When Leases End in Warsaw’s Red-Hot Rental Market: What Renters Can Do

With Warsaw’s rental vacancy rate dipping below 2.5% for the first time since 2019, tenants whose leases end this summer are facing slim pickings and rising prices across the city.

The squeeze on long-term rentals is acute. Many flats that were available just a year ago have been absorbed by new arrivals—especially Ukrainian families and workers settling in districts like Mokotów, Praga-Północ and Śródmieście. Demographic pressure has been exacerbated by Poland’s robust job market and ongoing regional instability, prompting landlords to raise rents or withdraw units for sale.

Districts Most Affected—and Where Tenants Turn

Nowhere is this crunch more obvious than in Warsaw’s central and western neighbourhoods. Aleje Jerozolimskie has seen average asking rents for a two-bedroom flat rise to 5,900 zł per month in June, up from around 4,800 zł in summer 2024, according to listing data from Morizon.pl. In Wola, the local office of Nowodworski Estates reported this week that almost every new property has multiple applicants within 24 hours of listing. The city’s long-term rental supplement (“dodatek mieszkaniowy”), administered by the Warsaw Social Welfare Centre (OPS Warszawa), has seen a 12% uptick in applications since April, as lower-income tenants scramble to bridge the gap between wage growth and monthly rents.

National data echoes the trend. A June 2026 report from the National Bank of Poland found that the capital’s average rent for a studio reached 3,700 zł per month—15% higher than a year prior. Meanwhile, the median down payment required to purchase even a modest flat in Bemowo or Ursynów now stands at 130,000 zł, locking out prospective first-time buyers already stretched by higher living costs.

Practical Steps for Tenants

So what can renters do as end dates approach? Wojciech Zieliński, a housing policy analyst at Fundacja Habitat for Humanity Poland, tells The Daily Warsaw that tenants should start conversations with landlords at least 90 days before the contractual end of a lease. Early negotiation may help forestall sharp increases or secure brief extensions, especially in non-corporate and smaller landlord-held properties.

For those unable to renew, seeking government-backed rental assistance through OPS Warszawa is an option—but limited by strict income thresholds and long processing queues. Another emerging strategy involves forming informal flat shares in larger apartments in areas like Praga-Północ and Ochota, where group rents sometimes undercut individual leases on smaller units. Some tenants are also turning to Pracownia Miast, an initiative coordinating temporary housing for displaced persons and short-term residents. However, demand for its Warsaw rooms now outstrips supply sixfold.

As Warsaw heads into July, the advice from local housing offices is clear: act early, be flexible with neighbourhood preferences, and prepare documentation—proof of income, Polish-language references—ahead of time. The city’s housing shortage shows no sign of relief this quarter, so speed and preparation are vital as leases run out.