How to rent accommodation in Poland: the crisis in the rental market and tips from real estate agents

The rental market situation in Poland is complicated.

The rental market in Poland is currently going through a tough time. Experts note that finding long-term rental housing at a reasonable price has become an extremely challenging task. Short-term rentals, especially for periods of up to two months, face particular difficulties – many believe that suitable options simply do not exist.

What should those who are just starting their life in Poland do? We decided to reach out to several real estate agents to find out how to find rental housing in this country. We paid special attention to Warsaw and an interesting phenomenon in Poznań, where tenants often choose apartments without electricity and plumbing.

Experience of realtors

One of the realtors, a Belarusian named Yevgeny, who moved to Poland about a year and a half ago, shared his experience. Six months after relocating, he began helping Russian-speaking immigrants find housing in Poznań, where he lives with his family. During his work, he managed to create a small team of four people who actively make calls to property owners and conduct viewings.

The demand for rental apartments continues to grow, and according to Evgeny, the situation in this market is critical. He noted that the number of people looking for an apartment significantly exceeds the existing supply, and available apartments are on the verge of disappearing.

Example in the rental market

To illustrate the complexity of the situation, Evgeny provided a recent example. He saw a new listing for an apartment for rent on a popular website and used the bot he developed to quickly track current offers. However, he was unable to contact the owner: the phone was busy.

In the end, when he finally managed to get through, the owner said that he needed to sign up for a viewing queue. Yevgeny became the 30th on the list, even though the ad had only been posted ten minutes earlier. He noticed that many landlords had stopped answering calls and preferred messages in messengers. Thus, he realized that he might not make it to the viewing – most likely, the apartment would be rented out before he arrived.

The situation in the rental market

The current situation is such that potential tenants hardly make it to viewings — properties are instantly finding new renters right after being published. People are willing to rent properties and leave deposits based solely on photographs.

Evgeny also mentioned that such problems are observed in most Polish cities. He highlighted two significant dates that influenced the housing market in Poznań:

• September 2021Many foreign students have faced a shortage of places in dormitories.
• February 24, 2022Events occurred that had a serious impact on the country.

Since the fall of 2021, rental listings have been disappearing from the internet within just a few days, and the market is still under pressure.

The relevance of the issue of housing rental

Consequently, renting housing in Poland is becoming increasingly relevant, and finding a place to live is a real challenge. According to realtors, the actual chances of securing an apartment vanish almost instantly. As soon as successful listings appear online, they disappear within minutes.

The life perspective of renting housing takes on the form of an art, and only true specialists can provide assistance. It is important to understand that persistence and quick response become crucial conditions for achieving success in the struggle for housing in Poland, where demand is clearly high and the options have become significantly more limited.

This phenomenon must be taken into account by anyone looking to rent housing in a country that is seeking ways for economic recovery and offers for both its citizens and guests. The situation in the market is driven by a multitude of factors, and it is expected that they will continue to have an impact in the coming years.

Adaptation to new conditions

Despite numerous challenges, we were able to quickly adapt and continue our operations. Since the events of February, there has been a significant increase in interest in rental housing, and we had no time to prepare. Just a few days after the changes began, we started receiving rental inquiries almost every thirty minutes.

Arrival of refugees

The first refugees arriving in Poland had the opportunity to prepare a bit: to sell some of their belongings and come with a certain amount of money. They immediately began searching for quality housing and were willing to rent it at high prices, sometimes even without a personal inspection, relying solely on photographs.

Unlike them, later groups of refugees left their homes without unnecessary belongings, which created additional difficulties in their search.

Challenges in the rental market

At the moment, it is quite difficult to find available and suitable housing. Some refugees are forced to make compromises and agree to temporarily live in homes that are not suitable for comfortable living. For example, I recently settled a Ukrainian family in a house that had no electricity or water, and the rent was only 100 dollars a week.

This happened because the owners put properties on the market that were previously hard to access. Renting an apartment with the necessary amenities used to be extremely difficult, but now such offers are "snapped up" within hours. The same goes for unfinished buildings, which, despite their shortcomings, are still being used as temporary housing.

The rental market today

The situation in the rental market has shocked realtors — their client databases have sharply dwindled. New listings appear, but they "live" for no more than 20 minutes. As a result, it often happens that properties posted on websites become outdated very quickly.

In my opinion, rental rates have not increased when looking at the overall picture. It may seem otherwise due to the lack of available options — almost all budget choices have disappeared. Expensive properties are still available, but their numbers have also significantly decreased. The rental market is currently under immense pressure, and the situation can be described as critical.

Incredible activity of requests

“We receive about 40 rental inquiries every hour, and it’s just incredible,” shares one of the realtors. Many agents who previously actively assisted people in finding housing in Poland now often do not answer phone calls, and communication is limited to messages in messengers.

According to the realtor Yanina,“The situation doesn't allow for choosing a place based on small details, like the color of the curtains.”— You just need to agree to the first somewhat suitable offer. Recently, there have been ads for shared living, which was previously considered a last resort.

