Does writing in Polish help?

Probably, but there is no hard data: the University of Warsaw study did not test language skills. Many ads already say other languages are fine, so a short, polite message in Polish is unlikely to hurt, while a long machine-translated one can confuse. In the study, phoning worked better than any written message. Our estimate, as of 7 October 2026.

Is it better to call or to write?

Call. In the University of Warsaw experiment (January 2024), calls led to an arranged viewing more often than text messages. The authors link this to message exchanges dragging on until the flat is let or the viewing slots are gone. If the ad has no phone number, write briefly and propose a specific time to view.

Is a 'tylko dla Polaków' ad legal?

The question is disputed, and we do not give a legal assessment. The authors of the 2024 University of Warsaw study write that discriminatory clauses in rental ads are legal in Poland. The Equal Treatment Act itself limits the exemption for the content of ads to differences based on sex (art. 5 pt 2), and it names nationality and ethnic origin for publicly offered services, but whether it reaches a private landlord is not settled. For a specific case, ask a lawyer.

Should I mention my job and income in the message?

One line is enough. In the University of Warsaw study, mentioning a skilled profession raised the chances only slightly, not enough to be statistically significant. Say your income is steady and your documents are ready, but do not attach passport or contract scans to a first message: show them at the viewing or on request.

Do you provide sworn translation?

No. The agent interprets orally, in the conversation with the owner and at the viewing. That is not sworn translation and does not replace it for documents. If an official procedure requires a sworn translation of a paper, a sworn translator does that separately; it is not part of finding you a flat.

Why foreigners get no reply to Warsaw rental ads, and what actually helps

Q: Does an agent guarantee the owner will agree?

No. The agent phones the person who placed the ad, speaks Polish with them and interprets for you orally, but the decision is the owner's, and we cannot make it for them. We do not promise otherwise. The fee for finding a flat is 70% of one month's rent (czynsz najmu only, excluding czynsz administracyjny and utilities), payable under a brokerage agreement (umowa pośrednictwa) after the tenancy agreement is signed, invoice without VAT.

A foreigner’s message usually goes unanswered for several reasons at once: the language barrier, worry about payment, and the sheer number of replies a single listing gets (the last two are our estimate, not research findings). What improves your odds is a phone call instead of messaging, a fast reaction and a few polite lines in Polish (the call is backed by the study; speed and Polish are our estimate). In a University of Warsaw experiment from January 2024, calling worked better than texting, and Ukrainian and Turkish testers were invited to view a flat far less often than Polish ones.

Below: what the researchers measured, which phrases to send, how to read an ad that says “tylko dla Polaków”, and what to do after a refusal. Data and links checked on 7 October 2026.

Why do foreigners get no reply to rental ads?

There is no single reason. The study’s authors interviewed landlords and agents, and what those people mentioned most were cultural differences and limited communication. In their view, if someone speaks neither Polish nor English well, misunderstandings pile up when the lease is signed and later during the tenancy. One agent says outright that in such a case their first instinct is to say no. Interviewees also pointed out that evicting a tenant is legally hard.

Two more explanations are ours. Good Warsaw listings draw a lot of messages, and the reply goes to whoever writes clearly and quickly. And someone without a Polish bank account, credit history or Polish employer looks like a payment risk to some owners.

Sometimes it is plainer than that: the flat is already let and the ad is still up. Even Polish testers in the experiment got a viewing only about two times out of three.

What did the University of Warsaw study find?

The Centre of Migration Research at the University of Warsaw (CMR UW, project RentMad) published the results in Spotlight 10 (65), October 2024, by Sara Bojarczuk and Barbara Jancewicz. The team first read 454 ads posted in August and October 2023 on two property portals. Then, between 9 and 19 January 2024, they replied every day to the newest listings for Warsaw and its surroundings. Testers introduced themselves as Polish, Ukrainian, Turkish or Nigerian, half of the enquiries coming from women and half from men. Every advertiser was contacted twice, and the second tester differed from the first only in nationality. A “success” meant being told the flat was available and agreeing a viewing.

Tester presented as	Share of viewings arranged
Polish	65.6%
Ukrainian	below 40%
Turkish	below 40%
Nigerian	26.7%

Three more findings from the paper. Calling brought more success than texting. Mentioning a sought-after profession (doctor, programmer, financial analyst) helped only slightly, not significantly in statistical terms. And nationality clauses were rare in the ads themselves; non-smokers and no-pets rules were far more common, and some ads were written in English, Russian or Ukrainian or said that other languages were welcome.

Three cautions when reading these numbers:

The testers wrote to and called whoever placed the ad, owners and agents alike. The published results (CMR Spotlight) do not separate them, so the figures cannot be pinned on landlords as a group.
The testers represented Ukraine, Turkey and Nigeria. Citizens of Belarus, Kazakhstan or other countries, and EU citizens, were not part of it.
It is one experiment, run in January 2024.

The authors themselves conclude that unequal treatment of foreigners persists in Warsaw’s rental market, and that landlords and agents explain it by cultural differences and limited communication.

What raises your chance of a reply: a call, speed, Polish?

A call. This is one of two things the researchers measured directly (the other is mentioning a profession), and it won clearly. The authors’ explanation: a back-and-forth of messages takes time, and the flat can be let, or the viewing slots filled, before it ends. Call at a sensible hour; if nobody picks up, leave a short message and try again later.

