A rental search agent in Warsaw: what they do, what they cost and how to check them

A rental search agent looks for flats that match your brief, contacts the owners, arranges the viewings and helps with the lease. The amount and the moment of payment are written into the brokerage contract. You can check an agent before you sign: the contract must be in writing or in electronic form, a copy of the liability policy is attached, the price is stated in advance, the firm is in a public register, and the claim “we are licensed” proves nothing, because Poland has no licence for agents.

This article is written by allproperty, an agency that finds rental flats for tenants, so there is a section about us at the end and our terms are given in one line. The legal provisions were checked against the published texts on 7 October 2026. “Estimate” means our own view or market practice, not a rule of law.

Six checks that take five minutes

What to check	Where to look	Basis
The contract is in writing or electronic	the contract text, before any payment	art. 180 sec. 3 Real Estate Management Act
A copy of the liability (OC) policy is attached	annex to the contract	art. 181 sec. 3, 3a
Price and payment terms are stated in advance	contract, listing, messages	art. 6 sec. 4 points 3–4 Unfair Market Practices Act
The firm is in a register, NIP and address match	CEIDG or KRS	art. 45 sec. 1 CEIDG Act
“We are licensed” means nothing	no licences since 2014	Dz.U. 2013 item 829
No need to pay in advance	estimate	not a rule

Each one is explained below.

What does a rental search agent do?

In law, brokerage means paid activity aimed at getting other people to conclude a contract, including a lease (art. 179b point 3 of the Real Estate Management Act). What the activity consists of is set by the brokerage contract (art. 180 sec. 3). So what an agent does is written in that agency’s contract, not in a statute.

For a tenant, an agent usually does the following (an estimate): takes your brief with budget, area, dates and number of rooms, looks for options, contacts owners and other agents, agrees the viewings, attends them or runs them over video, reads the draft lease and explains the terms, and helps organise the signing. The agent does not become a party to your lease and does not replace a notary or a public office.

Here is what we do: we call owners and agents, arrange viewings in person or by video, read the draft lease (umowa najmu) and help organise the signing. Help with PESEL and a visit to the urząd is included in the 70% fee. Our agents speak Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish, German, Italian, Spanish and Turkish. The exact list of tasks goes into the search contract.

How much does an agent cost, and when do you pay?

The law sets no rates and no cap on commission: the brokerage chapter (art. 179a–181a) contains no such rule, and the amount and the payment date come from the brokerage contract. Price and payment terms count as essential information that a business must give a consumer in advance: the price or the way it is calculated, and the payment arrangements (art. 6 sec. 4 points 3–4 of the Unfair Market Practices Act). So before signing, ask three questions and get the answers in the text of the contract:

1. How much, in złoty or per cent, and calculated on what (the base rent, czynsz najmu, or with the service charge, czynsz administracyjny)?
2. When: before the lease is signed or after?
3. For what: the search, each viewing, or the result?

We do not quote other agencies’ commissions: the law sets none and there is no single market rate. Our terms are 70% of one month’s rent (czynsz najmu only, without the czynsz administracyjny and utilities), paid once, after the rental agreement is signed. For example, with a rent of 3,500 zł the fee is 2,450 zł. A worked example is in our article how much money you need up front to rent a flat in Warsaw.

Does an agent need a licence in Poland?

No. The professional licences and the central registers of agents were abolished on 1 January 2014: the Act of 13 June 2013 (Dz.U. 2013 item 829) repealed art. 179 of the Real Estate Management Act and closed the registers (art. 37 sec. 1 of that Act). Today an agent is simply a business that carries out brokerage (art. 179a). Two requirements apply: no conviction for a list of intentional offences (art. 180a) and compulsory civil liability insurance (art. 181 sec. 3).

A practical conclusion follows (an estimate): “agent with a licence”, “certified realtor” or “state licence” cannot be confirmed in any state register. Claiming that a business holds an authorisation it does not have is an unfair practice in all circumstances (art. 7 point 4(a) of the Unfair Market Practices Act). Membership of a trade body, if there is one, replaces neither a contract nor a policy.

