You rent in Warsaw and have two offers on the table: a ready flat with keys in about two months, or a cheaper one under construction that you would wait another year and a half for. You pay rent the whole time. Waiting only pays off if the flat under construction is cheaper by more than the rent for the extra months, with a margin for delays. At the average rent for a 2-room flat of 40–59 m² in Warsaw, PLN 3,897 a month (May 2026 data, Bankier.pl report based on Otodom Analytics data of 22.06.2026), 16 extra months cost PLN 62,352. That is about 7.4% of the price of the example flat below (our calculation, as at October 2026).
Below: what “ready” means, how to work out the break-even point in percentages, which costs come on top of rent, and what changes if you are a foreigner who does not read documents in Polish. The law is stated as at October 2026. The Developer Act (ustawa deweloperska) is the Act of 20 May 2021 on the protection of the rights of buyers of residential units or single-family houses and on the Developer Guarantee Fund (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 880).
What does a “ready flat” really mean?
A developer can sell a completed flat straight away under a sale contract (art. 3 of the Developer Act). Only part of the Act then applies, including the rules on reservation, the reservation fee and handover (art. 29–32, art. 34(1)(1)–(2) and (2), art. 41(1)–(3)). The rules on the escrow account (mieszkaniowy rachunek powierniczy) and the Developer Guarantee Fund (DFG) do not apply. In return, you inspect the finished unit on site and take it over at the deed. The developer, as seller, is liable for defects in the property for 5 years (rękojmia), for a ready flat as well as for one built later (art. 568 § 1 of the Civil Code, Dz.U. 2026 item 795).
“Two months” is a plan, not a guarantee. The date you get the keys depends mainly on two things:
- The reservation period. A reservation agreement is made for a fixed period. If you are buying with a mortgage, the period should allow the bank time to decide (art. 31). The reservation fee cannot exceed 1% of the flat’s price (art. 32(2)) and is refundable if the bank refused a loan because of a negative creditworthiness assessment (art. 34(1)(1)).
- Handover and the date of the notarial deed. You agree the date with the developer, the notary and, if there is a mortgage, the bank.
Do not terminate your tenancy until you have the date of the deed and handover in writing.
Break-even point: how much cheaper must the flat under construction be?
What counts is not the whole time until the keys but the difference between the two offers. You wait for a ready flat too: for the notarial deed, handover and a possible bank decision. Fitting out a flat in developer’s standard takes about the same time in both cases, so you can leave it out.
cost of waiting = your monthly rent × (months to keys under construction − months to keys for the ready flat)
Compare the result with the price difference of the whole flats, including extras (parking space, storage room), not with the difference in price per m². Convert it into percentages or per-metre figures only at the end. The table assumes rent of PLN 3,897 a month for a 2-room flat of 40–59 m² in Warsaw (May 2026 data, Bankier.pl based on Otodom Analytics data of 22.06.2026). Insert your own figure. All amounts are our calculation, as at October 2026.
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Extra months of rent | Rent cost | Share of the example flat’s price* | How much cheaper per m² for 50 m² |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | PLN 46,764 | 5.6% | about PLN 935 |
| 16 (e.g. 18 months under construction against 2 for the ready flat) | PLN 62,352 | 7.4% | about PLN 1,247 |
| 18 | PLN 70,146 | 8.4% | about PLN 1,403 |
| 20 (16 months + a delay of about 4 months) | PLN 77,940 | 9.3% | about PLN 1,559 |
| 24 | PLN 93,528 | 11.1% | about PLN 1,871 |
* Example flat: 50 m² × PLN 16,783/m² = PLN 839,150. PLN 16,783/m² is the average transaction price on the Warsaw primary market in Q2 2026 according to the NBP (BaRN database, ceny_mieszkan.xlsx file). It is only a reference point: what matters are the prices of your two offers.
How to read it: if the flat under construction is PLN 40,000 cheaper and the difference in waiting is 16 months, you lose about PLN 22,000 on rent alone. The ready flat comes out cheaper, even though it is dearer on the price list.
Is a flat under construction in Warsaw cheaper than a ready one?
On average, no. According to BIG DATA RynekPierwotny.pl (August 2026), ready-to-move-in flats in Warsaw cost on average PLN 19.7 thousand/m², while flats with a completion date in 2 years or later cost PLN 26.2 thousand/m². Ready flats were therefore on average 24.8% cheaper than those you have to wait a long time for.
That does not mean the same flat is dearer under construction. Averages mix districts, standards and sizes. So:
- compare flats in the same district, of similar size and standard, ideally in the same development if the developer sells later stages;
- take prices from the developer’s price list: it must publish on its website the price per m² and the price of each unit including VAT, plus the history of price changes with dates (art. 19a of the Developer Act);
- look at both options side by side: in the search for new flats in Warsaw by district and completion date ready flats and those with a later completion date appear in the same district.
