Occasional Lease Agreement for Students: Costs and Rules (2026/2027)

An occasional lease agreement differs from a standard lease agreement in that it is necessary to prepare and attach three obligatory attachments. The absence of any of them, or errors in their formulation, cause that the agreement automatically becomes an ordinary lease agreement, which deprives the owner of special rights and exposes you to non-compliance with the terms of the contract.

Tenant’s statement of submission to enforcement

This is the most important document that must be drawn up in the form of a notarial deed. In it, you declare that in the event of the expiry of the contract or its termination as a result of a gross breach of its terms (e.g. non-payment for two or more settlement periods), you will voluntarily submit to the enforcement of the obligation to vacate and hand over the premises. This document refers to Article 777 § 1 point 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Tenant indicates another premises

In this attachment, you must indicate the specific address of the property in which you will be able to live in the event of the enforcement of the obligation to vacate the premises. It cannot be a fictitious address or the address of the apartment currently rented in Krakow. Most often, students indicate their family home.

Declaration of consent of the owner of the replacement premises

A person who has a legal title to the property indicated by you in point two (e.g. your parents, grandparents or relatives) must sign a statement in which they agree to your residence in their premises in the event of eviction from your Krakow apartment. Many landlords in Krakow require that the signature of the owner of the replacement premises on this statement be notarized. This involves an additional visit to the notary of the person who is hosting you.

Costs of an occasional lease agreement in the academic year 2026/2027

Signing an occasional lease agreement generates additional costs that do not occur with traditional rentals. When planning a budget for the start of the 2026/2027 academic year, you must include the following fees:

Notarial fee in 2026/2027

The cost of drawing up a declaration of submission to enforcement in the form of a notarial deed is regulated by law and is linked to the amount of the minimum wage for work. According to the regulations, the maximum notary fee for this activity is 1/10 of the minimum remuneration.

• With the forecasted minimum salary in 2026 at around PLN 4600, the maximum notary fee for drawing up a deed is PLN 460.
• The notary fee should be supplemented with VAT in the amount of 23% (approx. PLN 105.80).
• The fee for extracts of a notarial deed (usually 2-3 copies are needed: for you, for the owner and for the court) is PLN 6 net for each page started.
• The total cost of a visit to a notary is usually PLN 550 – 650.

Certification of the signature of the owner of the replacement premises

If the owner of an apartment in Krakow requires a notarization of your parents’ signature on the declaration of consent, your parents must go to any notary in their place of residence.

The cost of certifying one signature on a document is PLN 20 net (PLN 24.60 gross).

Costs of commercial surrogate addresses

If you are a foreign student (e.g. under the Erasmus+ program at the Jagiellonian University or AGH) or your parents do not own real estate in Poland and none of your friends want to sign a statement of acceptance of you under their roof, you must use commercial services.

• There are companies in Krakow that provide statements of landlords on consent to the tenant’s residence for a fee.
• The cost of purchasing such a statement together with a notarial certificate for the academic year 2026/2027 is on average PLN 350 – 500 (this is a one-time fee).

Who covers the costs of a notary?

The law does not explicitly define which party to the occasional lease agreement should cover the notarial costs. It is a matter of individual market negotiations.

During the recruitment peak (August – September) in Krakow, due to the huge advantage of demand over supply, apartment owners almost always pass on 100% of notarial costs to the student. If you sign a contract in the off-season (e.g. in February), you have a real chance to negotiate the division of these costs in half.

The problem of a replacement apartment – what to do if you don’t have an alternative address?

Indicating an alternative address is the biggest logistical barrier for young people studying in Krakow. There are several scenarios to fix this problem depending on your personal situation.

Scenario A: Parents own a property in Poland

This is the simplest and cheapest situation. Your parents (or other family members) sign a declaration of consent for you to live in their house or apartment.

• If the owner of the Krakow premises does not require a notarial certificate, the parent’s handwritten signature on the statement is sufficient.
• If the signature is required, the parent must go to a notary in their city with an identity card and a document confirming the ownership of the premises (e.g. an excerpt from the Land and Mortgage Register or a notarial deed of purchase of an apartment) and sign the document in the presence of an official.

Scenario B: Parents rent an apartment or live in a municipal apartment

If your family does not own an apartment, your parents may not have the right to have a replacement apartment.

• A tenant of a municipal apartment or a cooperative tenant’s right to a flat usually cannot independently make a decision to accept another tenant without the consent of the municipality or cooperative.
• In such a situation, signing the statement by parents without the consent of the owner of the premises is a legal defect that the owner of an apartment in Krakow can easily verify by inspecting the Land and Mortgage Register.

Scenario C: International students and lack of support networks in Poland

Foreigners studying at Krakow universities (Jagiellonian University, AGH, PK) can very rarely count on the help of a family owning real estate in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

• The only fully legal solution is to use certified websites providing services of providing substitute addresses for occasional lease agreements.
• These websites have their own real estate databases and issue statements with a notarized signature for a fee, which are 100% accepted by Polish notaries and courts.

The procedure for signing an occasional lease in Krakow step by step

In order for the whole process to go smoothly and not delay the moment of moving into the apartment, you need to follow the right sequence of actions.

