How can a foreigner buy a flat or a house in Poland? Is it true that you must obtain a permit from the Ministry of the Interior? And if yes, in what cases do I need it and how can I obtain it? When buying property in Poland foreigners have many questions and they cannot do without expert advice. That is why we approached a market expert, Galina Kharlamova, for answers.

Ministry permit to buy real estate in Poland: all details and nuances

testEarlier this year, the experts told REALTING about the state of the real estate market in Poland. At the time, market expert Galina Kharlamova was convinced that the real estate market is a living organism which sensitively reacts to any external and internal factors. At the same time, it was already clear: flat prices would continue to grow, because there were no grounds for their decrease.

Now, the demand for property in big Polish cities continues to grow and there are more and more foreign buyers. This means that there are more questions, and most of them have to do with the nuances of the law. That is why we once again approached Galina Kharlamova and asked her to explain when a foreigner needs permission from the Ministry to buy real estate and whether it is possible to obtain it independently.

— How can a foreigner buy a flat or a house in Poland? Are there any nuances in the legislation that you need to know about in advance?

— Before buying real estate abroad, you should understand that each country has its own specific legislation that regulates this process. In Poland, there is a law on the purchase of real estate by foreigners (Ustawa z dnia 24 marca 1920 r. o nabywaniu nieruchomości przez cudzoziemców). Leaving aside legal entities, foreigners are citizens of countries outside the European Union and those who do not have Polish citizenship. According to the Polish law, a foreigner who wants to buy real estate in Poland must obtain a permit from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration with the consent of the Minister of National Security, and in the case of agricultural real estate also with the consent of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

It turns out that a foreigner who wants to buy a house on a plot of land, a plot of land, a commercial property or a townhouse needs a permit from the Ministry of the Interior. The purchase of flats is not restricted, but there are certain nuances.

Let me elaborate on the purchase of a flat, because this is the most common request. When a buyer buys a flat in a multi-apartment building, he also buys a part of the land on which the building stands. In this case, the foreign buyer does not need a permit from the Ministry of the Interior. However, there are situations where the developer, while building the house, has also built a road next to this plot, or it is a large residential complex and there are internal roads. In this case, the buyer purchases not only a flat with a part of the land, but also a part of the road. The road is a commercial property, which means that it requires a permit from the Ministry. You have to be very careful if you buy a flat on your own because in this case you will not be able to register the ownership of your property with a notary without a permit from the Ministry.

Just recently in my practice, I had a case where a property was listed as a lokal mieszkalny (flat) in the sale-purchase contract, and it seemed that no permission was required. But in the seventh paragraph it was said that together with the flat, for 123 PLN, a part of the road was sold, and the buyer was obliged to buy it, and thus get the permit of the Ministry of the Interior for its purchase.

— Why do I need a permit? What does the Ministry of the Interior check? 

— The first thing the ministry will check if such a purchase is not contrary to the country’s geopolitical or strategic interests. In Warsaw, as a rule, there is no hitch at this point: this is not a border area, there is no access to the Baltic Sea or other strategically important facilities. Therefore, everything goes smoothly here.

The second thing the Ministry checks is whether the buyer has a connection with Poland. And this is where the majority of questions arise, but not from the government, but from the buyers. Customers mistakenly think that they have to prove family ties to Poland at this point, but in fact they do not. Today, in order to prove a connection with the country, it is sufficient to live here for more than six months, work officially, have a permanent source of income and prove all this with a residence card (temporary or permanent residence permit). 

— Have you ever had a refusal from the Ministry to allow a foreigner to buy a property?

— A foreigner may receive both a refusal and a permit from the Ministry to purchase real estate in Poland. But for a positive decision, you need to be clear about what kind of documents you need to prepare. We have been working for many years with a lawyer who knows by heart «in alphabetical order» the entire list of documents. 

It is important to understand that the Ministry gives not a general approval, but a specific approval for a particular property. In other words, the buyer must first sign a preliminary notarial sales contract, pay a deposit and then apply for a permit. In case of ministry refusal the deposit is not returned to the buyer and this is a big risk for him. That is why in our agency, before signing the preliminary contract of sale, we hold a consultation with the very lawyer who preliminarily checks the availability of all necessary documents. This ensures that our clients’ money is safe.