What should a contract with an agent look like?

A brokerage contract must be in writing or in electronic form, on pain of nullity (art. 180 sec. 3). In practice:

• Paper. Both sides sign the same document by hand, or each side signs its own copy and the parties exchange the signed copies (art. 78 § 1 of the Civil Code).
• Electronic form. This needs a qualified electronic signature (art. 78¹ § 1 of the Civil Code). Podpis zaufany is not a qualified signature (an estimate based on the text of art. 78¹).
• Not valid: a messenger message, an “ok” in a chat, a scan or a photo of a signature. They give neither the written nor the electronic form, so the contract is void (art. 180 sec. 3 of the Real Estate Management Act, art. 78 and 78¹ of the Civil Code). If you are abroad, ask the agent exactly how the contract will be signed. What counts as signing at a distance is covered in our article on signing a lease online or by courier.

Look for five things in the text: the list of what the agent will do, the price and when it is due, how the contract ends, information about your right to withdraw if you have one (art. 6 sec. 4 point 5 of the Unfair Market Practices Act; see the FAQ above), and an annex with a copy of the policy.

Language. Contracts with consumers are in Polish as a rule, but the duty to use Polish applies only if you live in Poland when you sign and the contract is performed in Poland (art. 7 sec. 1 of the Polish Language Act). If you sign from abroad, that duty may not apply (an estimate based on the text of art. 7 sec. 1). A contract in another language is possible at your request if you speak that language, are not a Polish citizen and were told beforehand that you may have the contract in Polish (art. 8 sec. 1 and 1b). A contract can also be drawn up in two languages at once (art. 8 sec. 1a); the Polish version is the basis of interpretation only if you are a Polish citizen, so for a foreigner it does not win automatically. Even if the text is in a language you read, ask whether the agent told you about that right.

What is the agent’s OC policy, and where is the copy?

The OC policy is compulsory civil liability insurance for damage caused in connection with brokerage. It also covers damage caused by people working under the agent’s supervision (art. 181 sec. 3 of the Real Estate Management Act). The minimum sum insured is the equivalent of 25,000 euro per event and for all events in an insurance period of up to 12 months (§ 4 of the Minister of Finance regulation of 26 April 2019, Dz.U. 2019 item 804). The policy covers damage caused by the agent’s acts or omissions in connection with brokerage (§ 2 of the same regulation). It does not promise that the flat will suit you, and it does not check the owner for you (an estimate).

A copy of the policy valid on the day the contract is concluded is an annex to the contract (art. 181 sec. 3a). If anything changes in the policy or the insurer, the agent has to tell you without delay and send a copy of the new document. What to read on the copy:

• who is insured: the firm name and NIP match the contract;
• the insurance period covers the day you sign;
• the sum insured is not below the equivalent of 25,000 euro;
• the subject: brokerage in real estate.

If there is no copy, demand one in a signed letter, on paper with a handwritten signature or with a qualified electronic signature (the law requires a demand “in written form”, and an ordinary e-mail may not be enough), and give seven days from receipt. If nothing arrives, you may terminate the contract with immediate effect (art. 181 sec. 3b).

How do you check a firm by NIP and in CEIDG?

CEIDG is the central register of businesses run by natural persons. Its data is public and anyone may access it (art. 45 sec. 1 of the CEIDG Act). An entry shows the name, NIP, REGON, address, contact details if the owner gave them, the PKD activity code and the start date (art. 5). The simplest way is the government search Wyszukiwarka firm on biznes.gov.pl, which searches CEIDG and KRS together: enter the NIP from your contract. You can also use the CEIDG search page (it opens in a normal browser; automated tools may be blocked). Compare three things: the firm exists, the NIP and address match the contract, and the activity relates to real estate.

