How much deposit can a landlord ask for?

In an ordinary lease the deposit (kaucja) cannot exceed 12 times the monthly czynsz (art. 6(1) of the Tenant Protection Act), and in najem okazjonalny it cannot exceed 6 times (art. 19a(4)). That is the legal ceiling, not the usual amount. The deposit is returned within a month of vacating the flat, minus what you owe under the lease (art. 6(4); for najem okazjonalny art. 19a(5)). Checked 7 October 2026.

Do I have to tell the landlord about the children?

Yes, it is better not to hide them. The lease names everyone who will live in the flat, and in najem okazjonalny the consent of the owner of the substitute address covers the tenant and the people living with them (art. 19a(2)(3)). The Civil Code does not require the landlord's consent for a person the tenant is obliged to support (art. 688² of the Civil Code), but the landlord will still want to know who is going to live in the flat, and silence damages trust from the start (our assessment). Checked 7 October 2026.

Can I sign najem okazjonalny with children?

Yes, the law does not forbid it. The conditions are the same as for any tenant: the owner is a private individual who does not rent out flats as a business (art. 19a(1)), the tenant gives a notarised declaration to vacate and names another place to live whose owner agrees to the tenant and the people living with them staying there (art. 19a(2)). For a foreigner the second address is usually the hard part; the details are in a separate article. The rules on a social flat (lokal socjalny, arts. 14 and 16) do not apply in this regime (art. 19e). Checked 7 October 2026.

How much does the search cost?

70% of one month's rent (czynsz najmu; the administrative rent, czynsz administracyjny, and utility payments are not counted). It is paid once, after the umowa najmu is signed, and the invoice carries no VAT. Example: with czynsz najmu of PLN 3,500 the fee is PLN 2,450. Help with PESEL and going to the urząd is included in the 70%.

Do foreign children study on the same terms as Polish children?

In public nurseries and primary schools, yes: on the terms that apply to Polish citizens (art. 165(1) of the Education Law). In public secondary schools (ponadpodstawowe) the same applies until age 18 or until the child finishes school (art. 165(2)). A school-age child (subject to compulsory schooling or education) who does not speak enough Polish is entitled to extra free Polish lessons for up to 24 months (art. 165(7)). Checked 7 October 2026.

Renting a flat in Warsaw with children: prices for 3 and 4 rooms, how landlords react and getting a school place by address

Q: Do you find flats for families?

Yes. We search to your brief: district, number of rooms, budget and move-in date. Tell the agent your family size and the children's ages in the conversation or write to info@allproperty.pl, because the form has no separate field for this yet.

Q: Will a school take my child if we do not have a meldunek yet?

The law speaks of children "zamieszkałe" (living) in the school's catchment area and does not mention meldunek (art. 133(1) of the Education Law). In Warsaw's admission to first grade for 2026/2027, parents attached a declaration (oświadczenie) of their own and the child's place of residence, made under liability for false statements. The city had not published the rules for 2027/2028 on 7 October 2026: check edukacja.um.warszawa.pl.

Landlords in Warsaw do rent to families with children, but each landlord decides: in September 2026 listings a 3-room flat costs about PLN 4,544 a month on average and a 4-room flat about PLN 5,521, and administrative rent and utilities may come on top. Some landlords are cautious about families, and a clear income, a full list of residents in the lease and, if the landlord wants it, najem okazjonalny help them say yes. A child is admitted to the primary school of the area where the family actually lives, not where it is registered (meldunek) (art. 133(1) of the Education Law), so choose the school before the flat.

This is general information, not legal advice. The rules were checked against the primary sources on 7 October 2026, with links at the end. Where something is our own assessment rather than a sourced fact, the text says so.

How much does a family flat cost in Warsaw in autumn 2026?

These are average asking rents (ofertowe) by number of rooms. Source: the Znajdź Najem report for September 2026, snapshot of 1 October 2026, 41,543 listings. Checked 7 October 2026.