In my practice, there was a case where the buyer decided to save money on a lawyer and get this permission himself. And it is indeed possible, but there is one nuance: the Ministry of the Interior has the right to respond within two months from the date of application. And, for example, if any document is missing, the Ministry asks for it to be sent in a separate letter. As soon as the buyer sends it, the Ministry of the Interior’s response time is reset, and they again have two months to respond. In the end, in that situation, it took the buyer about six months to get the Ministry’s permission to buy, and the seller was not happy about this state of affairs, to put it mildly. Imagine if you were selling a flat and found a buyer, but the transaction took six months.

«A foreigner doesn’t have to give up on buying a townhouse, because there are various possibilities»

— How active are Eastern European citizens in buying real estate in Poland?

— Ukraine is currently under martial law, and money transfers abroad are forbidden from there. Russian citizens are under sanctions, and they cannot directly transfer money to Poland to buy real estate here. Citizens of Belarus, who came to Poland after February 2022, are most often not yet ready to think about buying property. It turns out that the most common buyers are those who have been living and working in Poland for a long time. It is true that there are a lot of such clients, but we haven’t seen a rapid increase lately. 

For specialists from our agency, many processes on the market are quite predictable. For example, in autumn, those who buy real estate for their children studying at university became more active. Just in September and October we saw another boom in buying activity and most demand was for small studio flats in areas with good transport links or close to university campuses. 

— Townhouses are quite popular among buyers in Warsaw. Are there any peculiarities when it comes to foreigners buying this kind of property?

— A townhouse is essentially a residential building consisting of several multi-level flats, usually with a separate entrance for each. In Poland, there are two legal forms for registering such property: 

  • house in a bliźniak or szeregowiec (dom w zabudowie bliźniaczej lub szeregowej). This usually applies to houses with two or more flats. In this case a townhouse is registered as a house with a plot of land in ownership and a permit from the ministry is required for its purchase. Such terraced houses are separated by two walls.
  • lokal mieszkalny. In this case, it is essentially a two or more apartment building. Townhouses have a common wall and each purchaser is buying a flat. A permit from the Ministry of the Interior is not required here.

Externally, these townhouses do not differ in any way. In order to understand whether you are buying a lokal mieszkalny or a bliźniak or szeregowiec building you need to read the legal and technical documents. 

Many clients before contacting our agency are not aware of this possibility and do not even consider buying a townhouse. Most often people have heard somewhere that it is obligatory to have the permission of the Ministry, but in fact it turns out that this is not always the case. 

More and more often, however, buyers of real estate in Poland are citizens of Eastern European countries, and local developers have been on time to orient, making townhouses as multi-family housing. As a result, segments of townhouses are, on paper, flats, but in reality they are actually part of a detached house with a garden plot.

— Tell us more about the prices of townhouses.

— As in any city in the world, the cost of real estate depends directly on its location. Warsaw is no exception, with prices for townhouses from developers starting at 550,000 PLN (around 110,000 EUR). But at that price it will be houses of about 120 square metres, which are located not in the best areas of the capital. The closer you get to Warsaw, the more expensive the houses — the same 120 square meters would cost 1,000,000 PLN or 1,500,000 PLN. 

There are districts near Warsaw with a well-developed infrastructure, good transport connections and beautiful nature like Magdalenka, which I like very much. The most prestigious and beautiful districts are Konstantin-Jeziorna, and the most popular ones are Bialolenka, Wawer, Piastów, Pruszków, Zielonka and other areas connected by an urban train. I would suggest visiting each of these areas first to see which one is right for you, because it is almost impossible to predict beforehand. The main features of these locations are schools, kindergartens, shops, parks, and everything you need for a comfortable family life.

Townhouses that can be bought with no need to obtain a permit from the Ministry of the Interior

A house with a beautiful plot next to a forest

Townhouse in Lomianki from the develope

A house with a large plot of land