Security Deposits in Poland (Kaucja)

In Poland, collecting a security deposit (kaucja zabezpieczająca) is standard practice when signing a residential lease, governed primarily by the Act of 21 June 2001 on the Protection of Tenants Rights (which entered into force on 10 July 2001). The deposit secures the landlord's claims arising from the lease on the day the premises are vacated — primarily for documented damages beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid rent, and outstanding utility bills.

1. Maximum Deposit Amount

The statutory deposit limits are set by Article 6 of the Act of 21 June 2001:

• Standard residential lease: The deposit must be between 1 and 12 times the monthly rent (nie może być niższa niż miesięczny czynsz i nie może przekraczać jego dwunastokrotności) calculated at the rent rate in force on the date the agreement is concluded (Art. 6 sec. 1).
• Occasional Lease (najem okazjonalny) and Institutional Lease (najem instytucjonalny): The deposit is capped at 6 times the monthly rent (Art. 19a sec. 4 and Art. 19f sec. 3).

Market reality: While the law permits up to 12 months, this is rarely demanded in practice. The absolute market standard in Poland is a deposit of 1 or 2 months' rent, paid in full when signing the lease or handing over the keys.

Any deposit amount exceeding the statutory limit is unenforceable. The excess must be returned to the tenant.

2. Permitted Deductions from the Deposit

The landlord has the right to deduct (potrącić) from the deposit only documented claims that arose from the lease:

Permitted deductions:

• Overdue, unpaid rent.
• Unpaid utility bills (electricity, gas, water, internet) that were the tenant's contractual responsibility.
• Documented repair costs for damage beyond normal wear and tear identified in the move-out PZO (e.g., broken windows, burned carpet, damaged cabinets).
• Excessive cleaning costs where the tenant left the premises in a severely degraded state inconsistent with a written handover obligation.

Prohibited deductions:

• Gradual fading of painted walls from normal use.
• Dulling or minor scratching of laminate or wooden floors from everyday foot traffic over the years.
• Normal aging and functional wear of fixtures and fittings.

The landlord cannot retain the deposit to fund general apartment refreshment due to normal wear and tear. The cost of routine wear is considered factored into the rent.

3. Return Timeline and Indexation

Article 6 section 4 of the Act sets the deposit return deadline:

• The deposit must be returned within one calendar month from the date the tenant vacates and hands over the keys.
• The landlord has this 30-day window to verify final utility bills and assess any damage claims.

Important: The tenant must not unilaterally "deduct" the security deposit from the final month's rent. The deposit is security for potential claims; withholding the last month's rent without the landlord's explicit written consent is a separate breach.

Mandatory Indexation (Art. 6 sec. 3): The returned deposit is not simply the nominal amount paid at the start. Under Art. 6 sec. 3, the deposit is returned in an amount equal to the product of the monthly rent rate at the time of return multiplied by the number of months' rent deposited at the start. This means:

• If the tenant paid "1 month's rent" as a deposit and rent has increased over the tenancy, the landlord returns "1 month's rent at the current rate."
• The returned amount cannot be lower than the original nominal deposit paid at the beginning of the lease, even if the rent theoretically decreased.

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