Landlord Demanding You Move Out for the Summer? Your Tenant Rights in Warsaw

Most students in Warsaw sign fixed-term lease agreements – most often for the period from 1 October to 30 September of the following year.

In accordance with Article 673 § 3 of the Civil Code, a lease agreement concluded for a definite period of time may be terminated by either party only in the cases specified in the agreement.

Termination clauses in the contract

If your contract does not clearly indicate specific reasons why the landlord may terminate it before the deadline (e.g. arrears on rent for at least three full payment periods, subletting a room without the landlord’s consent, destroying the premises), the landlord has no right to terminate the contract before the end date indicated in the contract.

A simple provision such as: “Each of the parties may terminate the agreement with a one-month notice period” without indicating important reasons is legally ineffective in a fixed-term contract. The common courts and the Supreme Court are unanimous in their view that the free termination of term contracts contradicts their nature and purpose, which is to guarantee stability for both parties.

9- and 10-month contracts. Is it legal and what are the consequences?

Some landlords, in order to avoid legal problems with early termination, propose contracts structured from the beginning to expire at the end of June. The agreement concluded from 1 October to 30 June is fully legal – the parties voluntarily agree on such a lease period.

What if the contract has expired and you still live?

It happens that the contract expires on June 30, but the tenant, with the consent (even tacit) of the landlord, stays in the apartment for July, paying the rent. In such a case, Article 674 of the Civil Code comes into play:

If, after the expiry of the period specified in the agreement or in the notice, the tenant continues to use the property with the consent of the landlord, it is considered in case of doubt that the lease has been extended for an indefinite period.”

If the owner accepted the transfer for July and did not demand immediate departure from the premises, the agreement automatically transformed into an indefinite contract. Then a sudden demand to move out in mid-August is a blatant violation of the law overnight.

Unlawful actions of landlords and methods of defense

In Warsaw, there are situations in which landlords, ignoring the law, try to force tenants to leave the apartment by force or harassment. The most common scenarios and methods of defense are presented below.

Scenario A: Replacing locks in the absence of a tenant

A student goes to his family home for a weekend (e.g. to Radom or Lublin), and when he returns to his apartment in Warsaw’s Ochota district, he finds the locks in the doors replaced.

Legal aspect: This is a classic infringement of possession. Possession is a fact protected by law, regardless of whether the tenant currently has a valid legal title to the premises or not.

• Call the police: Report that you have been prevented from accessing the apartment where your personal belongings and documents are located. The police are obliged to make a note of the intervention – it will be key evidence in court.
• Action for restoration of infringed possession (Article 344 of the Civil Code): In such cases, the court does not examine who has the right to the premises, but only whether the possession has been arbitrarily violated. These proceedings are examined in an accelerated procedure.
• Permitted self-help (Article 343 of the Civil Code): The holder may use the necessary defence to resist an arbitrary violation of possession, and after the violation, he may restore the previous state immediately after doing so (e.g. by summoning a locksmith, presenting the lease agreement and identity card).

Scenario B: Disconnection of utilities (electricity, water, gas, internet)

The landlord is trying to make life miserable for the tenant by cutting off the electricity or water supply in a rented apartment in Mokotów.

Legal aspect: Such an action constitutes a crime under Article 191 § 1a of the Criminal Code (forcing to behave in a certain way by hindering the use of the occupied dwelling). This is punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years.

• Submit a written report about the possibility of committing a crime at the nearest police station (e.g. at Malczewskiego Street for Mokotów or Wilcza Street for Śródmieście).
• Notify the utility suppliers (e.g. Stoen Operator for electricity in Warsaw, Veolia for heat, MPWiK for water) in writing about the owner’s illegal activity, attaching a copy of the lease agreement.

Occasional rental and summer eviction

Many landlords in Warsaw believe that signing an occasional lease agreement (with a tenant’s statement in the form of a notarial deed of submission to enforcement) allows the tenant to be removed at any time. It’s a myth.

