How to check who owns a flat before renting in Poland: the land register step by step

Updated 25 September 2026 · By Yahor Kuliashou (RentalAgent, Warsaw) · Sources

Ask for the księga wieczysta (land register, KW) number, open it in the free viewer at ekw.ms.gov.pl and compare the name in section II with the person signing your lease. Anyone who knows the number can view the register free of charge (art. 36⁴(6), Land Register and Mortgage Act) [1, 2]. If the names don't match, ask on what basis this person is letting the flat, and ask to see the document.

Below: where to get the number and how to read it, how to go through the viewer, what to look at in sections I–IV, and what to do when the flat is let by someone holding a power of attorney, by a tenant, or by someone with a co-operative right to the flat.

Where to get the land register number

The simple way: ask the owner. Someone letting their own flat should know the number or be able to find it quickly. If you don't know it, the Ministry of Justice says to contact the land register department (wydział ksiąg wieczystych) of the district court for the area where the property is [2, 3].

The free viewer doesn't search by address or by name: you need the number [2]. A refusal to give it doesn't prove fraud, but it's a good reason not to pay anything.

What a land register number looks like

The number has three parts separated by slashes: a four-character code of the land register department, the number from the register's repertory, and a check digit (§9(1)(1) of the regulation on keeping land registers electronically) [4]. The repertory number has eight characters: numbers of old paper registers are padded with leading zeros. The check digit is a single digit from 0 to 9 [3].

Pattern: WA4M/00000000/0. That's the format, not a real number.

In Warsaw, the department codes of the district court for Warszawa-Mokotów depend on the district [5]:

One caveat. The code shows the department that held the register when it was set up in electronic form [6]. So a code that doesn't match today's district isn't a warning sign on its own. What matters more is whether the address in section I matches the listing.

How to look up a land register in EKW, step by step

This is how the Ministry describes the viewer [6]. The screens may look a little different today, but the order is the same:

1. Open ekw.ms.gov.pl.
2. Enter the department code (type it or pick it from the list), the register number and the check digit.
3. Type the code from the picture and click Szukaj (Search).
4. On the general-information screen, check the register type, the location and the owner. For a flat the type is usually "lokal stanowiący odrębną nieruchomość" (a separately owned flat) or "spółdzielcze własnościowe prawo do lokalu" (a co-operative ownership right) (§9(1)(3) of the regulation) [4].
5. Click Przeglądanie aktualnej treści KW (view current content). The full content (treść zupełna) also shows deleted entries.
6. Go through the tabs: Dział I-O, I-Sp, II, III and IV.
7. In section II, compare the owner's name with the person you're signing with, and with their ID when you meet.

A printout from the viewer doesn't have the force of a court document (art. 36⁴(7)) [1]. For a rental, checking it yourself is usually enough. An official copy (odpis) is paid [2].

What sections I–IV mean for a tenant

A land register has four sections (działy) (art. 25(1)) [1]. If you're renting, they don't all matter equally:

Notes (wzmianki), if there are any, are shown at the start of each section [6]. A note means an application has been filed that may change that section (art. 8) [1]. A note in section II can mean, for example, that the flat is changing hands. Ask about it.

If section II lists several people, ask whether the other co-owners know about the lease and agree to it. Whether one co-owner can sign alone is a question for a lawyer.

What the register shows is presumed to match the real legal position (art. 3(1)) [1]. That's a strong reference point, but it doesn't prove the person in front of you is the one in section II. You check that against their ID.

Someone other than the owner is letting the flat: what to check

A person with a power of attorney

Ask to see the power of attorney (pełnomocnictwo) and check three things: that it was given by the person in section II, that it covers letting this flat, and its date. If a contract needs a special form to be valid, the power of attorney must be in the same form (art. 99 §1, Civil Code) [7]. A najem okazjonalny must be in writing or it's void (art. 19a(6), Tenants' Protection Act) [8], so a power of attorney to sign one should be in writing too. More in our guide to najem okazjonalny.

A power of attorney can be revoked at any time, unless the owner waived that for good reasons (art. 101 §1) [7]. The document alone won't tell you whether it's still valid. Ask for a short call with the owner.

A sublet

If the flat's current tenant is subletting it to you, they need their landlord's consent (art. 688², Civil Code) [7]. Ask for that consent in writing and for the lease the tenant holds. Check its end date: a sublet ends at the latest when the main lease ends (art. 668 §2) [7].

An agent

An agent isn't the owner, so you check both the agent's agreement and the register. What to look for with an agency is in our rental scam checklist.

A company in section II

If the owner is a company, it won't be a najem okazjonalny, which only private individuals not renting flats as a business can offer (art. 19a(1)). A rental business may offer a najem instytucjonalny instead (art. 19f(1)) [8]. Ask who signs on the company's behalf.