There is a real choice. According to CBRE and Tabelaofert.pl, at the end of June 2026 Warsaw had 3,344 ready, unsold flats, or 20.5% of supply. According to BIG DATA RynekPierwotny.pl, ready units made up about 20% of supply in August 2026 (about 3.6 thousand). Buyers are not lacking: according to the Tabelaofert.pl barometer (April 2026 data), ready flats account for almost 32% of sales in the 7 markets it covers.
What else does waiting for construction cost besides rent?
Payments during construction. Under a developer agreement (umowa deweloperska) you pay into the escrow account as work progresses, after each stage is completed (art. 8(1)–(3)). The schedule has at least 4 stages, each 10–25% of the total construction cost, not of your flat’s price (art. 24(2)). If you buy with your own money, you pay both rent and the successive instalments throughout the build. How this works is described in our guide on how to pay a developer in instalments without a mortgage.
Mortgage. If you take a mortgage, ask a credit adviser how the bank releases funds for a purchase under construction and when repayments start. That determines whether you will pay both a repayment and rent for a while. Add those months to the table.
Delay. The date in the contract is a deadline, not a moving day. Construction takes a long time: according to GUS (“Efekty działalności budowlanej w 2025 r.”, 30.06.2026) multi-family buildings in Poland took on average 24.8 months to build in 2025. If the developer does not transfer ownership to you on time, you set it an additional period of 120 days. Only if it fails to deliver then can you withdraw from the contract, keeping the right to a contractual penalty for delay (art. 43(1)(6) and (3)). That is why the table has a row with a margin of about 4 months. How to assess this risk in advance is covered in our guide on how to check whether a developer will finish on time.
Contractual penalty versus your rent. The developer agreement states the amount of interest and contractual penalties, if the parties provided for them (art. 35(1)(14)). Compare the penalty for a month of delay with your rent. If the penalty is lower, you pay the difference for every month of delay out of your own pocket.
Tenancy agreement. Check the notice period and whether you can extend the tenancy by a few months. If the completion date slips, a rigid one-year contract can cost more than the delay itself.
What do you gain by choosing construction?
Protection of payments. Under a developer agreement your money goes into an escrow account. From a closed account the bank releases it to the developer only after the notarial deed transferring ownership (art. 15), from an open one in stages (art. 16). Payments into an open account in the cases in art. 48(1) are protected by the Developer Guarantee Fund (DFG). The developer pays the DFG contribution: 0.45% for an open account and 0.1% for a closed one (regulation, Dz.U. 2022 item 1341).
Payment spread over time. Under a developer agreement you do not pay the whole price at once but according to a schedule. For a ready flat sold straight away under a sale contract there is no such schedule.
Price fixed in the contract. Check in the prospectus and in the draft contract whether the price can be indexed and on what terms. The government draft amendment of the Developer Act (UD361, published on RCL on 11.05.2026) would ban price indexation, but as at 7 October 2026 it had not reached the Sejm. It is a draft, not law in force.
The same VAT. The sale of a flat of up to 150 m² is subject to 8% VAT whether or not the building is finished (art. 41(2) and (12)–(12c) and art. 146ef of the VAT Act, Dz.U. 2026 item 1263). The rates in art. 146ef are transitional: the Minister of Finance announces the end of the period of their application in the Monitor Polski by 31 October of a given year (art. 146ef(2)). If your deed will be in a year and a half, check the rate again before signing.
If you are a foreigner: what changes in this calculation?
No permit needed. A foreigner of any nationality can buy a separate residential unit without a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) (art. 8(1)(1) of the Act on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners, Dz.U. 2017 item 2278). Warsaw is not in the border zone where this exemption does not apply. Ukrainian citizens with UKR or CUKR status buy on general terms: the Act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens (Dz.U. 2026 item 1293) has no separate provisions on real estate. A permit therefore does not affect the choice between a ready flat and one under construction.
Your own money: two cost items at once. If you pay from your own funds, you pay a large sum in a short time for a ready flat, but the rent ends in a few months. Under construction it is the reverse: payments are spread out, but throughout that period you pay both the developer and the landlord. Work out not only the total in the table but also whether your monthly budget can bear both payments at once. Ask a credit adviser about a mortgage.
