Last year, the Polish government adopted the «Apartment without an own contribution» («Mieszkanie biz wkładu własnego») program, which will begin to operate as early as May 27, 2022. This program is aimed at solving the housing problem of credit worthy Poles and foreigners who want to buy an apartment in Poland but cannot save up the amount necessary for the initial payment. However, it turned out that not everything is so straightforward — not everyone will be able to benefit from it, and so it loses its relevance.

The program «Mieszkanie bez wkładu własnego» operates within the framework of state aid Polski Ład. The essence of it is that credit worthy Poles and foreign citizens living in Poland will be able to get a loan from the bank for the purchase of an apartment without an initial contribution. However, not everyone will be able to use such a bonus.

Who can take out a loan without a downpayment?

  1. A family with two or more children (the spouses must be no older than 40 years old);
  2. Single parents with at least one child;
  3. People with a disability.

The conditions for obtaining a loan for an apartment without an initial deposit:

  • solvency of the borrower (ability to pay mortgage payments),
  • absence of privately owned real estate in Poland,
  • the downpayment to the bank is replaced by a guarantee obligation.

Important additions:

  1. It will be possible to use such credit for the purchase of housing no more expensive than 500 thousand zlotys (about 109 thousand euros). The price limit depends on the city and whether you are buying in the primary or secondary market (the price limit is 10% higher in the secondary market).
  2. The loan for housing without an initial downpayment can be obtained only from banks that have concluded a special agreement with the Bank of National Economy. The list of banks will be known after May 27.
  3. If a child is born in the borrower’s family at the time of repayment of a loan, the state will pay bonuses: 20 thousand zlotys in the case of the birth of the second child, 6 thousand zlotys in the case of the birth of the third child.
  4. Such a loan is issued for a period of up to 15 years. 
  5. The program is valid until the end of 2030.

However, there is an interesting nuance: in May 2021, when Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the terms of the new program, the discount rate of the Central Bank was at the lowest level in the country’s history at 0.1%. However, now, due to the rather high inflation in Poland and various external and domestic factors, interest rates on loans have sharply increased (now they are kept at a level of 5.25%). The cost of apartments has also increased. As a result, the biggest problem for borrowers was not the downpayment, but just the monthly mortgage payments. That is why the «Mieszkanie bez wkładu własnego» program may very well lose its relevance.

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