Rental deposit (kaucja) — how much it can be and when it comes back

A deposit under an ordinary tenancy may not exceed 12 times the monthly rent, and under najem okazjonalny (occasional tenancy) and institutional tenancy — 6 times (art. 6 sec. 1, art. 19a sec. 4 and art. 19f sec. 5 of the Act of 21 June 2001 on the protection of tenants rights; legal status as of August 2026). The landlord must return it within one month of the day the flat is vacated — counted from the actual handover of the keys, not from the end date of the agreement — after deducting documented claims only. Under an ordinary tenancy the deposit is subject to indexation: if the rent has gone up, you get proportionally more, and never less than you paid in.

In Warszawa practice the standard is a deposit equal to one or two monthly rents. At an average asking rate of about PLN 4,000 per month (median about PLN 3,300, as of August 2026) this usually means PLN 4,000–8,000 payable when the agreement is signed. Below, these rules in practical terms: limits, deadlines, permissible deductions and the line between normal wear and tear and damage.

How high can the deposit be?

Under an ordinary tenancy agreement the deposit may not exceed twelve times the monthly rent, calculated at the rate applicable on the day the agreement is concluded (art. 6 sec. 1 of the Tenants Rights Protection Act). For two special forms of tenancy the Act sets a lower ceiling — we describe how they work in more detail in our guide to najem okazjonalny.

Type of agreement	Maximum deposit	Legal basis
Ordinary tenancy	12 × monthly rent	art. 6 sec. 1
Najem okazjonalny	6 × monthly rent	art. 19a sec. 4
Institutional tenancy	6 × monthly rent	art. 19f sec. 5

These are limits, not market suggestions. In Warszawa practice in 2026 the standard is one, less often two monthly rents — demanding six would be lawful, but would effectively scare tenants away. An important detail: the multiple is calculated from the rent itself, not from the sum of rent and utility charges. If the rent is PLN 3,500 and the czynsz administracyjny (building administration fee) plus metered utilities add PLN 900, the basis for the deposit is PLN 3,500.

A clause providing for a deposit above the statutory limit is invalid as to the part that exceeds the limit. No deposit at all is charged for a replacement dwelling or a social tenancy (art. 6 sec. 2).

Under najem okazjonalny and institutional tenancy the deposit additionally secures the possible costs of enforcing the obligation to vacate the flat. Under an institutional tenancy the landlord may also cover overdue rent from the deposit while the agreement is still running, and the tenant must top it back up to the full amount (art. 19f sec. 7 and 8). Under an ordinary tenancy there is no such option — the deposit waits untouched until the day the flat is handed back.

When must the landlord return the deposit?

Art. 6 sec. 4 of the Act is unambiguous: the deposit is refundable within one month from the day the flat is vacated (or the tenant acquires ownership of it), after deducting the landlord claims. An analogous one-month deadline applies to najem okazjonalny and institutional tenancy.

The key word is „vacating”. The deadline does not start on the end date written into the agreement, but on the day you actually hand the flat over: you move your things out, return all sets of keys, and sign the final protocol. If the agreement ended on 30 June but you handed the keys over on 5 July — the month runs from 5 July. It works the other way round too: as long as your furniture is standing in the flat or you are holding the keys, the landlord can legitimately argue that the flat has not been vacated.

The one-month deadline is a mandatory provision — it cannot be extended by contract, for example by a clause saying „the deposit will be returned within three months”. Such a clause does not bind the tenant.

Is the deposit subject to indexation?

A little-known mechanism from art. 6 sec. 3: under an ordinary tenancy the deposit is returned in an indexed amount. The refund is the product of the rent applicable on the day of the refund and the multiple agreed when the deposit was taken — but not less than the amount actually paid in.

Example: when the agreement was signed the rent was PLN 3,000 and the deposit equalled twice that, i.e. PLN 6,000. Two years later, after a lawful rent increase, the rent is PLN 3,400. The landlord should return 2 × PLN 3,400 = PLN 6,800 (minus any documented deductions).

If the rent has not gone up — you get back exactly what you paid in. For najem okazjonalny and institutional tenancy the Act provides no analogous indexation, so the terms of the agreement decide.

What may the landlord deduct from the deposit — and what may they not?

The deposit is not a contractual penalty or extra remuneration. Only specific, documented claims arising from the tenancy may be deducted from it:

• overdue rent — confirmed by the payment history;
• unsettled charges and utilities — on the basis of invoices and meter readings from the protocol;
• damage going beyond normal wear and tear — documented by the protocol, photographs and a cost estimate or invoice;
• the cost of replacing a lock, if not all issued keys were returned.

Every deduction requires proof. A lump-sum settlement — „I am keeping half the deposit just in case” — has no legal basis.

How to tell normal wear and tear from damage?

Under art. 675 § 1 of the Civil Code the tenant returns the flat in a condition that is not deteriorated, but is not liable for wear resulting from proper use. A practical test: would the same mark have appeared at a careful owner who had lived in this flat for the same length of time? If so — it is normal wear and tear and does not burden the deposit.

Normal wear and tear covers, among other things, furniture marks on the floor, minor scuffs and faded walls, worn seals, or the need to freshen up the paintwork after several years of tenancy. Damage, on the other hand, means holes in walls, cracked tiles, flooded and swollen laminate flooring, broken appliances or deliberately destroyed joinery. When valuing damage, depreciation is taken into account — you do not pay for a five-year-old washing machine as if it were new.

Why the protokół zdawczo-odbiorczy is an insurance policy for both sides

Most disputes over a deposit are in essence a dispute about how the flat looked at the start. It is settled by the protokół zdawczo-odbiorczy (handover and acceptance protocol) drawn up on moving in and on moving out. Make sure it contains:

1. meter readings (electricity, water, gas, heat) with the reading date;
2. the number of key sets and remote controls handed over;
3. a description of the condition of walls, floors, furniture and appliances together with existing faults;
4. dated photographs — ideally several dozen, room by room;
5. signatures of both parties.

Without a protocol the landlord will not prove damage, and the tenant will not prove that the scratch on the worktop was there from day one. In tenancies handled by allproperty the protocol with photographs is part of our standard support for tenants in Warszawa — you receive the full set of documents before the keys are even handed over.

What to do when the deposit does not come back on time?

If a month has passed since you handed the flat back and the money is not there, act in stages. First a written payment demand with a set deadline (for example 7 days) and your account number, sent by registered letter or by email with confirmation. From the due date you may charge statutory interest for delay.

The next step is a court claim — with typical deposit amounts the case goes to simplified proceedings, and the claim for a refund only becomes time-barred after 6 years (art. 118 of the Civil Code). The landlord simply failing to respond does not mean the deposit is „forfeited” — it is your money the whole time.

A well-drafted agreement and a reliable protocol resolve 90% of deposit problems before they even arise. At allproperty we set out the deposit rules — its amount, indexation and the settlement procedure — explicitly in our agreements, and we document every handover of a flat with a protocol including photographs. If you are putting a flat up for rent in Warszawa or are still looking for one for yourself, we will gladly walk you through the whole process — from the viewing to a deposit refund without disputes. If something in the protocol raises doubts while you are taking over or handing back a flat — a meter reading, a mark on the wall, a missing key — do not wait until Monday, call straight away, on the spot: we work around the clock, +48 666 866 468 or +48 692 649 839.