A co-operative flat without its own land register

For a spółdzielcze własnościowe prawo do lokalu (a co-operative ownership right to a flat) a land register may be kept, but it doesn't have to be (art. 1(3), Land Register and Mortgage Act) [1]. If the owner says the flat "has no register", that can be true.

Worth knowing:

• The co-operative ownership right is a limited property right that can be sold and inherited (art. 17²(1), Housing Co-operatives Act) [9].
• The person holding it can let the flat without the co-operative's consent, unless the way the flat is used or its purpose changes (art. 17¹⁶(1)) [9].
• A lease ends at the latest when the co-operative right ends (art. 17¹⁶(2)) [9].
• If you find the register for the building, section II may show the co-operative. That's normal: the right to the flat is a separate right.

With no register, ask what document shows the person's right to the flat, and ask for a document from the co-operative. The name on it should match the name on the lease.

What if the owner sells the flat during the lease?

The buyer steps into the lease in the seller's place. The buyer may still terminate it with the statutory notice, unless the lease was for a fixed term, in writing and with a data pewna (a legally certain date), and you'd already been handed the flat (art. 678, Civil Code) [7]. A note in section II or restrictions on disposal in section III are a good moment to ask about this.

Red flags

• The landlord won't give the register number or show any other document of their right to the flat.
• The name in section II doesn't match the person on the lease, and there's no power of attorney or consent to sublet.
• The address, flat number or floor area in section I don't match the listing.
• The register is of a different type from the flat being offered.
• Section II has a note about an application and the landlord can't explain it.
• The power of attorney is only a photo, and there's no way to talk to the owner.
• Someone wants a transfer before you've checked anything. Then go through the rental scam checklist.

One flag is a question, not a verdict. Several at once are a reason not to pay.

Questions to ask in Polish

Jaki jest numer księgi wieczystej mieszkania?

English: What's the flat's land register number?

Czy jest Pan / Pani jedynym właścicielem?

English: Are you the only owner? (Pan to a man, Pani to a woman)

Czy może Pan / Pani pokazać pełnomocnictwo od właściciela?

English: Can you show me the owner's power of attorney?

Czy właściciel zgodził się na podnajem na piśmie?

English: Did the owner agree to the sublet in writing?

Czy mieszkanie ma założoną księgę wieczystą?

English: Does the flat have a land register?

Jakim dokumentem potwierdza Pan / Pani prawo do lokalu?

English: What document shows your right to the flat?

Co oznacza wzmianka w dziale II?

English: What does the note in section II mean?

What this check doesn't tell you

The register shows the flat's legal position. It doesn't tell you whether the person you're talking to is the one in section II, whether someone already lives in the flat, or whether the owner has paid the building's charges. We don't give fraud statistics, and we don't promise that a clean register means a safe rental.

RentalAgent is an AI assistant we're building for finding a rental in Warsaw. When you explicitly ask it to, it's meant to call landlords in Polish, telling them it's an AI assistant, and ask your questions about the flat before you go to a viewing. It won't assess the register for you and doesn't guarantee protection from fraud. For now we're collecting sign-ups for early access.

Sources

1. Ustawa o księgach wieczystych i hipotece, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1066, api.sejm.gov.pl, accessed 23/09/2026
2. Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste, gov.pl, accessed 23/09/2026
3. EKW – pytania i odpowiedzi, Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości, gov.pl, accessed 24/09/2026
4. Rozporządzenie Ministra Sprawiedliwości w sprawie zakładania i prowadzenia ksiąg wieczystych w systemie teleinformatycznym, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1583, api.sejm.gov.pl, accessed 24/09/2026
5. Rozporządzenie Ministra Sprawiedliwości z 29.05.2026 zmieniające rozporządzenie w sprawie zakładania i prowadzenia ksiąg wieczystych w systemie teleinformatycznym (kody wydziałów), Dz.U. 2026 poz. 740, api.sejm.gov.pl, accessed 24/09/2026
6. Instrukcja korzystania z przeglądarki ksiąg wieczystych udostępnionej w sieci publicznej Internet, Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości, gov.pl, accessed 24/09/2026
7. Kodeks cywilny, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 795, isap.sejm.gov.pl, accessed 23/09/2026
8. Ustawa o ochronie praw lokatorów, mieszkaniowym zasobie gminy i o zmianie Kodeksu cywilnego, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2023 poz. 725, isap.sejm.gov.pl, accessed 23/09/2026
9. Ustawa o spółdzielniach mieszkaniowych, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 889, api.sejm.gov.pl, accessed 24/09/2026