Rachunek powierniczy and escrow — how your money is protected

When buying a flat in Warszawa you transfer several hundred thousand zloty to the seller or the developer before you get the keys and an entry in the land and mortgage register. Polish law provides two mechanisms for this: the housing rachunek powierniczy (escrow account) — compulsory on the primary market since 1 July 2022, with the new rules applying in full since 1 July 2024 — and the notarial deposit, that is escrow on the secondary market, voluntary and regulated in art. 108 of the Law on Notaries.

With a rachunek powierniczy the money goes into an account at a bank rather than directly to the developer: the bank releases the funds in tranches (an open account) or in one go after ownership has been transferred (a closed account). On top of that it is protected by the Deweloperski Fundusz Gwarancyjny (DFG) — a contribution of 0.45% of the payment for an open account without additional security, or 0.1% for a closed account, as of August 2026, unchanged since 2022. A notarial deposit costs half the standard notarial fee plus VAT — for a flat costing PLN 300,000 that is about PLN 1,212 gross, and for PLN 600,000 — about PLN 1,950 gross. Below we explain how both mechanisms work and when it is worth using them.

What is a rachunek powierniczy with a developer?

The basis is the act of 20 May 2021 on the protection of the rights of buyers of residential units or single-family houses and on the Deweloperski Fundusz Gwarancyjny (the so-called new developer act), in force since 1 July 2022. Since 1 July 2024 the transitional period has ended and new developer agreements are now concluded exclusively under its rules — it is worth checking this before signing a developer agreement.

The mechanism is simple: your payments go not to the developer but into a housing rachunek powierniczy maintained by a bank. A developer starting sales has a statutory obligation to conclude an agreement for such an account — it cannot opt out or propose a different solution. The bank makes sure the money is released solely in accordance with the act. The same mechanism applies to every development in our primary market offer — regardless of the developer and the size of the project.

What is the difference between an open and a closed account?

The act provides for two variants of the account and it is worth knowing which one applies to your development — this information must appear in the information prospectus and in the developer agreement.

Feature	Open account	Closed account
When the developer receives the money	In tranches, after successive stages of construction are completed	In one go, only after ownership has been transferred to you
Bank supervision	Before each payment the bank checks the progress of construction	The bank waits for a copy of the akt notarialny
Presence on the market (2026)	The vast majority of developments	Rarely — the developer has to finance construction itself

With an open account the bank pays the developer no earlier than 30 days after the developer agreement is concluded, and only after establishing that the relevant stage of the schedule has been completed. The inspection (art. 17 of the act) is not a formality: the bank verifies the site manager’s entry in the construction log, and a person with construction qualifications appointed by the bank confirms the actual progress of the works. The developer receives the last tranche only after delivering a copy of the akt notarialny (notarial deed) transferring ownership to you, free of any encumbrances you have not accepted. If you withdraw from the agreement on the statutory terms, the bank returns the remaining funds to you at their nominal value.

What is the Deweloperski Fundusz Gwarancyjny?

The rachunek powierniczy protects the money that is still sitting in it. But what about the funds already paid out to the developer if it goes bankrupt? Since 1 July 2022 the Deweloperski Fundusz Gwarancyjny (DFG, the statutory developer guarantee fund) has been operating, financed by developers’ contributions: as of August 2026 it is still 0.45% of every payment for an open account without additional security and 0.1% for a closed account or an open one with a bank guarantee (regulation of 21 June 2022, rates unchanged). The contribution is paid by the developer — you will not find it as a separate item in your settlement.

If the developer becomes insolvent and abandons the development, the DFG refunds buyers the payments made into the escrow account. In practice your money on the primary market is protected twice over: first by the bank, then by the fund. It is also worth checking the developer yourself, because the rachunek powierniczy and the DFG do not replace a review of its track record.

How does a notarial deposit work on the secondary market?

There is no rachunek powierniczy on the secondary market — the developer act does not apply here. The security standard is the notarial deposit, regulated in art. 108 of the act of 14 February 1991 — the Law on Notaries. The notary receives the money (in zloty or a foreign currency) into a special deposit account and draws up a protocol on it, in which the parties precisely define the conditions for releasing the funds.

A typical scenario:

1. Before the sale agreement is signed you pay the price into the deposit with the notary.
2. In the protocol you record the conditions for payment — for example the signing of the deed, the bank’s consent to the removal of the seller’s mortgage, the handover of the unit.
3. Once the conditions are met the notary releases the funds to the seller against a receipt; if they are not — the money comes back to you.

It is a voluntary solution, but especially worth considering when the flat is encumbered with a mortgage, when the seller is repaying a loan out of the sale price, or when a longer period is to pass between the deed and the handover of the unit. After the deed, check the entry in the księga wieczysta (land and mortgage register) and make sure the mortgage has actually disappeared.

How much does a notarial deposit cost?

The notary’s remuneration for accepting a deposit is half the maximum notarial fee applicable to the amount deposited (regulation of the Minister of Justice of 28 June 2004, rates unchanged and current in 2026), plus 23% VAT and around a dozen zloty for copies of the protocol. Specifically: for a flat costing PLN 300,000 the deposit fee will be PLN 985 net, that is about PLN 1,212 gross; for PLN 600,000 — PLN 1,585 net, about PLN 1,950 gross. Against the transaction price that is a fraction of a percent — usually less than a single loan instalment — and in exchange neither party has to “take the other at their word”.

How to settle money from abroad when buying a flat?

When financing a purchase with funds from abroad — more in our guide to buying a flat remotely from abroad — two additional topics come up. First, documenting the source of the funds: the notary and the bank, as obliged institutions (the act of 1 March 2018 on counteracting money laundering), ask about the origin of the money in larger transactions. Prepare in advance, for example, the sale agreement for a previous property, income certificates or statements showing a savings history.

Second, the currency exchange: with amounts in the hundreds of thousands of zloty a difference of a few grosze in the rate really does mean thousands of zloty, so it is better to plan the exchange date before the preliminary agreement rather than in the week of the deed.

What to check before the first transfer?

• Primary market: check in the prospectus what kind of rachunek powierniczy the developer maintains and at which bank; pay only into the number indicated in the developer agreement.
• Verify the schedule of stages — it determines the pace at which tranches are released on an open account.
• Secondary market: if the seller has a mortgage, ask for a bank certificate of the outstanding balance and a promise of consent to its removal; consider a notarial deposit.
• Describe the conditions for releasing the funds from the deposit precisely — the date, the documents, who collects them and into which account.
• Do not transfer any amounts “outside the deed” or to the private accounts of third parties.

At allproperty we handle transaction settlements from the reservation through to the handover of the keys: we verify the developer’s rachunek powierniczy, agree the deposit conditions with the parties and the notary, and put the documentation of funds from abroad in order. On the primary market the buyer pays us no commission (0%), on the secondary market — 2%. Are you planning to buy a flat step by step and want certainty about the safety of your money? Let us talk before you make the first transfer. A doubt about the wording of the deposit protocol or the escrow account number tends to be most stressful right before the transfer — in the evening, at the weekend or the day before signing the deed. We work 24/7, so call before you send the money: +48 666 866 468 or +48 692 649 839.