Can everyone who lives in the flat be named in the lease?

The law does not forbid a lease with several tenants, but it does not oblige a landlord to agree to one either: we found no such rule in the Civil Code or in the Tenant Protection Act. If you live together, naming everyone makes sense. Someone who is not in the lease is not a party to it, and their stay depends on the landlord’s consent (Art. 688² of the Civil Code). Ask about the number of tenants before a viewing. Position as of 7 October 2026.

Is the deposit split into parts?

Towards the landlord the kaucja is normally one sum per lease. The law caps it (12 times the monthly rent, or 6 times for najem okazjonalny) but does not require splitting it between tenants. How it was paid and who gets it back is set by the lease, so write down each person’s contribution. How you divide your share among yourselves is a separate arrangement, best in writing (assessment).

Does every flatmate need to register their address (meldunek)?

Yes, the duty is personal (Art. 24 sec. 2 pt 1 in conjunction with Art. 40 sec. 1 of the Population Register Act, ustawa o ewidencji ludności). EU, EFTA and Swiss citizens must register no later than the 30th day after arrival (Art. 41 sec. 1). A foreigner from outside those countries who stays longer than 30 days must register no later than the fourth day (Art. 41 sec. 3 and Art. 42 sec. 2). If there is no PESEL yet, the person who has to appear in person at the office (urząd) is a foreigner from outside the EU, EFTA and Switzerland; British citizens covered by the Withdrawal Agreement are an exception (Art. 40 sec. 3). If you are named in the lease, the lease itself serves as proof of your right to the flat (Art. 28 sec. 2b). Anyone else will need confirmation of residence from the owner or from another person with a right to the flat, for example a tenant who holds a lease (assessment based on the wording of the rule; Art. 28 sec. 2 and 2a in conjunction with Art. 40 sec. 1–2). Ask the office which documents it wants. Position as of 7 October 2026.

What if a flatmate does not pay their share?

First put the amount and the deadline in writing. Then check that the landlord is receiving the rent in full: for a home, the landlord may terminate over arrears only if rent or other charges are unpaid for at least three full payment periods, after a written warning and an extra month to pay (Art. 11 sec. 1 and sec. 2 pt 2 of the Tenant Protection Act, ustawa o ochronie praw lokatorów). That is why people often cover the gap, keep the proof of payment and claim it back afterwards (Art. 376 § 1 of the Civil Code). This is general information and does not settle disputes between flatmates: in a dispute, see a lawyer.

Can a landlord refuse if there are three of us?

Yes. The landlord decides how many tenants and occupants to accept, and we found no rule that would oblige a landlord to accept several tenants. Ask before the viewing: an allproperty agent will put such questions to the landlord directly if you ask.

We do not promise room searches: the matching form is built for a whole flat, with the number of rooms, budget and dates. If there are two or three of you, state the number of rooms you need and tell the agent in the first conversation.

Renting a Warsaw flat with a partner or friends: who signs, who is liable for rent and how to split the deposit

A lease can be signed by all flatmates as tenants or by just one of you, and the landlord decides how many tenants to name. Adults who live permanently with the tenant are liable together with them for rent and other charges, even if they signed nothing, but only for the period they lived there (Art. 688¹ of the Civil Code). There is usually one deposit (kaucja) per flat, and how you split it between yourselves is up to you, best in writing. This is general information, not legal advice, and it does not cover disputes between flatmates. The rules were checked on 7 October 2026.

Who signs the lease if two or three of you rent together?

There are two options: everyone signs as a tenant, or one person signs for all. We found no rule that obliges a landlord to accept several tenants, so ask before the viewing.

