You live in Warsaw, you rent a flat, and the sales office (biuro sprzedaży) tells you: “−10% only until the end of the month, we need your decision now.” With a promotion like this you check two things: whether the price has really fallen, and whether you can complete the formalities before the offer ends. You can check the first yourself, using data the developer is obliged to publish: for every price change the developer gives a date, and in most files on dane.gov.pl the date from which the price applies sits next to the price. The second depends on the notary, your documents and, less often, an MSWiA permit. A promotion lasts weeks; the formalities can take longer (as at October 2026).
Legal basis: the Act of 20 May 2021 on the Protection of the Rights of a Purchaser of a Residential Unit or Single-Family House and on the Developer Guarantee Fund (the “Developer Act”), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 880. Legal position as at October 2026.
Three questions before you reserve a flat in a promotion:
- From what date does the promotional price apply, and did it already apply before the offer was announced?
- What did the same flat cost in recent weeks and months, including the 30 days before the cut?
- Has the price per m² fallen for the same floor area, or has only the total changed (for example because of a new area, a package or a parking space)?
Verifying the price in five steps
We describe the full method in a separate article on checking a promotion on open data. The short version:
- Keep the advert. Take a dated screenshot. In the advert the developer must give the address of the page with prices (Art. 19a(3)).
- Find the flat in the price list on the developer’s website. Note the price per m², the flat price, the date of the last change and the earlier prices (Art. 19a(2)).
- Download the dane.gov.pl file from the same day and compare the price date. How to find a particular developer’s file is explained in our article on how to verify a new-build price on dane.gov.pl. Developers submit data once a day, so the file can change from one day to the next; note the download date (Art. 19b(1) and (3)).
- Work out the lowest price in the 30 days before the cut and compare the “after promotion” price with it, not with a price raised shortly before the offer.
- Count in PLN per m² for the same floor area and add the prices of parking spaces and storage units together with their dates. Context comes from the median price per m² in each development; that is background, not a judgement on whether a price is good value.
Three file entries that are easy to be misled by
Below are entries from developers’ files on dane.gov.pl, gross amounts. They show how to read a price history. We do not know whether the developers announced these changes as promotions, and we draw no conclusions about the market from them.
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Development (district), unit | Entry in the file | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Galant Ząbkowska (Praga-Północ), unit 43, 56.45 m² | PLN 1,472,000 → 1,367,820 (both entries dated 11.09.2025) → 1,437,820 (14.04.2026) → 1,235,450 (28.05.2026) | Before the cut the price rose by 5.1%. Against the April price the fall is −14.1%, against the lowest earlier price −9.7% |
| Konopacka (Praga-Północ), KO1/C/3/120, 43.91 m² | … 860,636 (until 14.05.2026) → 807,944 (15.05.2026) → 860,636 (01.07.2026) → 772,816 (31.07.2026) → 860,636 (01.09.2026) → 772,816 (02.09.2026) | A 10.2% fall from 1 to 2 September, but the same price of PLN 772,816 applied throughout August |
| Kowalskiego 37 (Targówek) | Price per m² unchanged, while unit totals moved from −0.19% to +0.50% because areas were refined. Two entries were withdrawn after 1 and 10 minutes (unit 24: +1.4%, unit 27: −5.4%). Double dependent parking spaces: PLN 35,000 → 55,000 from 13.08.2026 | A change in the total is not always a change in price. An entry that lasted a few minutes may have been a correction. A parking space price has a date too |
Our own analysis based on dane.gov.pl data. Files: Kowalskiego 37 of 6 October 2026, Galant Ząbkowska of 3 October 2026, Konopacka of 3 October 2026 (price list status for each day from 10.07.2025 to 02.10.2026). We calculated the percentages ourselves.
In the Konopacka file, on 1 September 2026 the price rose for 30 units, and on 2 September it fell for 28. A one-day return of a price may be a data-entry error. The file cannot settle this, so do not use a price that applied for one day in comparisons.
There is less price history in the files than you might expect. In 22 developments in our catalogue with units from dane.gov.pl files, 960 flats were on offer (files downloaded on 4 October 2026). The date from which the price applies is given for 726 of them (75.6%), but only 42 units (4.4%) in 6 developments have at least one earlier price. You will therefore usually need to check earlier prices on the developer’s website. For that reason we give no “average cut” and no share of developers who raise prices before a promotion: there is too little data for such conclusions.
