Skip to the content
RentalAgent
УкраїнськаРусскийPolskiEnglish
Request early access

Rental scams in Warsaw: a checklist before you send any money

Updated By Yahor Kuliashou (RentalAgent, Warsaw)Sources

The rule is simple: don't transfer money until you've seen the flat in person with the person renting it out, checked who owns it, and got a written contract. Polish police warnings keep describing the same pattern: an attractive listing, pressure to hurry, a request for a prepayment, and then silence once the money arrives.

Below you'll find a checklist, the warning signs police list, how to check the owner in a public register, and what to do if the money has already gone. No list protects you from every scam. This one helps you notice the most common signals.

Checklist before you pay

  1. You've seen the flat in person. Not in photos, not on video. Police advise against deciding on the basis of photos you were sent [6].
  2. You've met the person renting it. Not a "neighbour", not keys left in a mailbox [4].
  3. You know who the owner is. You have the księga wieczysta (land register) number, and the owner's name in it matches the name on the contract or power of attorney [2, 3].
  4. If there's an agent, you have a brokerage agreement in written or electronic form, with a copy of their OC (civil-liability) insurance attached [1].
  5. The lease is in writing. Police recommend a written contract even for a short let [5].
  6. The numbers match. Rent, admin fee, deposit and agency fee in the contract are the same as in the listing and your messages. Our guide to the full cost of renting in Warsaw shows how to break them down.
  7. Nobody is rushing you. "Five more people want it today, send the reservation fee" is a reason to stop, not to speed up [4, 6].
  8. You haven't sent scans of your ID to strangers [4].

A single unticked box doesn't prove fraud. It's a reason not to pay until it's ticked.

Warning signs police point to

  • A price well below the market for the area and size. The Warmia-Masuria police name this as the first warning sign; Gdynia police write about offers "too good to be true" [5, 6].
  • Professional photos and a low price on popular portals and social media [5].
  • A deposit or "reservation" before any viewing, sometimes the deposit plus the first month's rent in one go [4, 6].
  • Time pressure: "you need to decide now" [4, 6].
  • The owner avoids meeting and suggests settling everything by transfer [4, 5].
  • Requests for photos or scans of your documents before anything is signed [4].

Gdynia police also suggest running the listing's text, photos and phone number through a search engine [5]. If the same photos show up in another listing with a different address or price, stop and ask why.

The "former tenant" scheme: why a viewing isn't enough

The nastiest version comes from a Wrocław police warning. The scammer posts a listing, leaves the keys in the mailbox for the viewing, then asks for the deposit and rent up front. After the transfer it turns out someone else lives there. According to the police, these scammers are often former tenants who know the door codes and where the keys are kept [4].

So you can stand inside the flat and still pay the wrong person. That's why point 3 matters more than it looks.

How to check the owner: the księga wieczysta

Polish land registers are public (art. 2, Act on Land Registers and Mortgages), and section II records ownership (art. 25(1)) [2].

To look one up:

  1. Ask for the land register number. It looks roughly like WA4M/00000000/0 (a format sample, not a real number).
  2. Open the Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste service at ekw.ms.gov.pl. Viewing is free; all you need is the number [3].
  3. In section II (Dział II), compare the owner's name with the name of the person you're signing with.

If the person renting isn't the owner, ask on what basis they're letting it: a power of attorney, an agreement with the owner. If you're told the flat has no land register of its own, ask which document confirms their right to it. Refusing to give the number or show a document doesn't prove fraud, but it's a reason not to pay.

If an agent is letting the flat

A real-estate agent (pośrednik) is an entrepreneur running a brokerage business (art. 179a, Real Estate Management Act). The brokerage agreement must be in written or electronic form, or it's void (art. 180(3)), and a copy of the agent's liability insurance is attached to it (art. 181(3a)) [1].

Paying an agent without a signed brokerage agreement is an unnecessary risk. Ask for the agreement in advance and read what the fee is actually for.

Don't send scans of your documents

Wrocław police advise against sending photos, copies or scans of your documents to people you don't know [4]. If a landlord wants to know who you are, show your ID at the meeting.

Questions for the phone call that expose inconsistencies

Gdynia police suggest calling and asking for details to catch inconsistencies [5]. A few in Polish:

  • Czy jest pan / pani właścicielem mieszkania? — Are you the owner of the flat?
  • Jaki jest numer księgi wieczystej? — What's the land register number?
  • Kiedy mogę obejrzeć mieszkanie razem z panem / panią? — When can I see the flat with you?
  • Czy podpiszemy umowę na piśmie przed wpłatą? — Will we sign a written contract before I pay?
  • Czy mogę zapłacić kaucję przy podpisaniu umowy? — Can I pay the deposit when we sign?

If simple questions get evasive answers, that's an answer too. Our script for calling a landlord in Polish walks through the whole conversation.

If the money has already gone

Move fast and keep everything.

  1. Call your bank and tell them the transfer may have gone to a scammer. Ask what they can do.
  2. Keep the evidence: screenshots of the listing and messages, the phone number, the transfer confirmation, the account number.
  3. Report it to the police. You can do this at any police unit; if it isn't the right one, it passes the report on. It's free [7].
  4. Report the listing or website to CERT Polska through the form at incydent.cert.pl or by e-mail to cert@cert.pl [8].
  5. Report the listing to the portal where you found it.

What this checklist doesn't promise

We don't know how common these listings are in Warsaw, and we don't quote figures that primary sources don't give. The checklist lowers the risk; it doesn't remove it. If anything in the contract is unclear, show it to a lawyer.

RentalAgent is an AI assistant for finding a rental in Warsaw that we're preparing. When you explicitly ask it to, it's meant to call landlords in Polish, telling them that it's an AI assistant, and ask about the flat before you travel to a viewing. It won't spot scammers for you and doesn't guarantee protection. Early-access sign-up is open now.

Sources

  1. Ustawa o gospodarce nieruchomościami, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 399, api.sejm.gov.pl, accessed 23/09/2026
  2. Ustawa o księgach wieczystych i hipotece, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1066, api.sejm.gov.pl, accessed 23/09/2026
  3. Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste, gov.pl, accessed 23/09/2026
  4. Metoda na wynajem mieszkania – jak działają oszuści i jak się chronić (13.06.2025), Komenda Miejska Policji we Wrocławiu, accessed 23/09/2026
  5. Nie daj się oszukać! Fałszywe ogłoszenia wynajmu mieszkań… (28.08.2026), Komenda Miejska Policji w Gdyni, accessed 23/09/2026
  6. Oszustwo 'na wynajem mieszkania'. Apelujemy o ostrożność!, Policja Warmińsko-Mazurska, accessed 23/09/2026
  7. Zgłoś przestępstwo, gov.pl, accessed 23/09/2026
  8. Zgłaszanie incydentów (CERT Polska), gov.pl, accessed 23/09/2026