Option	What it means	What to look at
Everyone signs	Each flatmate is a party to the lease, with rights and duties towards the landlord	Whether the lease makes you jointly and severally liable: then the landlord may claim the full amount from any one of you
One person signs	The others live in the flat but are not parties to the lease (assessment)	They are still liable for rent (Art. 688¹), and their stay has to be agreed with the landlord (Art. 688²)

Spouses whose tenancy of a flat for their family’s needs began during the marriage are both tenants by law (Art. 680¹ § 1 of the Civil Code). For unmarried couples, friends and colleagues there is no such rule: the lease decides.

A separate question is who the landlord allows to live there. Without the landlord’s consent a tenant may not hand the flat or part of it over for free use or sublet it; the only exception is people the tenant is legally obliged to support (Art. 688² of the Civil Code). On the wording of the law, a friend or an unmarried partner does not fall under that exception (assessment). So everyone who lives in the flat should either be named in the lease or have the landlord’s written consent: the law expressly lists letting, subletting or handing over the flat or part of it for free use without the required written consent of the owner as a ground for termination (Art. 11 sec. 2 pt 3 of the Tenant Protection Act).

Who is liable if a flatmate does not pay?

Everyone who is a party to the lease, and every adult who lives permanently in the flat, is liable to the landlord.

You are all tenants. Joint and several liability arises from a statute or from the contract (Art. 369 of the Civil Code), so landlords usually write it into the lease (assessment). It means the landlord may claim the whole amount or part of it from all of you together, from several of you, or from any one of you, and payment by one releases the rest (Art. 366 § 1). If a flatmate has not paid, the landlord can claim the whole sum from you. Art. 370 of the Civil Code makes people jointly liable for obligations concerning their common property, but we do not assess whether it applies to flatmates in a tenancy: rely on the wording of your lease. If the lease says nothing on joint liability, show it to a lawyer before you sign.
One person signed, the others live there. Adults who live permanently with the tenant are liable with them for rent and other charges, although they signed nothing (Art. 688¹ § 1). The exception is the tenant’s adult descendants (children, grandchildren) who are supported by the tenant and cannot support themselves. Liability is limited to the period of permanent residence (§ 2).
Between yourselves. Whoever paid for another may claim the money back. The shares follow your own arrangement, and if there is none, you pay equally (Art. 376 § 1). Write down who pays how much towards rent and utilities, who transfers the money to the landlord and by which day.

One person’s debt can hit everyone (assessment). First, the kaucja secures the landlord’s claims under the tenancy on the day the flat is vacated and is returned after those claims are deducted (Art. 6 sec. 1 and 4 of the Tenant Protection Act; for najem okazjonalny, Art. 19a sec. 4 and 5). Second, for a home there is a special rule. The landlord may terminate over arrears if rent or other charges are unpaid for at least three full payment periods. Before that, the landlord must warn the tenant in writing and give an extra month to pay. The termination must be in writing, state the reason and be given at least one month ahead, to the end of a calendar month (Art. 11 sec. 1 and sec. 2 pt 2 of the Tenant Protection Act). Under Art. 19e this ground also applies to najem okazjonalny.

How do you pay and get back the deposit when there are several of you?

The kaucja may not exceed 12 times the monthly rent for the flat, or 6 times for najem okazjonalny (Art. 6 sec. 1 of the Tenant Protection Act, Art. 19a sec. 4). In practice one or two months is more common (assessment); more in our article on the kaucja. The landlord must return it within a month of the day the flat is vacated, after deducting their claims (Art. 6 sec. 4). For najem okazjonalny the deadline is the same, one month, but it comes from Art. 19a sec. 5, while Art. 6 sec. 1 and 4 and Art. 6c do not apply to that type of tenancy (Art. 19e). The law does not say which of several tenants receives the money. The lease decides.

