Rent Increases in Poland (Tenant Protection Act)

In Poland, in the case of a standard long-term or indefinite-term residential lease agreement (not occasional and not institutional), increasing the rent from year to year is not a matter of sending an email or freely dictating a new rate. The owner is blocked by draconian statutory "amount limits" and "time limits."

Disclaimer: These rules primarily apply to old standard or multi-year contracts according to the Polish Act. Information verified: March 2026.

1. Permissible Frequency of Increases (No more than every 6 months)

According to Art. 9 sec. 1b of the Act on the Protection of Tenants' Rights, increasing the rent or other fees for using the premises (with the exception of so-called fees independent of the owner, like electricity / gas) cannot be done more frequently than every 6 months.

Regardless of the situation on the global market or the increase in the landlord's bank loan installments, the rented legal entity is subject to a strict frequency blockage. The six-month period is calculated absolutely from the day the last rigorous bill of exchange increase was collected until the day the possible termination of the current rent starts running in the next insurance tranche.

2. Form of Changing the Rent (Statutory 3 Months)

An apartment owner, deciding to raise the rent of a tenant who lives there diligently:

1. Must inform about the "termination of the current rent amount."
2. Does this under pain of nullity, mandatorily in Writing (with a registered letter for certainty and proof in court of sending "for the n-th month").
3. The new rent rate does not take effect immediately. The legal and common notification to fulfill the deadline (According to Art. 8a sec. 2 of the act) must be a minimum of 3 calendar months in advance (notice period) after receiving the mail by the penultimate day of the current settlement.

Right of Refusal (Lack of Tenant's Consent)

If the new rental amount delivered in the envelope does not please the tenant, the tenant, within a period no later than 2 months from the notification, has the right to write a Court lawsuit to resolve the legitimacy of the owner's rate, or writingly refuse consent ("Notice of non-acceptance") to the Landlord; which establishes the automatic expiration and cancellation of the entire Lease Agreement of the entire apartment itself (the tenant physically moves out because the time of those 3 months will expire with the final day of notification of the amount of the first refused rent, without paying the increase in a single one of the 3 final days of moving-out residence).

3. Limit on Increase Amounts (GUS Inflation Rate)

A mere monetary declaration by the Landlord from "2500 PLN" to "4000 PLN" for a new increase does not pass without strict empowerment by Polish law on standard market contracts:

• According to the law - if the updated newly increased rent breaks the ceiling of 3% of the Replacement Value rigorously declared for a particular location (calculated for the indices of metric voivodeships per cm2 of apartments published by the local Voivode every quarter to the public database for the official daily status): Then the owner, when asked in writing, receives a clock ticking by the Act under a 14-day mandatory presentation of the so-called "Calculation of the justification of the increase."
• GUS Index (Year-over-Year Inflation): The justification of Polish law in an extreme rent increase toss by the landlord holds the status of Inflation. The state treasury declares: If the increase for the owner's pure profit without reason for a luxury investment in this premises, is fractionally smaller than or parallel to the official and historical (past calendar 12 months) annual general index of "prices of consumer goods and services in total (annual inflation in % announced for the president of the state GUS)", such a price increase not exceeding the scale of state increases is considered absolutely market-based as presumed justified ex officio under a legal letter for the Republic of Poland's circular execution Court (Does not have to calculate it down to the modernization nail for a tenant under forced rebellion responding with opposition demand letters before the Polish Judge.)

Return to the Poland Landlord-Tenant Law Overview.