Flat type	Average asking rent, PLN a month	Note
Kawalerka (studio)	2,641	average size 29 m²
2 pokoje	3,531	median PLN 3,400, average size 44 m²
3 pokoje	4,544
4 pokoje	5,521

These are asking prices, not prices actually paid. The report takes the price field of each listing as it is and does not add fees on top, and listings differ on whether the administrative rent is in the price. The sample also includes rooms. We do not use the 5-room row (PLN 3,285): it is lower than the 4-room figure. Ask what the price includes before a viewing; how bills work is explained in Utility bills when renting in Warsaw. We do not repeat prices by district here; they are in Ranking of Warszawa districts by rental prices in 2026.

Why are landlords cautious about children, and what reassures them?

The law does not forbid renting to families and does not oblige anyone to do it. The caution most likely comes from one fear (our assessment): if the tenant stops paying and does not leave, evicting a family takes a long time. Here is what the Tenant Protection Act says for an ordinary lease:

in an eviction judgment the court decides whether the people concerned are entitled to a social flat (lokal socjalny) and takes their family and financial situation into account (art. 14(1) and (3));
if the right is recognised, enforcement waits until the municipality offers a social tenancy (art. 14(6));
eviction judgments are not enforced from 1 November to 31 March if the person has not been given a place to move to (art. 16);
the rule that a court cannot deny a minor the right to a social flat does not apply to people who lost the right to a flat outside the public housing stock (art. 14(4)(2) and (7)), so with a private landlord the court decides on the facts.

The outcome of such a case cannot be predicted, and it is not quick (our assessment). Three things ease a landlord’s worry:

Najem okazjonalny. The tenant’s notarised declaration to vacate, another address where they can live and the consent of its owner (art. 19a). The rules on a social flat do not apply here (art. 19e). The landlord decides whether to offer such a lease, and there are no statistics for families. The regime is available only if the owner is a private individual who does not rent out flats as a business, and the lease must be in writing for up to 10 years (art. 19a(1) and (6)). More: Najem okazjonalny for foreigners.
A clear income. The landlord needs to see what you pay with: Renting in Warsaw without a Polish employment contract.
A full list of residents in the lease, adults and children (see below).

What if the listing says “bez dzieci”?

That is the landlord’s condition, not a rule of law. We do not give a legal assessment of individual listings. All we can say is this: the equal treatment act lists sex, race, ethnic origin and nationality for publicly offered services, including housing (art. 6), and it leaves freedom to choose the other party to a contract unless the choice rests on those grounds (art. 5(3)). Family situation is not named on that list.

In practice:

If the flat suits you, send one short message: how many of you, the children’s ages, for how long, how you show your income, and whether you are ready to sign najem okazjonalny and a handover protocol with photos.
Do not hide the children. They will be named in the lease anyway, and what is hidden comes out at the first viewing.
If the landlord says no, that is their right. It is better to keep looking than to start a lease with a dispute.
At your request an allproperty agent will ask the landlord before the viewing whether a family with children is acceptable, so you do not travel for nothing.

School and nursery: how does your address affect admission?

Primary school. A child is admitted to grade 1 of a public primary school that has a catchment area (obwód) on the parents’ notification, if the child lives in that area (art. 133(1) of the Education Law). The law says “zamieszkałe”, meaning “living there”, and does not mention meldunek. In Warsaw for 2026/2027, parents attached a declaration (oświadczenie) of their own and the child’s place of residence, made under liability for false statements. A child from another area can get a place only through selection and only if places remain (art. 133(2)). Compulsory schooling starts at the beginning of the school year in the calendar year in which the child turns 7 (art. 35(2)). If a child arrives mid-year, a school admits children living in its area ex officio (z urzędu), and the head teacher decides on the others (art. 130(2)).

Nursery (przedszkole). Public nurseries admit children who live in the municipality (art. 131(1)). When places run short, points for criteria such as a large family or a child raised by one parent decide (art. 131(2) and (4)). An address near a nursery does not mean there will be a place. Admission in Warsaw is online. For 2026/2027, applications ran from 10 to 24 February 2026, the lists of qualified candidates came out on 30 March and the lists of admitted children on 10 April, and the supplementary round started on 4 May; during the year the city publishes free places and the head decides. Dates for 2027/2028 had not been announced on 7 October 2026; see edukacja.um.warszawa.pl.