If the agency is a company (for example a sp. z o.o.), it will not be in CEIDG: that register covers only businesses run by natural persons (art. 2 sec. 2 point 1). Look a company up in the KRS or through the biznes.gov.pl search. The bank account for payments in the contract should belong to the same firm.

What should make you hesitate?

These are signs to stop and reread the contract. Everything without a cited provision is an estimate.

• Money is requested before the lease is signed: “to reserve”, “for a viewing”, “to join the queue”.
• Payment is requested to a private card, by BLIK or in crypto, not to the company account in the contract.
• There is no contract, or it exists only in a chat (void under art. 180 sec. 3).
• The policy copy is not shown, or you are told it is “not needed” (art. 181 sec. 3a).
• A “licence” or “certificate” is offered instead of a contract and register entries.
• The price is incomplete, for instance “we will agree later” (art. 6 sec. 4 points 3–4).
• The NIP is not found in CEIDG or KRS, or the address in the contract does not match the register.
• You are pressed with a deadline, such as “the flat goes today”, before you have read the contract.

How to tell a copied listing from a real one is in our article on recognising a fake rental listing.

How can you check us?

You can run the same checks on us and take nothing on trust:

• The firm: Vladyslav Moroz, sole proprietorship (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza), NIP 5214128421, REGON 542417364, ul. Stefana Okrzei 1A lok. 5e, 03-715 Warszawa. The entry can be found in CEIDG.
• The agency’s official contacts are +48 666 866 468 and info@allproperty.pl. If someone writes to you in the name of allproperty from another number, call +48 666 866 468 and check.
• We have no licence, like every agent in Poland, because licences do not exist. We have a CEIDG entry and the compulsory OC policy.
• We prepare the search contract to be signed before work starts, with the payment terms in its text and a copy of the OC policy as an annex (art. 181 sec. 3a). It has to be signed in a form the law accepts, as described above.
• The fee: 70% of one month’s rent (czynsz najmu, without czynsz administracyjny and utilities), once, after the rental agreement is signed. We take no advance payment for the search itself.

The registers with direct links and the rules of a safe deal are on the page how to check that it is really us. If you decide to start a search, fill in the tenant brief: budget, move-in date and number of rooms. Phone: +48 666 866 468.

Sources (checked 7 October 2026)

• Real Estate Management Act (ustawa o gospodarce nieruchomościami), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 399: art. 179a, 179b point 3, 180 sec. 3, 180a, 181 sec. 3–3b. The 2026 amendments (items 875 and 912) do not touch these articles.
• Act of 13 June 2013 amending laws regulating certain professions, Dz.U. 2013 item 829: art. 8 point 7 (repeal of art. 179), art. 37 sec. 1 (registers closed from 1 January 2014).
• Minister of Finance regulation of 26 April 2019 on compulsory civil liability insurance of real estate agents, Dz.U. 2019 item 804: § 2–4.
• Unfair Market Practices Act (ustawa o przeciwdziałaniu nieuczciwym praktykom rynkowym), consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 845: art. 6 sec. 4 points 3–5, art. 7 point 4. No newer consolidated text found on 7 October 2026.
• Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 795: art. 78 § 1, art. 78¹ § 1–2.
• Consumer Rights Act (ustawa o prawach konsumenta), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1244: art. 1, 8, 15 sec. 3, art. 21 sec. 2, art. 27, 29, 35, 38 sec. 1 point 1. Directive 2011/83/EU, recital 26, includes the services of a real estate agent in its scope.
• Polish Language Act (ustawa o języku polskim), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 81 (as amended by item 676): art. 7 sec. 1, art. 8 sec. 1, 1a, 1b.
• Act on the Central Registration and Information on Business (CEIDG Act), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 30 (as amended by items 507 and 734): art. 2 sec. 2 point 1, art. 5, art. 45 sec. 1.
• Business search: biznes.gov.pl, Wyszukiwarka firm (CEIDG and KRS together); CEIDG; companies: KRS, Ministry of Justice.

The cover illustration was generated by AI.