An occasional lease agreement protects the landlord from a lengthy eviction process in court only if the agreement has expired or has been effectively and legally terminated.

If the occasional lease agreement was concluded by 30 September, and the landlord demands moving out in July without the existence of statutory or contractual grounds for its termination, the notarial deed has no executive force. The owner cannot initiate the procedure indicated in the notarial statement, because the agreement is still in force.

How to proceed in the event of a conflict over a holiday move?

If you receive a request from the owner to vacate the premises before the expiry date of the contract, you should act methodically and document each step.

• Request a position in writing or by email: Avoid verbal arrangements and phone calls. If the landlord calls with a request to move out, write back to him by SMS or e-mail: “In relation to the phone call, please send your request along with legal justification in writing/e-mail.”
• Check the exact end date of the contract: Make sure that the contract is valid for the entire holiday period (until the end of August or September).
• Analyze the termination records: Verify whether the contract provides for the possibility of its early termination and whether the reason given by the owner (e.g. “family arrival on vacation”, “desire to renovate”) is clearly mentioned there as a prerequisite.
• Pay your rent on time: Failure to pay on your part gives the landlord a legal tool to terminate the contract under Article 11 of the Tenants’ Rights Protection Act. Make transfers even if the owner says they won’t accept the money.
• Secure documents: Keep a copy of the lease agreement, transfer confirmations, and handover protocol outside the apartment you rent (e.g., saved in the cloud or at friends’ houses). In the event of unlawful blocking of access to the premises, they will be necessary for the intervention of the police or locksmith.

Where to look for free legal aid in Warsaw?

Students and tenants with limited incomes do not have to bear the cost of expensive legal advice. There are a number of institutions offering free legal support in Warsaw:

Student Legal Clinics (Law Clinics)

• Law Clinic of the University of Warsaw (26/28 Krakowskie Przedmieście Street) – senior law students analyze contracts and prepare pleadings free of charge under the supervision of professors.
• Student Law Clinic of Lazarski University or Kozminski University.
• Free Legal Aid Points m.st Warsaw: They operate in every district (often in district offices, e.g. at Żelazna Street in Wola or Aleja Komitet Edukacji Narodowej in Ursynów). Registration is done by phone via the city hotline 19115.

Tenant Defense Association

• Warsaw Tenants’ Association (WSL) – offers advisory and intervention support in cases related to tenant harassment and attempted illegal evictions

Quick securing of a claim (How to return to the apartment in 3 days, not a year)

Most online guides are limited to the advice: “go to court”. In Warsaw, where district courts (e.g. the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów or Śródmieście) are extremely burdened, a standard case for restoration of possession can take from 6 to 18 months. For a student who was unlawfully evicted from his apartment in July, such a sentence is useless in the following year.

However, there is a legal tool that allows this problem to be solved almost immediately: an application for the granting of security for an action (Article 730 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure).

How does the security work in possession cases?

When filing a lawsuit for restoration of infringed possession, you must also file a motion to secure the lawsuit by ordering the defendant (owner) to immediately hand over the keys to the property and allow you to live in it for the duration of the lawsuit.

• Speed principle: In accordance with Article 737 of the Civil Procedure Code, the court should consider the application for security without delay, but no later than within one week from the date of its receipt to the court. In Warsaw practice, it takes from 3 to 10 working days.
• Threat of financial penalties: In order for the security to be effective, the application should require the owner to be threatened with an order to pay a certain sum of money (e.g. PLN 500 for each day of delay) in the event that, despite the court’s decision, he does not want to hand over the keys (Article 756[2] of the Civil Procedure Code). For most landlords, the prospect of paying a few hundred zlotys a day is a sufficient argument to give in immediately.
• Costs: The fixed court fee for a lawsuit for restoration of possession is PLN 70. An application for security submitted in a lawsuit is not subject to an additional fee.