Timetable: what you can finish before the promotion ends
A promotion ends on the day the developer sets. The stages of a purchase have their own timelines:
Reservation agreement (umowa rezerwacyjna). This is the stage that can usually be closed quickly. The reservation fee may not exceed 1% of the price in the information prospectus (Art. 32(2) of the Developer Act). Before you pay, save the price list with its date and ask for the flat price to be written into the agreement.
Developer agreement (umowa deweloperska). It is concluded as a notarial deed (Art. 40(1)). Notarial acts are performed in Polish; at a party’s request the notary may also perform them in a foreign language, personally or through a sworn translator (Art. 2 § 3 of the Law on Notaries, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 614). If you do not know Polish and have no interpreter, the notary translates the deed personally or through a sworn translator (Art. 87 § 1(1)). Before signing, the deed is read out and the notary checks that you understand it (Art. 94 § 1). Compare the price per m² in the deed with your price-list screenshot before the meeting.
MSWiA permit, if the package requires one. A foreigner may buy a garage (a non-residential unit) or a share in one without a permit if the purchase serves their housing needs (Art. 8(1)(1a) of the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners). A share in the land under the building and in the common parts needs no permit. It is different with a share in a separate property sold together with the flat, for example in an access road: according to MSWiA’s explanations, a permit is needed. The stamp duty for the permit is PLN 1,570 (Stamp Duty Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 1154), and according to MSWiA processing usually takes 2–4 months, sometimes longer (as at October 2026). Without a permit such an acquisition is void (Art. 6(1)). An “end of the month” offer does not fit in that timeframe, so clarify what the package contains before you reserve.
Money from abroad. A notary and a real estate agent are obliged institutions under the AML Act. They identify the client and examine the origin of funds when circumstances justify it (Art. 34(1) of the AML Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 644). A bank notifies the General Inspector of Financial Information of transfers above €15,000, including from abroad, subject to the exceptions in the Act (Art. 72). If you pay from an account outside Poland, prepare documents on the source of funds before the last day of the promotion.
What matters if you read English and not Polish
Documents in Polish. The price list, promotion terms, prospectus and contract are written in Polish, and the law does not require the developer to translate them. Machine translation of a web page helps you get your bearings, but check numbers and dates against the original. At the notary you have help with the language: either you bring an interpreter or the notary translates the deed (Art. 2 § 3 and Art. 87 § 1(1) of the Law on Notaries). A contract can be drawn up in your language on the conditions in Art. 8(1b) of the Polish Language Act.
UKR and CUKR status. A buyer’s rights are the same. The duties under Art. 19a rest on the developer, and the right to the most favourable price belongs to the buyer; there is no citizenship condition. A foreigner buys a self-contained residential unit without an MSWiA permit, except in the border zone, which Warsaw is not part of (Art. 8(1)(1) and (3), legal position as at October 2026). Holders of UKR and CUKR status buy a flat on the general rules.
Payment from abroad and the permit. The source of funds and an MSWiA permit are the two issues most often not resolved within the time of a promotion; both are covered in the timetable above.
Words from adverts and price lists (wording varies between developers):
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| Polish | English |
|---|---|
| promocja, rabat | promotion, discount |
| cena katalogowa | list price |
| cena za m² powierzchni użytkowej | price per m² of usable area |
| cena obowiązuje od | price valid from |
| historia zmian cen | history of price changes |
| pakiet, miejsce postojowe, komórka lokatorska | package, parking space, storage unit |
| oferta ważna do | offer valid until |
A discount “off the list price”. In developer agreements concluded from 13 February 2026, the price of the unit is determined as the product of the usable area and the price per m² (Art. 5a). Ask for the discount to be visible in the price per m², because that is what goes into the contract.
Renting while the building goes up: count the whole cost, not just the discount
If the promotion concerns a flat under construction, compare not only the price per m² but also how much more you will pay in rent. According to GUS (“Efekty działalności budowlanej w 2025 r.”, 30.06.2026), multi-family buildings in Poland took 24.8 months on average to build in 2025. The same price for a flat in a building under construction and for a finished one therefore means different total costs for a tenant. Which price-list charges are added to the price is covered in our article on surcharges added to the flat price, and parking and storage prices in new developments in Warsaw.
Does the “lowest price in the last 30 days” rule apply?
