Checking the landlord and paying before you arrive in Warsaw: reservation fee, deposit, first month, in what order

Checking a landlord comes down to three questions: what is the flat’s land and mortgage register number (księga wieczysta, free to browse, with the owner shown in section II), does that name match the ID of the person you are talking to, and does that person have the right to let (the owner, a representative holding a power of attorney, or a tenant with the landlord’s consent, usually the owner’s). You can transfer the deposit and first month before you arrive, but it raises the risk: the police advise paying only once you get the keys. If you cannot wait, the order “verify, contract, payment to the account in the contract, handover protocol” lowers the risk without removing it. This is general information, not legal advice. Rules and sources checked on 7 October 2026.

Can I pay before I arrive?

The law does not forbid paying remotely. The caution is practical. The Warsaw police (KRP II Mokotów, text from 2020) advise against paying any advance or deposit for something you have not physically seen, and say to pay by bank transfer to the personal account of the person letting only once you receive the keys. From abroad that is not always possible: landlords often ask for money before handing over keys (assessment).

The risk is real. On 31 July 2026 the media reported that Warsaw police had detained a 28-year-old man who posted fake flat listings on an advertising portal. People paid “zaliczki”, then contact stopped and they never got the keys or access to the flat. He was charged with three counts of fraud, with losses of PLN 3,800.

So a sensible approach is to verify the person and their right to let, get the contract, pay as close to key handover as possible, and only to the account in the contract. Ask whether the landlord will accept payment on the day you move in.

How do I check that the person letting is the owner?

1. Ask for the księga wieczysta number and the exact address of the flat.
2. Open ekw.ms.gov.pl, choose “Przeglądanie księgi wieczystej” and enter the number. Browsing is free (gov.pl, checked 7 October 2026) and only the register number is needed.
3. Match the address and description of the flat with the listing, and the name in section II with the ID of the person letting.
4. Arrange a video call where the person holds their ID next to their face. The police advise checking the details against the ID and, ideally, a second document (passport, driving licence), because forged IDs can be bought. A scanned ID that someone sends you proves nothing: in the schemes the police describe, the fraudster sent a scan of someone else’s ID, taken from an earlier victim.
5. Do not send a full scan of your own ID until the other side is verified: according to the same descriptions, the scan is reused in new frauds.
6. If a company lets the flat, check it in the CEIDG and KRS registers.

For more on reading the register itself, see our article on the księga wieczysta.

What does the księga wieczysta show, and what does it not?

A register has four sections. Section I-O describes the property, section II records the owner or the perpetual usufructuary (użytkowanie wieczyste), section III shows restrictions and other rights, and section IV shows mortgages (Art. 25 of the Land and Mortgage Registers Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1066). Registers are public (Art. 2). There is a presumption that an entry matches the real legal position (Art. 3), but it is a presumption, not a guarantee: sometimes an “ostrzeżenie” (warning) appears, saying the entry no longer matches reality (Art. 36(3)), for example after an inheritance.

The register does not show:

• who is actually speaking to you on video: you match that against an ID yourself;
• whether this person may sign for everyone when section II lists several owners;
• whether another tenant currently lives in the flat.

Sometimes a flat has no separate register. For a cooperative ownership right to a flat (spółdzielcze własnościowe prawo do lokalu), for example, the register is organised differently: section II names the holder of the right (Art. 25(2)), and the holder is not obliged to have one opened, according to general legal commentary (assessment). If there is no register, ask which document proves the right (most often a notarial deed or a certificate from the cooperative), and show it to a lawyer if in doubt.

What if the person letting is not the owner, but a tenant or a representative?

A representative. You need a power of attorney (pełnomocnictwo) naming the flat and the right to conclude a tenancy agreement. A written one is better: it can be checked and later proved. Call the owner on a number that the representative did not give you and ask whether they really issued it (assessment).

A tenant sub-letting (podnajem). Without the consent of the landlord (wynajmujący, usually the owner) a tenant may neither sub-let the flat or part of it nor hand it over for free use (Art. 688² of the Civil Code; no consent is needed for people the tenant is obliged to support). The Code names no form for the consent, but a written one is easier to check and prove. Ask for the main tenancy agreement and the landlord’s consent (call the owner if the landlord is not the owner). A sub-tenancy ends at the latest with the main tenancy (Art. 668(2)), so ask until what date the main one runs.

An agency or intermediary. Ask on whose behalf they act, and make sure the contract is signed by the person named in it as a party.

In what order should I pay to lower the risk?

1. Verify the person and the right to let (steps above).
2. Get the contract text before any payment. For an ordinary tenancy of up to a year the law does not require writing, and a tenancy over a year that is not in writing is treated as one for an indefinite period (Art. 660 of the Civil Code). Still, a written contract is useful evidence. A najem okazjonalny (occasional tenancy) must be in writing on pain of nullity and comes with a notarial statement (Art. 19a(2) and (6) of the Tenant Protection Act); see the guide.
3. If the owner asks for a reservation before the contract, ask for a written reservation agreement (umowa rezerwacyjna): the amount, the deadline, what happens if the deal falls through, and whether the sum counts towards the deposit or first month.
4. Pay by bank transfer to the account named in the contract, and check that the account holder’s name matches the person letting. In the transfer title put the purpose, the address and the contract date, and keep the confirmation. Do not use BLIK or portals (the police name them as routes where the recipient is hard to trace), cash or crypto.
5. At key handover, sign a handover protocol (protokół zdawczo-odbiorczy) with photos and meter readings.

This order lowers the risk but does not remove it. Even a flat shown in person is no guarantee: the police have described a case in which a man showed flats, signed a contract, took a deposit and then, citing repairs, kept postponing key handover until he vanished.

