Accommodation

IBB guest rooms

For the initial period of your stay in Poland (first three months) you can book your place at the IBB guest rooms. IBB Hotel is located right next to other IBB facilities at 5A Pawińskiego street. IBB offers a convenient stay at affordable prices for the time you need to settle down, adapt in a new place and search for accommodation for your further stay in Warsaw.

Searching for accommodation in Poland

Types of apartments

Accommodation offers in Poland are usually divided into three distinct categories.

Room

In Polish pokój (room) refers to a bedroom in a shared apartment. Depending on the apartment’s layout, you may be sharing the kitchen and bathroom with your flatmates.

Prices start from PLN 1200-1500 + bills

Studio (1 room)

A studio (kawalerka or studio) is usually a very basic and small studio apartment, often with only a kitchenette and not a full kitchen. A 1-pokój apartment refers to a one-room apartment with a full kitchen, bed, and living area all together.

Prices start from PLN 2000-2500 + bills

Apartment (2+ rooms)

While searching for an apartment please note that until recently, living rooms were not common in Polish flats. On typical apartment listings in Poland the given number of rooms counts the total number of rooms and not only bedrooms. As such, an apartment with one bedroom and a separate living room would be listed as 2 pokoje, and a similar apartment with two bedrooms and a living room will be listed as 3 pokoje.

Prices start from PLN 2500-3000 + bills

Important notes

  • The cost depends on the location as well as the size and quality of the apartment.
  • Most landlords may require an extra deposit of a monthly rent.
  • Usually the bills (for electricity, gas, internet etc.) are not included in the main offer (make sure what the price covers and what is the expected cost of monthly bills).
  • In order to apply for a Temporary Residence Permit and register a PESEL number as a foreigner, you must have a rental agreement signed directly with the property owner.

For this reason, it’s highly recommended that you rent an apartment/room directly from the owner of a flat and NOT from an agency.

Also, if you rent a flat together with your colleague, make sure that the contract includes both of you (both your names and signatures should be on the contract).

Where to search for rooms/flats?

The most popular sites with announcements of flat/room rental in Poland are:

These sites are available mostly in Polish, so it can be convenient to use a browser translator. In some cases you might also find some offers with bilingual listings stating “ENGLISH BELOW”.

You will typically be able to use filters to find listings in your neighborhood (the IBB is located in the Ochota neighborhood), and apartment type. Most sites also allow you to filter out ads posted by agencies.

Some other options

Facebook Groups

Facebook is very popular in Poland, and Warsaw has multiple apartment-specific Facebook groups which allow both landlords to place ads and potential tenants to make “looking for a flat” or “looking for roommates” posts.

To find such groups simply use the Facebook search bar and type “Warsaw” or “Warszawa” and “apartments” or “rooms.” or try the Polish equivalent: “mieszkanie” or “pokoje”.

Some of the fb groups in Warsaw:

IBB network

IBB is quite a big community, so one of the ways of searching for an apartment might be asking your colleagues if they have a place to rent or know someone who is currently renting a room/flat. Sometimes you can find an announcement on the board in the main hall or an e-mail sent to all community members. You can also post your own announcement that you are searching for a flat, using one of the internal IBB e-mail distribution lists.