Foreign children. In public nurseries and primary schools they study on the terms that apply to Polish citizens (art. 165(1)). A school-age child (subject to compulsory schooling or education) who does not speak enough Polish is entitled to extra free Polish lessons for up to 24 months (art. 165(7)).

Advice: choose the school first, then look for the flat. Before you sign, ask the school itself whether your exact address falls within its catchment area.

Who goes in the lease, and what about the children’s meldunek?

The lease names everyone who will live in the flat, adults and children. In najem okazjonalny this is not a formality: the consent of the owner of the substitute address covers the tenant and the people living with them (art. 19a(2)(3)), and the demand to vacate sets the deadline by which the tenant and the people living with them must leave the flat (art. 19d(3)(3)).

Adults who live permanently with the tenant are jointly liable with the tenant for czynsz and other charges, but only for the time they live there (art. 688¹ of the Civil Code). That provision speaks of osoby pełnoletnie, adults, so children are outside it. A child’s meldunek is a separate registration, and by the wording of the law it is not needed for school admission. How to do it is in PESEL and meldunek in Warsaw for foreigners in 2026.

Can you rent a flat before the family has moved?

Yes, many steps can be done remotely, from video viewings to signing the lease. The sequence is in Renting a flat in Warsaw before you arrive.

Which district should a family choose?

It depends on schools, nurseries, the metro and your budget. For a comparison of districts for families see The most family-friendly districts of Warszawa for families with children; the prices in it are purchase prices, and rents by district are in the ranking above.

How do we search for a family, and what does it cost?

Fill in the form on the page for tenants: district, rooms, budget, move-in date. Tell the agent your family size and the children’s ages in the conversation or write to info@allproperty.pl, because the form has no separate field for this yet. The agent selects options to your brief and talks to the landlord directly; if you are not yet in Warsaw, the agent can check the flat on video at your request. Our agents speak Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish, German, Italian, Spanish and Turkish; this is not a sworn translation and not legal advice. We do not choose the school or nursery for you and do not promise a place: the school and the city decide.

We work under a brokerage contract (umowa pośrednictwa), which must be in writing or electronic form (art. 180(3) of the Real Estate Management Act) and sets out the scope of work and the fee. The fee is 70% of one month’s rent (czynsz najmu; the administrative rent, czynsz administracyjny, and utility payments are not counted), paid once after the umowa najmu is signed, invoice without VAT. Example: with czynsz najmu of PLN 3,500 the fee is PLN 2,450, and with PLN 4,500 it is PLN 3,150. Help with PESEL and going to the urząd is included in the 70%. Phone: +48 666 866 468.

Sources

Checked 7 October 2026.

Znajdź Najem, Warsaw rental market report, September 2026, snapshot of 1 October 2026 (asking prices, aggregator): znajdznajem.pl
Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights, arts. 6, 14, 16, 19a, 19d, 19e (consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 725; no later amendments according to ELI): eli.gov.pl
Education Law, arts. 35, 130, 131, 133, 165 (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 820): api.sejm.gov.pl
Civil Code, arts. 688¹ and 688² (Dz.U. 2026 item 795): api.sejm.gov.pl
Act on the implementation of certain EU provisions on equal treatment, arts. 5 and 6 (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1196): api.sejm.gov.pl
Real Estate Management Act, art. 180(3) (Dz.U. 2026 item 399): eli.gov.pl
City of Warsaw, nursery admission for 2026/2027: edukacja.um.warszawa.pl
City of Warsaw, admission to grade 1 of primary schools for 2026/2027: edukacja.um.warszawa.pl
Warsaw grade 1 admission rules for 2026/2027, a school brochure with the declaration of residence: sp84targowek.eduwarszawa.pl