What is worth doing:

Agree how to pay. Either one person pays the whole amount and the others transfer their shares to them, or each transfers their part to the landlord. Either way, pay only to the account named in the lease.
Put it in the lease or next to it. Who paid how much, to whose account the landlord will return the money and in what shares.
Draw up one handover protocol (protokół) per flat. In an ordinary tenancy the parties must draw up a protocol describing the flat’s condition before it is handed over, and it is the basis for settling up at return (Art. 6c). Art. 6c does not apply to najem okazjonalny, but a protocol is still worth drawing up (assessment). Have everyone sign it and take photos in each room. More in our article on the protokół zdawczo-odbiorczy.
Mind the deadline. The month runs from the day the flat is vacated, so while even one flatmate still lives there, the deposit is unlikely to come back (assessment).

What happens if one flatmate moves out?

The lease is with the landlord, so one person leaving does not by itself change who the parties are (assessment). With a fixed-term lease (czas oznaczony) you can leave early only in the cases the lease names (Art. 673 § 3 of the Civil Code). For an open-ended lease with monthly rent, the statute sets a three-month notice period: notice is given no later than three months ahead, to the end of a calendar month (Art. 688); the lease may set a different period (Art. 673 § 1). Whether one of several tenants can end the lease alone we do not assess: we found no clear answer in the law. A safer route is this:

agree an annex (aneks) with the landlord and the remaining flatmates;
state in it from which date the leaver is out of the lease, whether a new flatmate joins, what happens to their share of the deposit and who answers for the period before they left;
get the landlord’s consent to the newcomer (the landlord does not have to agree);
for najem okazjonalny, changes to the lease must be in writing on pain of invalidity (Art. 19a sec. 6); ask the notary how to handle the notarial declaration. We cover that type of tenancy in the guide.

Someone who lived there without signing is liable only for the time they lived there (Art. 688¹ § 2). A person who leaves also has to deregister their address (wymeldowanie, Art. 24 sec. 2 pt 2 in conjunction with Art. 40 sec. 1 of the Population Register Act).

Can you sublet a room?

Only with the landlord’s consent, and the consent should be written: without it the landlord may terminate the lease (Art. 688² of the Civil Code, Art. 11 sec. 2 pt 3 of the Tenant Protection Act). Without consent a tenant may not sublet the flat or part of it, or hand it over for free; the exception covers people the tenant is obliged to support (Art. 688² of the Civil Code). A sublease ends at the latest when the main tenancy ends (Art. 668 § 2). If the landlord agrees, the tenant and the new occupant are both answerable to the landlord for the flat being used under the lease (Art. 668 § 1). Check the lease itself too: it may ban subletting.

How do we match flats for two or more people?

The agent searches for options under your request, talks to the owner directly and, if you cannot come, checks over video what you ask them to check. If you ask, the agent will first ask the owner how many tenants they accept. In the form, give the district, number of rooms, budget and dates. We do not promise rooms: the form is built for a whole flat.

The fee for the search is 70% of one month’s czynsz najmu, the rent itself without czynsz administracyjny and utilities: with a czynsz of 3,500 zł it is 2,450 zł. It is paid after the tenancy agreement (umowa najmu) is signed, on an invoice without VAT. How you split it among yourselves is up to you. Help with PESEL and with the visit to the urząd is included in the 70%. Our agents work in Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish, German, Italian, Turkish and Spanish. Before you sign the agreement with us, ask the agent which of you will be the party to it.

Sources (checked 7 October 2026): Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny), Arts. 366, 369, 370, 376, 668, 673, 680¹, 688, 688¹, 688² (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 795, legal status as of 19 May 2026, eli.gov.pl); Tenant Protection Act (ustawa o ochronie praw lokatorów), Arts. 6, 6c, 11, 19a, 19e (consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 725, eli.gov.pl); Population Register Act (ustawa o ewidencji ludności), Arts. 24, 28, 40, 41, 42 (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 384, eli.gov.pl).

Looking for a flat in Warsaw for two or three? Fill in the matching form: district, number of rooms, budget, dates. Tell the agent in the first conversation how many of you there are and who will sign. 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 czynsz najmu (a 3,500 zł rent means 2,450 zł) after the tenancy agreement is signed, on an invoice without VAT. Phone: +48 666 866 468.