Market imbalance in Warsaw

The Warsaw market, which has always been active, is currently experiencing a serious imbalance — demand far exceeds supply. For one apartment, there can be a queue of twenty interested parties, and sometimes owners take down their listings because they can't keep up with the influx of calls.

This rental market has faced unprecedented challenges, and if the situation doesn't change, many fear that the problems will worsen even further.

In today's real estate market, not everyone has a clear understanding of what is happening. However, when it comes to choosing a place to live, it becomes evident that current offerings should be examined closely, even if they don't seem the most appealing. Previously, renters could choose housing based on various criteria, such as floor level, number of sleeping places, window orientation, presence of a bathtub or shower, and many other parameters.

Transfer to Warsaw

Marina and her family moved to Warsaw on February 23, the day before the world was on the verge of global change. She immediately started looking for a new place to live, although initially they were quite comfortable living in a rented apartment provided by her husband's company.“We didn't quite consider the gravity of the situation and decided there would still be plenty of time to choose the perfect apartment.”- She shares her memories.

Exploring Warsaw's neighborhoods

The family first decided to explore different areas of Warsaw to see where they would like to stay permanently. Their temporary apartment was located in the Mokotów district, near a large shopping center. They walked around the place a lot, hoping to find something more suitable.

The neighborhood was picturesque Wilanów with modern residential construction, wide streets and quality playgrounds, but the remoteness of this area from the city center made it inconvenient as my husband had to commute to work every day. Onstreetcarwhich is the fastest transportation during rush hours, it took about half an hour to get to the office.

Other neighborhoods to live in

Another obvious option was the neighborhood of Volia, especially its picturesque part -Odolans. She was not indifferent andJolibogewhich, in her opinion, is considered one of the most desirable and expensive neighborhoods in the Polish capital.

Warsaw also has many other attractions such as:

• Sredmestje
• Targuvec
• Ursynov
• Hunting
• Prague-Poludne

However, it was not possible to cover all these areas in a short time, so the family decided to focus on a specific search, determining on the spot.

Realtor assistance

A realtor from her husband's company came to the rescue. In addition, Marina approached three other real estate agents with clear requirements: they needed a two-bedroom apartment in a modern residential complex, suitable for a family with two children.

In this situation, they did not fit the ideal tenants from the owners' point of view, and as a joke in the conversation, Marina noted that they had a“compo”.- a family with two children and a dog. This created additional difficulties in finding a really suitable housing option.

Searching for accommodation on the internet

In addition, Marina regularly browsed rental sites herself, sometimes sending the options she liked to her realtors, who immediately contacted the owners. The most common difficulties in this process were :

• high prices
• strict requirements regarding pets
• apartment conditions

Despite the fact that there are quite a lot of people with dogs in Warsaw, owners were often not ready to consider tenants with pets. At the same time, the situation on the rental market was becoming increasingly tense: many people from Ukraine and Belarus were rapidly arriving in the city, who also urgently needed accommodation.

Critical situation on the rental housing market in Poland

Concluding our review of the current situation on the rental housing market in Poland, I would like to emphasize how much thecriticalhas become a problem for migrants and locals. The rental market is experiencing a real challenge, and those looking for accommodation in large and dynamic cities such as Warsaw and Poznan are suffering most of all. Realtors speak of a sharp increase in demand that far exceeds supply, and those with rental experience agree that it takes much longer to find a suitable option than it used to.

Difficulties in finding a place to live

My conversation with Eugene made me realize that, under such circumstances, to turn down the opportunity to rent an apartment, whatever it may be, becomes not luxury butnecessity. I myself was shocked to learn that families were willing to be accommodated even in houses without electricity and water. This shows that the situation has indeed reached a critical point where living conditions become secondary in the face of acute shortages.

Hasty decisions

According to realtors, many are already simply pointing to the need for hasty decisions, where people are forced to choose from options that would have been taken as extreme measures in a different context. The rush to get at least some housing, even at a high price, becomes a priority. This emphasizes the audacity of the situation when expectations and opportunities intersect in an unexpected place.

Hope for improvement

Despite the challenging realities of the rental market, it is important not to forget the beauty and diversity of Poland. The country has become home for many, and although finding accommodation has become a real challenge, the prospect of creating a comfortable space can have a positive impact on the adaptation of newcomers. I hope that the situation will improve over time and the market will be able to restore the balance between supply and demand, bringing back the possibility of individual choice and comfort.

Main conclusions:

• Demand for rental housing in Poland exceeds supply.
• Migrants are often forced to accept poor conditions.
• The situation requires quick decision making.
• However, improvement is possible in the future.

Conclusion

The conclusion is that despite the critical situation, it is important to maintain ahopefor improvement. I believe that the joint efforts of the government, realtors and tenants themselves will help restore normalcy to the market, as well as make life easier for many people who have made Poland their new home. Through unity and perseverance, we will be able to survive these difficult times and find better solutions for everyone.