What is the difference between zadatek, zaliczka, a reservation fee and a deposit?

• Zadatek (Art. 394 of the Civil Code). A sum given “when the contract is concluded”. If one side fails to perform, the other may withdraw and keep the zadatek received, or, if it gave the zadatek itself, demand twice the amount. If the contract is performed, the zadatek counts towards the payment, or is returned if that is not possible. If the contract is terminated, or not performed for reasons for which neither side, or both, are responsible, it is returned (Art. 394(2)–(3)). The parties can agree otherwise. If there is no contract yet, not even an oral one, relying on Art. 394 is hard (assessment): such a payment is more likely an advance or a sum “by agreement”, and everything depends on what you can prove. And the right to the double sum only helps if the recipient can be found.
• Zaliczka (advance payment). A prepayment on account of a later payment. Unlike zadatek, the law gives the recipient no right to keep it or to demand double: if the deal falls through, an advance is as a rule claimed back (assessment, it depends on what you agreed). If you paid and there is no contract, the money can be claimed back as received without a legal basis (Arts. 405 and 410 of the Civil Code), but only from someone you can identify.
• Reservation fee (opłata rezerwacyjna). The law does not define it; it rests on contract terms (Art. 353¹ of the Civil Code). Ask in writing what it is for, whether it counts towards the deposit or first month, and whether it is refundable if the owner does not sign or you withdraw before a set date.
• Deposit (kaucja). It secures the landlord’s claims on the day the flat is vacated. For an ordinary tenancy it may not exceed twelve times the monthly rent, for najem okazjonalny six times, and it must be returned within a month of vacating, less what is owed (Art. 6(1) and (4), Art. 19a(4) and (5) of the Tenant Protection Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 725). More in our article on the deposit.

The general rule: what a payment is called in a chat decides nothing; the contract and what you can prove do. A full comparison of the terms is in our piece on fake listings.

Which signs should stop a transfer?

• They ask for cash “because that is how it is done”, or for a transfer by BLIK, a portal, or to an account of someone other than the person named in the contract.
• They mention a “contract fee”, or a fee for “access to offers” or a “list of verified offers” before any specific flat is named (assessment: paying for a list gives you no right to a flat).
• They rush you: “today”, “lots of people interested”.
• They will not give the księga wieczysta number, will not join a video call, will not show an ID.
• “The owner is abroad” and cannot show the flat or hand over keys in person, which the police describe as a typical pattern.
• The price is far below the market.
• They ask for a scan of your passport before the person letting is verified.
• They do not send the contract text before payment.

The police advise breaking off the deal after even one such sign, and certainly paying nothing. Our assessment: a payment is not in itself a sign of fraud, what matters is who receives it, on what basis and after which steps. So treat every sign as a reason not to pay until it has been explained in writing and checked.

What should I do if the money has already been sent?

1. Call your bank at once: ask it to stop or recall the transfer, and block your card if you entered card details on a payment page. The sooner, the better the chances.
2. Collect evidence: the listing, the messages, the account number, the payment confirmation and any documents you sent.
3. Report to the police or the prosecutor. Fraud under Art. 286(1) of the Criminal Code carries imprisonment from 6 months to 8 years (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 383). If you sent a scan of an ID, say so.
4. Report the payment page and phishing to CERT Polska at incydent.cert.pl.
5. The civil route: a claim for return of money paid without a legal basis (Arts. 405 and 410 of the Civil Code) works if the recipient is known.

More on the warning signs is in our article on fake listings.

How do our clients pay?

Our fee for finding a flat is 70% of one month’s rent (czynsz najmu only, without czynsz administracyjny and utilities), paid after the tenancy agreement is signed, on an invoice without VAT. For example, if the rent is 3,500 zł, the fee is 2,450 zł. The deposit and first month’s rent are payments under the tenancy agreement between you and the owner. The order in this article also fits a deal made through an agent: contract before payment, payment to the account in the signed contract, a handover protocol when you get the keys. The agent talks to the owner directly; which documents the agent reviews in your deal, ask before signing. A stay in our short-term (daily-rate) flat during your viewing trip, if you need one, is paid separately under the short-term rental terms.

Sources (checked 7 October 2026): Civil Code, Arts. 353¹, 394, 405, 410, 660, 668, 688² (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 795, isap.sejm.gov.pl); Tenant Protection Act (ustawa o ochronie praw lokatorów), Arts. 6, 19a (consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 725); Land and Mortgage Registers Act (ustawa o księgach wieczystych i hipotece), Arts. 2, 3, 25, 36 (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1066); Criminal Code, Art. 286 (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 383); ekw.ms.gov.pl; gov.pl, “Uzyskaj odpis, wyciąg albo zaświadczenie z księgi wieczystej”; Policja KRP II, “Nie daj się oszukać przy wynajmie mieszkania” (15 Oct 2020), https://mokotow.policja.gov.pl/r2/aktualnosci/98152,Nie-daj-sie-oszukac-przy-wynajmie-mieszkania.html; ewarszawa.pl, 31 July 2026 (28-year-old charged over fake rental listings), https://ewarszawa.pl/news-news-5939-falszywe_oferty_najmu_i_wyludzone_zaliczki_28_latek_uslyszal_zarzuty; incydent.cert.pl.

The cover illustration was generated by AI.

Looking for a flat in Warsaw and unable to come for viewings? Fill in the matching form: budget, dates, district. The agent finds options, talks to the owner directly and checks over video what you ask them to check. The fee is 70% of one month’s rent (czynsz najmu) after the tenancy agreement is signed, on an invoice without VAT. Our agents speak Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish, German, Italian, Spanish and Turkish. Phone: +48 666 866 468.