Violation of domestic peace (Article 193 of the Penal Code) when “showing the room” during your absence

A very common practice of property owners in Wola, Żoliborz or Mokotów is to enter rented rooms in the absence of students (e.g. when they leave for their family homes in July, but regularly pay rent) in order to present the premises to new tenants or tourists.

Landlords often take the wrong position that since they are entered in the land and mortgage register as owners, they have the right to enter the premises whenever they want. From the point of view of criminal law, this is a crime.

• Handover of premises under a lease agreement
• The owner loses the right to physically dispose of the interior of the premises
• The tenant obtains the exclusive right to dispose of the space (Home Peace)
• Entry of the landlord without the tenant’s consent = Violation of domestic peace (Article 193 of the Penal Code)

Limits of the owner’s rights

According to Article 10 of the Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights, the owner may enter the premises without the tenant’s consent only in two cases:

• Preventive or emergency failure (e.g. flooding of a neighbor from below, gas leakage): If the tenant is absent, the landlord has the right to enter the premises, but only in the presence of Police or Municipal Guard officers, and in their absence – in the presence of witnesses (e.g. neighbours). A protocol should be drawn up from such an entrance.
• Periodic inspection of the technical condition: The date of such entry must be agreed with the tenant in advance. The landlord cannot arbitrarily open the door with his own spare key in the absence of the tenant.

Any other entry (including bringing third parties to the presentation of the room) without the explicit, prior consent of the tenant exhausts the elements of the crime of violation of domestic peace (Article 193 of the Criminal Code), which is punishable by a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to one year.

Practical tip: If you suspect that the owner is entering the room in your absence, install a simple IP camera with a motion sensor (cost of PLN 100-150) connected to an application on your phone. A video recording from such a camera is a full-fledged piece of evidence in criminal proceedings.

Abusive clauses (not allowed) in Warsaw lease agreements

Many landlords in Warsaw use ready-made contract templates filled with provisions contrary to the law, counting on the ignorance of young tenants. Pursuant to Article 385[1] of the Civil Code, the provisions of a contract concluded with a consumer (and a student renting an apartment from a person conducting business activity or even from a private person if the contract is of a mass nature is considered to be such) are not binding on him if they shape his rights and obligations in a manner contrary to good morals, grossly violating his interests.

The table below shows the most common abusive clauses used by landlords to facilitate their “holiday purge” and their legal status:

Property Management vs. Private owner – differences in defense strategy

In Warsaw, an increasing part of the rental market is controlled by specialized companies managing apartment packages for rooms (the so-called rental operators or managers) and institutional funds (PRS – Private Rented Sector) owning entire blocks, e.g. in Bliska Wola or Służewiec. How to defend yourself against an unlawful move request varies depending on who your contractual partner is.

Strategy towards funds and management companies (Lease Managers)

Management companies rarely decide on forceful solutions (replacing locks, cutting off utilities), because they care about their image and are aware of the criminal consequences. However, they apply sophisticated psychological and legal pressure:

• They send official-sounding pre-court summonses signed by legal advisors, demanding to leave the premises under pain of charging gigantic contractual penalties (e.g. 200% of the daily rent rate).
• How to defend yourself? Answer only in writing, referring to specific provisions of law (e.g. the ineffectiveness of terminating a fixed-term contract). Prove the illegality of their demands in a formal manner. These companies often let go of confrontation with a tenant who demonstrates knowledge of procedures and does not allow himself to be intimidated by “legal jargon”.

Strategy towards private owners (tenement houses, individuals)

Private owners are more likely to act under the influence of emotions and decide to act on the border of the law or directly violate it.

• How to defend yourself? Here, the key is to secure evidence immediately. Any threats sent via SMS, messengers or recorded during telephone conversations (in Poland, recording a conversation in which you participate yourself is legal and can be used as evidence in court) should be archived immediately. In contacts with private persons, a formal pre-trial letter sent by registered letter with a lawyer’s signature or the seal of the law firm, indicating the personal criminal liability of the owner under Article 191 § 1a of the Penal Code, is extremely effective.

