Are there English listings on Otodom?

The Otodom interface is in Polish: on 7 October 2026 the results page had no language switch, and the address of an English version returned a 404 error. Listing texts are written by the people who post them, and some do not write in Polish: a University of Warsaw study (454 ads from two portals, August and October 2023) found ads in English, Russian and Ukrainian, and many Polish ads said contact in other languages was fine. We did not find the share of such ads on Otodom itself. Checked 7 October 2026.

Why does nobody reply in Facebook groups?

We found no data on Facebook groups specifically. In a University of Warsaw test (January 2024, replies to the newest rental ads in Warsaw and surroundings) Poles were invited to a viewing in 65.6% of contacts, Ukrainians and Turks in under 40%, and calling worked better than texting. Our assessment: a good post attracts many replies, and the post can stay in the feed after the flat is gone. Call, respond on the day of posting and do not rely on a single ad.

Are Telegram channels safe?

Safety depends on the individual ad, not on the app. We found no data on the share of fraud on Telegram, and it is not among the sources of the Znajdź Najem aggregator. Telegram itself does not confirm that the poster is the owner (our assessment), so the usual rules apply: no money before a viewing and a check of the owner, and no scans of your documents to strangers (Katowice police, 29 March 2025).

Do landlords charge a commission?

A commission is the fee of an intermediary under a brokerage agreement, and an owner who lets the flat directly is not an intermediary. A brokerage agreement must be in writing or in electronic form (that is, with a qualified electronic signature) on pain of nullity (art. 180 ust. 3 of the Real Estate Management Act, text as of 10 March 2026; art. 78¹ of the Civil Code). If anyone asks for a reservation fee, a deposit or the first month's rent before you have seen the flat, stop: the police describe exactly this scheme (Katowice police, 29 March 2025). A fee demanded before any viewing is a red flag (our assessment). A kaucja (security deposit) and czynsz (rent) under the najem agreement are different payments.

Do you search on every portal?

Yes, we search the whole market: portals, groups and other agencies’ listings. No search gives 100% coverage, so we put the scope of work in writing in the brokerage agreement. Ask about that scope before you sign, whichever agent you use.

Can I pay before a viewing to "reserve" a flat?

No. The police describe the scheme: a reservation, deposit or first month is requested, and after the transfer contact stops. Their advice is to see the flat in person, not to give money to strangers and to settle payments after the formalities are complete, against a written receipt (Katowice police, 29 March 2025). If you cannot travel, read the checking section of our article on fake listings.

Where should a foreigner look for a rental in Warsaw: Otodom, OLX, Facebook, Telegram or an agent?

There is no single best channel; each has a trade-off. Otodom and OLX are the main portals: owners and agencies post there, but the interface is Polish. Facebook groups and Telegram are easy to use in your own language, but you have to vet the poster yourself. An agent makes sense when you are not yet in Warsaw, do not speak Polish or cannot get to viewings in person.

For scale: on 7 October 2026 the aggregator Znajdź Najem showed about 44,000 active rental listings in Warsaw from 10 sources. This is not official statistics: the sample includes rooms, duplicates are removed only approximately and the number changes with every refresh. The aggregator itself says it does not guarantee full market coverage.

Below is a table of channels and a closer look at each. Everything we checked ourselves or found in sources is dated 7 October 2026. Where something is our assessment rather than a fact, it says so.

Where do foreigners look for flats in Warsaw?

We found no statistics on channels used by foreigners specifically. What is known is where the aggregator takes its listings from: eight portals (Otodom and OLX among them) and two Facebook products, Groups and Marketplace. Telegram is not on its list. So we compare five options the way someone planning a move sees them.

Channel	Interface language	Who posts	Is a commission possible	What to check
Otodom	Polish. No language switch on 7 October 2026	Owners and agencies: each card is marked “Oferta prywatna” or “Biuro nieruchomości”	Yes, if the poster is an agency	Who the poster is, who the owner is, whether the poster may let the flat
OLX	Polish. We found no language switch	Individuals and companies: filter “Prywatne” and “Biura / Deweloperzy”	Yes, if the poster is an agency	The same, plus whether the price matches the market
Facebook groups and Marketplace	Facebook in your language, posts in the poster’s language	Any user: individuals and intermediaries (our assessment)	Possible if the post comes from an intermediary	Poster’s profile and history, whether you can meet in person
Telegram channels and chats	Telegram in your language, posts in the poster’s language	Any user, no identity confirmation (our assessment)	Possible if the post comes from an intermediary	The same steps as for Facebook
Flat-finding agent	Depends on the agent: ask in advance	Finds options for your request; the posters of the ads stay the same	Yes, it is the agent’s pay under the brokerage agreement	A written agreement: scope of work, amount, payment date, and a copy of the agent’s OC liability insurance policy, which must be attached to the agreement (art. 181 ust. 3a u.g.n.)

“Commission possible” only means that such a poster may be an intermediary. A “bez prowizji” (no commission) line in a title is the poster’s own claim; it can only be confirmed in a written agreement or in correspondence.

How do Otodom and OLX differ?

In format, not in “reliability”. We found no data on the share of fraud by platform and will not invent one.

Otodom is a dedicated property portal with sections “Kupuję”, “Wynajmuję”, “Sprzedaję” and “Rynek pierwotny”. Every card in our sample on 7 October 2026 carried a poster type: “Oferta prywatna” or “Biuro nieruchomości”.
OLX is a general classifieds site where property is one category. The rental list has a switch “Wszystkie / Biura / Deweloperzy / Prywatne”, which lets you filter agencies out or keep only them.