Tenancy while you wait. If you rent under an occasional tenancy (najem okazjonalny), it is concluded for a fixed term of no more than 10 years. Before signing or extending, check how such an agreement can be ended early if you get the keys sooner. The deposit under an ordinary tenancy cannot exceed twelve times the monthly rent, and under an occasional tenancy six times (art. 6(1) and art. 19a of the Act on the protection of tenants’ rights, Dz.U. 2023 item 725). Include the frozen deposit in your moving budget.
Documents in Polish. The Developer Act says nothing about the language of the prospectus and the contract (Dz.U. 2026 item 880). The Polish Language Act allows parallel versions in other languages but does not require them (art. 8(1)–(1a) of the Polish Language Act, Dz.U. 2026 item 81). You will probably read the date of ownership transfer, the penalty for delay and the price indexation terms in Polish. Have precisely those provisions translated before you reserve: your calculation depends on them. A developer agreement is concluded as a notarial deed (art. 40(1) of the Developer Act). If you do not know Polish and there is no translation, the notary translates the deed personally or through a sworn translator (art. 87 § 1(1) of the Notaries Act, Dz.U. 2026 item 614). A ready flat has one advantage here: you assess it on site, not from a Polish description in a prospectus.
Money from abroad. A bank reports transfers above €15,000, including incoming ones from abroad, to the General Inspector of Financial Information (GIIF); the Act provides for exceptions (art. 72(1)–(2) of the AML Act, Dz.U. 2025 item 644). A notary and an agent, as obliged institutions, check the origin of funds when circumstances justify it (art. 2(1)(13) and (18), art. 34(1)). Gather documents on the origin of your money before the first payment.
Questions to ask before you decide
- How much rent do I pay, and for how many more months will I pay it if I buy under construction?
- What is the price difference between the whole flats, including parking space and storage room?
- What completion date for the transfer of ownership is in the draft contract, and what penalty for delay?
- Does the contract allow price indexation?
- Is the escrow account open or closed?
- Can my budget bear the developer’s instalments and the rent at the same time, if I am buying without a mortgage?
If your choice also involves fit-out, see when a flat finished by the developer pays off, and if you are also considering the resale market, read the comparison of new-build and resale flats in Warsaw.
FAQ
How much cheaper must a flat under construction be to make waiting worthwhile?
By as much as you will pay in rent for the extra months of waiting, plus a margin for delay. At the average rent for a 2-room flat of 40–59 m² in Warsaw, PLN 3,897 a month (May 2026 data, Bankier.pl report based on Otodom Analytics data of 22.06.2026), 16 extra months cost PLN 62,352, which is about 7.4% of the example flat’s price (our calculation, as at October 2026). If the flat under construction is cheaper by less than that, the ready flat wins.
Are flats under construction in Warsaw cheaper than ready ones?
On average, no. According to BIG DATA RynekPierwotny.pl (August 2026), ready flats in Warsaw cost on average PLN 19.7 thousand/m², while flats with a completion date in 2 years or later cost PLN 26.2 thousand/m². These are averages across different districts and standards, so compare specific flats side by side rather than averages.
What should I do if the developer is late and I am still paying rent?
If the developer does not transfer ownership to you on time, you set it an additional period of 120 days. If it still fails to deliver, you can withdraw from the contract, keeping the right to a contractual penalty for delay (art. 43(1)(6) and (3) of the Developer Act, Dz.U. 2026 item 880, as at October 2026). Compare the penalty in the contract with a month of your rent: you pay the difference yourself.
Does a foreigner need a permit to buy a flat from a developer in Warsaw?
No. A foreigner of any nationality can buy a separate residential unit without an MSWiA permit, and Warsaw is not in the border zone where this exemption does not apply. Ukrainian citizens with UKR or CUKR status buy on general terms (art. 8(1)(1) and (3) of the Act on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners, Dz.U. 2017 item 2278, as at October 2026). A permit therefore does not affect the choice between a ready flat and one under construction.
Does buying a flat give me the right to stay in Poland while I wait for the keys?
No. The Act on Foreigners contains no basis for residence founded on buying property (Dz.U. 2025 item 1079, as at October 2026). Your status is still determined by temporary protection, extended by EU Council decision 2026/1912 until 04.03.2028, or by a residence card.
Two offers and not sure which to pick? Write to us before you go to the developer’s sales office. We will register you there before your first visit, go with you, and walk you through the information prospectus and the draft contract (completion date, penalty for delay, type of escrow account). We will point out what to ask the developer or a lawyer. We serve clients in 7 languages, including English. A buyer on the primary market does not pay us a fee. Our remuneration on the primary market comes from agreements with developers. Agent: Vladyslav Moroz (sole trader, civil liability insurance).
Jawno · +48 692 649 839 · infojawno@gmail.com
This text is for information only and is not legal advice. The law is stated as at October 2026.