Settlement of bail as a field of retaliation after a successful defense

If you have successfully defended your right to live in the premises during the holiday period, you must take into account that the landlord will try to recover the alleged losses when settling the security deposit after the final termination of the contract (e.g. on 30 September).

How to protect yourself from unlawful bail retention?

Owners often deduct from the deposit the imaginary costs of wear and tear of the premises (e.g. painting walls, traces of use on the floor, cleaning joints) to compensate for the lack of opportunities to make money on tourists during the summer.

• Normal Wear Principle: In accordance with Article 6b(1) of the Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights, the tenant is not liable for the wear and tear of the item resulting from proper use. Natural dirt on the walls or minor scratches on the panels after a year of use cannot be the basis for deductions from the deposit.
• The role of the handover protocol: The protocol drawn up at the time of the introduction is crucial. If the landlord has not written in it that the walls were perfectly clean and freshly painted, he cannot demand that you cover the costs of painting when moving out.
• Request for the return of the deposit: The Act sets a fixed deadline of 30 days for the owner to return the deposit from the day the premises are vacated. After the ineffective expiry of this period, you have the right to charge statutory interest for delay. The first step should be to send a Pre-Court Demand for Payment (by registered mail with a return receipt confirmation). Lack of reaction entitles you to refer the case to court in the writ of summons procedure (very fast procedure, often without a hearing, the fee for the lawsuit is only PLN 30 with a deposit of up to PLN 5,000).

Frequently Asked Questions About Rental Agreement in Warsaw

Can the landlord evict me if he needs the apartment for his own purposes (e.g. for his family on vacation)?

In accordance with Article 11(4) of the Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights, the landlord may terminate the agreement (with a six-month or even 3-year notice period, depending on whether the tenant is provided with a replacement apartment) if he intends to live in the premises belonging to him. However, this does not apply to emergency and short-term situations (e.g. a family holiday stay). In the case of a fixed-term contract, such action during its term is ineffective, unless the contract provided for such a right in accordance with the statutory rigor.

What to do if the landlord threatens me with throwing my belongings on the street?

Such an action is illegal. All forms of arbitrary enforcement (removing the tenant’s belongings without his consent) exhaust the elements of the crime of violation of possession and forcing to behave in a certain way. The owner should be immediately informed of the criminal consequences (Article 191 § 1a of the Penal Code) and call the police when attempting to physically remove the item.

Does an SMS or Messenger message saying “you have to move out by the end of the month” have legal force?

No. The provisions of the Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights (Article 11(1)) clearly indicate that the termination of a legal relationship, under pain of nullity, should be made in writing and include an indication of the reason for termination. Text messages, emails, or phone calls don’t meet this legal requirement.

What is the risk of the landlord for illegal eviction without a court ruling?

In Poland, the only authority authorized to carry out evictions is a bailiff acting on the basis of a final court judgment ordering the eviction of the premises. An attempt by the landlord (or a “debt collection company”) to remove a tenant on their own is punishable by criminal liability (up to 3 years in prison for harassment or coercion), civil liability for destruction or misappropriation of property, and the need to pay damages and reparation.

I only rent a room in a student apartment. Are my rights the same as when renting the entire apartment?

Yes. The provisions of the Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights apply to any premises used to meet housing needs, including a separate part of the apartment (room). The landlord cannot unlawfully terminate the room rental agreement or invade your privacy in the rented space.

Attempts to force holiday removals are a marginal but still present practice on the Warsaw rental market, hitting mainly students who do not know their rights. The key to effective defense against pressure from landlords is to have a reliable, signed contract and knowledge of the basic provisions of the Civil Code and the Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights. Remember that the law is on the side of the owner of the premises, and any attempts by the owner to terminate the contract by force are prosecuted in Poland by public prosecution.