What they share: the web interface is Polish (we found no language switch on 7 October 2026), the ads are written by the posters and the same flat often appears on several platforms (which is why the aggregator removes duplicates). If a poster is listed as “prywatna”, that may be the owner or a tenant who sub-lets. In the second case you need the owner’s written consent, as we explained in How to spot a fake rental listing.

Ads in other languages do exist. In the University of Warsaw study some ads were in English, Russian or Ukrainian, and many Polish ones said contact in other languages was possible (CMR UW, October 2024).

Is it worth searching Facebook groups and Telegram?

Yes, as a supplement and not as your only channel.

What they offer. Real offers: the aggregator counts Facebook Groups and Marketplace among its sources. You can write in the language you are comfortable with and ask people who have already rented in Warsaw.

What gets in the way. There is no common check of who posts: the rules are set by a group’s administrator, not by the platform (our assessment). A popular post collects replies fast and yours gets lost. The police in Gdynia warned about fake short-term rental offers on popular portals and social media (28 August 2026). We found no data on Telegram, and it is not among the aggregator’s sources.

A practical conclusion (our assessment): reply to a group post only once the poster has given the address and you can check the owner. Ignore “be quick, someone else is coming today” and never send money in private messages. Why you may not get replies and what to do about it is covered in Why foreigners don’t get replies to rental ads in Warsaw.

Where is the risk of meeting a scammer highest?

The risk is everywhere, and we found no data that would let us rank platforms by share of fraud. The police write about fake ads on popular portals and in social media (Gdynia police, 28 August 2026) and, in another announcement, note that scammers pose as owners or intermediaries (Katowice police, 29 March 2025). The scheme is the same everywhere: a price below the market, “the keys are in a lockbox”, an urgent reservation transfer, and then silence. The defence is also the same: see the flat in person or with a document check, pay nothing before the formalities and send no passport scans to strangers. If you were cheated, tell the police and the portal’s administrators so that the account is closed (Mazovian police, 29 November 2024). We collected all the signs and the owner check through the księga wieczysta in How to spot a fake rental listing.

When should you search on your own?

It is a perfectly sound choice, and often enough. It suits you if:

you are already in Warsaw or can come for a few days;
you speak Polish or English, or someone can phone for you: according to CMR UW, calling works better than texting;
your move-in date is flexible and you are ready to respond to many listings at once (our assessment);
you do not need an intermediary and do not want to pay for finding a flat;
you need a room: we find flats, not rooms.

In that case use Otodom and OLX as the base, add one or two groups you have checked and get your rental documents ready in advance.

When does a flat-finding agent help?

When you lack the time or the means to search yourself: you are moving from another country, you do not speak Polish and the viewings have to happen within a few days. Read this section with a caveat: allproperty is an agency, and finding flats is how we earn.

What we do, as agreed with you:

Online viewings. We view the flat in detail by video, check what you would ask, talk to the landlord directly and interpret orally. This is not a sworn translation.
A viewing tour. For the days of your visit we offer our own apartment for nightly rental (paid separately, on the terms of nightly rental) and arrange the viewings in advance: usually up to 5 viewings a day, and within 2-3 days you can usually see the suitable flats and move in.
Remote deal. We meet you at the station or airport and take you through to the keys. If the deal has been prepared in advance, the keys are usually handed over on the day you arrive.
After you get the keys. Help with PESEL and with the registration office (urząd) is included in the 70% fee.

What an agent cannot do: make a landlord agree, replace a sworn translator or give legal advice. Our agents speak Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish, German, Italian, Turkish and Spanish.

The fee for finding a flat is 70% of one month’s rent (czynsz najmu), payable once after the rental agreement is signed; the invoice has no VAT added. For example, with a rent of 3,500 zł the fee is 2,450 zł. The 70% is calculated on the rent itself (czynsz najmu) only, not on czynsz administracyjny or utilities (media). A brokerage agreement is concluded in writing or in electronic form, that is, with a qualified electronic signature (art. 180 ust. 3 of the Real Estate Management Act; art. 78¹ of the Civil Code). Before signing, check the scope of services, the amount and the payment date, and ask any agent for a copy of their OC liability insurance policy, which must be attached to the agreement (art. 181 ust. 3a of the Real Estate Management Act).

If you would rather not search yourself, fill in the flat-finding form: district, budget, move-in date. Or call: +48 666 866 468, info@allproperty.pl.

The cover illustration was generated by AI and does not show a real place.

Sources (checked 7 October 2026)

Znajdź Najem, Warsaw report, October 2026 and comparison of sources: listings from 10 sources, an aggregator, not official statistics.
Otodom and OLX: rental results pages for Warsaw, our observations of 7 October 2026 (Otodom, OLX). The interface and page contents may change.
Bojarczuk S., Jancewicz B. Discrimination in the rental market in Warsaw. CMR Spotlight 10 (65), October 2024: PDF.
Police: Gdynia, 28 August 2026, Katowice, 29 March 2025, Mazovian police, 29 November 2024.
Ustawa o gospodarce nieruchomościami (Real Estate Management Act), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 399 (as of 10 March 2026), art. 179b, 180 ust. 3, 181 ust. 3 and 3a: api.sejm.gov.pl.
Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 795, art. 78¹ § 1: eli.gov.pl.
“Our assessment” marks a practical conclusion of ours, not a rule of law or data from a source.