POLAND . The Unofficial Guide	Unanswered \| Archives
POLAND . The Unofficial Guide	"Polska" means "Poland" in Polish!	Witamy, Guest \| PF Members \| Gold Members

Polish Forums / Real Estate /

What are the documents requested from foreigners to rent a flat long term?

MEMBER ♀

Jul 14, 10, 22:10 #1

hello,
I have a question for all our real estate specialists on our forum.
Your answers could be quite useful !
If I am not Polish and I want to rent a flat in Poland on a long term basis, what are the documents requested by private owners or agencies apart from passport number and signing a lease contract ?
Proof of income ? Company warrantee ? Bank statements of the last 6 months?

Is there a difference between what is provided by a foreigner in terms of official documents or by local resident ?

Also is it common or legal to ask a tenant to pay the rent for one year upfront?

Many thanks

♂

Jul 14, 10, 22:13 #2

LwowskaKrakow:

Also is it common or legal to ask a tenant to pay the rent for one year upfront?

Definitely not common. Legal - sure, it's just a contract. But it's absolutely unheard of - the most I've heard of was 3 months at a time, and even that was considered to be extortionate.

LwowskaKrakow:

If I am not Polish and I want to rent a flat in Poland on a long term basis, what are the documents requested by private owners or agencies apart from passport number and signing a lease contract ?
Proof of income ? Company warrantee ? Bank statements of the last 6 months?

Depends very much on who is letting it. But it's certainly not normal in Poland to ask for these things, apart from passport number and the contract. I know some people are now starting to ask for references, but it's still mostly unheard of.

LwowskaKrakowThreads: 46 Posts: 473 Joined: Mar 9, 07 MEMBER ♀	Jul 14, 10, 23:02 #3
delphiandomine: I know some people are now starting to ask for references I suppose there is a difference if the flat is furnished or unfurnished .. I agree that asking for financial references make sense but paying 1 year rent upfront seems a bit too paranoid and too much!

delphiandomineThreads: 40 Posts: 9,587 Joined: Nov 25, 08 ♂	Jul 15, 10, 00:25 #4
LwowskaKrakow: I suppose there is a difference if the flat is furnished or unfurnished .. Depends to what standard, I suppose - if it's a high standard, I'd be checking them out very very carefully. LwowskaKrakow: I agree that asking for financial references make sense but paying 1 year rent upfront seems a bit too paranoid and too much! It's absolutely insane and not normal practice at all.

♂

Jul 16, 10, 08:55 #5

I regularly rent to foreigners in Krakow and I require photo ID + a signed contract + the equivalent of month's rent as security deposit + the first month of rent upfront + the final month of rent upfront.

I would be very skeptical of any landlord looking for 12 months of rent upfront. In general, landlords in Poland are happier to rent to foreigners than to native Poles. A clean, sober, foreigner shouldn't have any trouble renting an apartment in Poland with nothing more than a passport, contract, and deposit/rent money.

On the flip-side, for your own protection, you can ask the landlord for photo ID and proof that he/she is the true owner of the property.

OlafThreads: 8 Posts: 1,348 Joined: Oct 29, 09 ♂	Jul 18, 10, 23:49 #6
Exactly - The contract needs t osecure both sides. You must have the owner's statement that s/he is really the owner etc. and have his/her copy of id too

delphiandomineThreads: 40 Posts: 9,587 Joined: Nov 25, 08 ♂	Jul 19, 10, 00:24 #7
It's not a bad idea to also ask if the owner has permission from the administration to rent the flat - it might be no surprise to people that people illegally sub-letting their flat is very common.

♂

Edited by: plk123 Jul 19, 10, 04:05 #8