two-room flat in a district people actually want is usually rented fast, because many people write to the landlord on the day it is listed. Landlords and agents usually answer the first few messages and fill the viewing slots from them. So the person who writes early often gets the viewing, even when others want the flat just as much. Checking the portals between meetings rarely wins that race. A message the moment a matching flat appears gives you a fair chance. Speed is not everything, though: still check the price, the owner and the contract before you pay any money.

Chata Hunter is a Telegram bot that watches Poland's major rental portals around the clock and messages you within minutes of a matching listing appearing. It removes duplicates, so you see each flat once. It adds rent, czynsz administracyjny and estimated utilities into one real monthly figure, and lets you filter on that figure. It shows the commute time to a place you save. Its AI chat works in English, Ukrainian, Russian and Polish: it drafts your first message to a landlord in Polish, translates a listing, explains a clause and says whether a deposit is normal. You can compare a shortlist side by side, and night-time matches arrive silently. Nothing to install.

Chata Hunter has no listings of its own: every flat it shows you comes from a rental portal. It is not affiliated with any portal. It is not an agency, and it takes no commission from you or from anyone else. No landlord or agency can pay us to show you a flat or to reach you. The bot also does not visit flats, does not sign contracts for you and does not check a landlord's identity. Those steps stay with you, so use the checks in the answer on scams above. When you find a flat you like, you talk to the landlord or the agent directly.

Yes: searching, alerts and the AI chat are free. There is no card to enter and no trial clock running out. A handful of extra tools are paid, and you always see what costs money, and why, before anything is charged. Payment goes through Telegram, so we never see your card details. On the other side, no landlord or agency pays us to show you anything either, so what you see is decided by your own search, not by who paid.

We store: your Telegram ID, @username, first name and language setting; your saved searches; any place you save for commute times, as exact coordinates, the most sensitive item, which you can delete at any time; which listings were sent to you, and your favourites; your AI-chat messages, which are sent to Google's Gemini API to generate replies; your support messages; payment records, never card details, because Telegram handles payment; usage events for product analytics; and the referral code you arrived with. We never sell your data, and no landlord or agency can pay to reach you. This website sets no cookies and runs no trackers. Send /deletemydata in the bot to erase your account on the spot.

Keep it short and polite: which flat, when you can view it, and who you are. For example:

Dzień dobry, piszę w sprawie mieszkania przy ul. [ulica] za [cena] zł. Czy można je obejrzeć w tym tygodniu?
Nazywam się [imię], pracuję w [firma] i szukam mieszkania od [data].

In English this says: "Hello, I am writing about the flat on [street] for [price] zł. Can I view it this week? My name is [name], I work at [company] and I am looking for a flat from [date]." Change the details and add the days and times that suit you. The bot's AI chat can also draft this message in Polish from a few words in your language.