It is not settled. The rule comes from the Act on Informing about Prices of Goods and Services (consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 168): when a price is reduced, the lowest price in the 30 days before the reduction is given next to the new price (Art. 4(2)), including in advertising that states a price (Art. 4(5)). However, the Act does not apply to price information regulated by separate acts (Art. 2), and price information for developer flats is regulated by Art. 19a of the Developer Act. The President of UOKiK’s explanations of 8 May 2023 speak of businesses advertising goods or services but do not mention real estate. Legal position as at October 2026. In practice do not count on the developer giving you the lowest 30-day price; work it out from the price history on its website.
When the contract price is higher, or the advert raises doubts
Contract price higher than the price list. If the price on the developer’s website differs from the price when the contract is concluded, you can demand a contract at the price most favourable to you (Art. 19a(6)). On the day of signing, save the price page with the date visible, download the dane.gov.pl file and report the discrepancy in writing before you sign.
An advert that may mislead. Under the Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices (consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 845), a misleading action may concern, among other things, “the price, the manner of calculating the price or the existence of a special price advantage” (Art. 5(3)(5)). Even true information presented in a confusing way can mislead (Art. 5(2)(2)), as can an omission (Art. 6(1)). Whether a particular promotion breaches these rules is for UOKiK or a court to decide, not the buyer or an agent.
No prices or price history on the website. Breach of the duties under Art. 19a is a practice infringing collective consumer interests (Art. 19a(5)), and the President of UOKiK may impose a fine of up to 10% of the previous year’s turnover for it (Art. 106(1)(4) of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, Dz.U. 2025 item 1714).
FAQ
How can I check whether a developer promotion in Warsaw is a genuine price cut?
Compare three things: the date from which the “after promotion” price applies, the earlier prices of the same flat, and the price per m² for the same floor area. The developer must show every price change on its website with a date and keep earlier data from the start of sales (Art. 19a(2) of the Developer Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 880, legal position as at October 2026). If the “after promotion” price applied before, or is higher than the lowest price in the 30 days before the cut, the price has not really fallen.
Can someone with UKR or CUKR status buy a flat from a developer during a promotion?
Yes, on the general rules. A foreigner buys a self-contained residential unit in Warsaw without a Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) permit, whatever their nationality, because Warsaw is not in the border zone (Art. 8(1)(1) and (3) of the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, consolidated text Dz.U. 2017 item 2278, legal position as at October 2026). A permit may be needed only for items in the “package” that are a separate property, for example a share in an access road.
Can I sign the developer agreement before the promotion ends?
A developer agreement must be a notarial deed (Art. 40(1) of the Developer Act), so timing depends on the notary and your documents. If the package includes a share in a separate property, the MSWiA permit usually takes 2–4 months, sometimes longer, according to the ministry (as at October 2026), and without it the acquisition is void (Art. 6(1)). Before the promotion ends you can at best manage the reservation agreement, and the reservation fee may not exceed 1% of the price in the information prospectus (Art. 32(2)).
Does the developer have to translate the price list and contract into my language?
The Developer Act does not require translation of the price list, promotion terms, prospectus or contract. A contract with a consumer who is a foreigner may be drawn up in their language if they ask for it, know the language, are not a Polish citizen and have been told of the right to a Polish text (Art. 8(1b) of the Polish Language Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 81, legal position as at October 2026). Always check numbers and dates against the Polish original.
Does the “lowest price in the last 30 days” rule apply to a promotion?
This is unsettled. The rule comes from the Act on Informing about Prices of Goods and Services (consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 168, Art. 4(2) and (5)), but that act does not apply to price information regulated by separate provisions (Art. 2), and prices of developer flats are regulated by the Developer Act. Legal position as at October 2026. Work out the lowest 30-day price yourself from the price history on the developer’s website.
The price in the contract is higher than in the promotional price list. What should I do?
If the price on the developer’s website differs from the price when the contract is concluded, you can demand a contract at the price most favourable to you (Art. 19a(6) of the Developer Act, legal position as at October 2026). On the day of signing, save the price page with the date visible, download the dane.gov.pl file and report the discrepancy in writing before you sign.
Spotted a flat in a promotion and arranging a visit to the sales office? Write to us before your first visit: the developer has to be told in advance that you are coming with us, and we will go to the meeting together. Beforehand we will compare the flat’s price history in the developer’s price list and on dane.gov.pl, go through the information prospectus and the draft contract with you, and point out what to ask the developer or a lawyer. We work in 7 languages, English included. A buyer on the primary market pays us no fee for help buying a flat from a developer. Our remuneration on the primary market comes from our agreements with developers.
Jawno · +48 692 649 839 · infojawno@gmail.com
This text is for information only and is not legal advice. Legal position as at October 2026.