Speed. Not measured separately, but it follows from the authors’ reasoning: the sooner you respond, the smaller the risk of arriving late. Reply on the day the ad appears.

Polish. The study did not test language, so this is an estimate. A short message in Polish shows you are ready to talk and takes some of the worry out of the exchange that landlords and agents described. Skip long passages from a translator: they read oddly and can distort the meaning.

Your profession. One line about work and documents is plenty. Have the rest ready in advance; our guide to documents needed to rent in Warsaw lists what to prepare.

Which 3–4 phrases should I write in Polish?

These four are enough for a first contact. Add the address or ad number and your own day and time.

In Polish	What it means
Dzień dobry, czy mieszkanie z ogłoszenia jest jeszcze dostępne?	Hello, is the flat from the ad still available?
Czy mogę zadzwonić? Słabo mówię po polsku, ale mogę rozmawiać po angielsku.	May I call? My Polish is weak, but I can talk in English.
Czy mogę obejrzeć mieszkanie w czwartek lub w piątek po godzinie 17?	May I view the flat on Thursday or Friday after 5 p.m.?
Mam stałe dochody i przygotowane dokumenty. Mogę je pokazać przy oglądaniu mieszkania.	I have a steady income and my documents are ready. I can show them when we view the flat.

If you know the owner speaks Ukrainian or Russian, swap “po angielsku” for “po ukraińsku” or “po rosyjsku”. Send it as one short message with a proposed time: a yes or no is easier to give that way.

What the agent takes on

If you would rather not write and phone in Polish yourself, the agent calls the person who placed the ad, speaks Polish with them and interprets for you orally. The agent can put your questions to the owner. Nobody can guarantee the owner’s consent.

Fill in the search form. Fee: 70% of one month’s rent (czynsz najmu only, excluding czynsz administracyjny and utilities), payable under a brokerage agreement (umowa pośrednictwa) after the tenancy agreement (umowa najmu) is signed, invoice without VAT.

What should I do about a “tylko dla Polaków” ad?

First read exactly what it says. “Tylko dla Polaków” (“only for Poles”) is about nationality; “tylko osoby mówiące po polsku” (“only Polish speakers”) or “preferowane osoby pracujące” (“working people preferred”) is about language or employment. In the second case a phone call, or a conversation through an agent, sometimes settles the concern, though nobody can promise it.

The legal position, briefly. The CMR UW authors write that discriminatory clauses in rental ads are legal in Poland. The Act itself is narrower: the exemption for the content of ads concerns only differences based on sex (art. 5 pt 2). The Equal Treatment Act (consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 1196, as of 31 August 2026) prohibits unequal treatment on grounds of nationality and ethnic origin in services, housing services included, if they are offered publicly (art. 6). It does not apply to private and family life (art. 5 pt 1), and freedom to choose a contracting party stays outside it only as long as the choice is not based on sex, race, ethnic origin or nationality (art. 5 pt 3). Language is not among the listed grounds. Whether the rule reaches the ad of a private landlord is disputed. We do not settle it and do not give a legal assessment: for a particular case, speak to a lawyer.

In practice, arguing in the comments under an ad is usually not worth it (our estimate). Your time is better spent on the next listing.

What should I do after a refusal?

Do not treat silence as the final answer. Even Polish testers got a viewing only about two times out of three. Call once more a day or two later: the ad may simply have sunk under other messages.
Plan for several enquiries. If the odds of arranging a viewing are around 40%, it takes on average two to three enquiries per viewing; at 26.7% about four. That is our arithmetic on the CMR UW figures, not a forecast for you personally. Respond to several listings at once.
Change the channel, not just the wording. If messaging failed, phone. If you failed on your own, bring in someone who speaks Polish.
Check the ad itself. A quick reply that asks for money before a viewing is a reason to stop. We list the warning signs in how to spot a fake rental ad.
Keep the correspondence. It will help in any later dispute.

How can an agent help, and what does the agent not promise?

What the agent does: phones the person who placed the ad (an owner or another agent), speaks Polish with them and interprets for you orally, and puts your questions to them if needed. We serve clients in Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish, German, Italian, Turkish and Spanish.

What the agent does not promise:

The owner’s consent. The decision is the owner’s, and we cannot make it for them.
Sworn translation. Oral interpreting in a call or at a viewing is not sworn translation.
A legal assessment of a refusal. We do not give legal advice on that.

The fee for finding a flat is 70% of one month’s rent (czynsz najmu only, excluding czynsz administracyjny and utilities), payable under a brokerage agreement (umowa pośrednictwa) after the tenancy agreement (umowa najmu) is signed, invoice without VAT. Example: rent of 3,500 zł means a fee of 2,450 zł. To start, fill in the search form or call +48 666 866 468.

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

Sources (checked 7 October 2026)

Bojarczuk S., Jancewicz B. Discrimination in the rental market in Warsaw. CMR Spotlight 10 (65), October 2024: issue page, PDF.
Act of 3 December 2010 on the implementation of certain European Union provisions on equal treatment (ustawa o wdrożeniu niektórych przepisów Unii Europejskiej w zakresie równego traktowania), arts. 4–6 and 13–14, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1196, as of 31 August 2026.