• Agreeing on the content of the main agreement: You negotiate the terms of the lease with the landlord (rent, deposit, utility billing rules). The content of the agreement must include a provision that it is an occasional lease agreement, and the tenant undertakes to provide a notarial statement within a specified period of time (usually within 7-14 days of signing the agreement).
• Signing the main contract: Both parties sign a traditional lease agreement. Without a signed main contract, the notary will not draw up a deed of submission to enforcement, as he must know the exact content and date of the document to which the enforcement rigor applies.
• Obtaining consent from the owner of the replacement premises: You complete the statement of the person who agrees to take you under their roof (if necessary, with a notarized signature).
• A visit to a notary in Krakow: You go to the notary’s office of your choice (conveniently located offices are located, for m.in example, at Czarnowiejska Street near AGH, at Karmelicka Street or near the Grzegórzecki roundabout). You take with you:
• Signed main lease agreement.
• ID card.
• Statement of consent of the owner of the substitute premises.
• Indication of a replacement address.
• Delivery of the notarial deed to the owner: The notary draws up the deed (this usually takes between 15 and 30 minutes). You receive transcripts. You must immediately hand over one original extract to the owner of the apartment.

Key condition: Registration of the agreement with the Tax Office by the owner

For you as a student, the tax aspect is extremely important, which directly affects the validity of the entire occasional rental regime.

In accordance with Article 19b(1) of the Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights, the owner of the property is absolutely obliged to report the fact of concluding an occasional lease agreement to the head of the tax office competent for the owner’s place of residence. He has 14 days from the date of commencement of the lease to do so.

• What does this mean for you? If the landlord fails to report the agreement to the Tax Office on time, the occasional lease agreement loses its special legal character and becomes an ordinary lease agreement.
• Your safety: If you don’t notify, the landlord loses the right to simplified eviction and you regain full tenant protection under the general regulations. As a tenant, you have the right to require the landlord to present a confirmation of the registration of the agreement with the tax office for your own legal security.

What are the risks of occasional rental for a student?

Although occasional rental is a fully legal construction, you must be aware of the consequences you are taking on.

• Loss of protection against eviction on the pavement: By signing a notarial deed, you give up the right to apply for social housing from the municipality in the event of forced eviction. If you violate the terms of the contract, the eviction procedure will be triggered immediately, without the need for a lengthy eviction lawsuit.
• Need to update your alternate address: If during the term of the lease agreement in Krakow the owner of the replacement apartment withdraws his consent (e.g. the parents sell the house indicated in the documents), you are legally obliged to inform the owner of the apartment in Krakow about this and indicate a new replacement address with a new consent within 21 days. Failure to comply with this obligation gives the landlord the right to immediately terminate the lease agreement with immediate effect.

Practical tips for students signing occasional leases

• Request access to the Land and Mortgage Register of the substitute premises: Make sure that the person signing the consent to accept you at the indicated address is actually listed in the land and mortgage register as the owner or co-owner. Otherwise, the document will be legally defective.
• Negotiate the division of notarial costs before signing the reservation: Before you pay the reservation fee for an apartment in Krakow, determine in writing (e.g. in an e-mail) who covers the costs of the notary fee and to what extent. You will avoid a situation in which you will be surprised by the need to pay an additional PLN 600 to a notary just before signing the contract.
• Compare the rates in Krakow notary offices: The notary fee for occasional leases has a certain maximum amount, but the notary may offer a lower rate. Before making an appointment, make a few phone calls to the law firm in Krowodrzy or Śródmieście and ask about the final cost of preparing a statement of submission to enforcement. Some notaries offer discounts for students.
• Take care of a precise handover protocol: Since an occasional lease agreement makes it easier for the landlord to enforce your obligations, make sure that the technical condition of the apartment and any defects on the day of receipt of the keys are described in detail in the protocol and documented with photos.

Joint and several liability of co-tenants – the trap of a joint occasional agreement

Renting multi-room apartments in districts such as Krowodrza or Grzegórzki by groups of friends from college is a common practice. In such situations, property owners usually aim to sign a single, collective occasional lease agreement, in which all tenants are listed as co-tenants. From a legal point of view, this is an extremely risky solution for the student.

By signing a joint contract, by virtue of the law (Article 366 of the Civil Code), you assume joint and several liability for all obligations arising from the contract. This means that:

• Joint and several liability for rent: If one of your roommates suddenly drops out of college, moves out of the apartment, and stops paying their share of the rent, the landlord has every right to demand payment of the entire missing amount from you or the other tenants. The explanation that you regularly pay your share of the room has no legal meaning in this case.
• Paralysis of the notarial procedure: In order for the collective occasional lease agreement to be fully valid, each of the co-tenants must provide their own notarial declaration of submission to enforcement and a statement of the owner of the replacement premises. If at least one of your roommates provides a defective document or is late with a visit to a notary, the entire contract in the occasional regime may be considered ineffective, which gives the landlord the basis for immediately terminating the contract due to the tenants’ fault.
• Deposit Return Block: A deposit in collective agreements is treated as a single, indivisible deposit securing the entire apartment. If one of the roommates destroys the furnishings of their room or common areas, the landlord will deduct the repair costs from the general deposit, which will directly hit your budget at the final settlement.

How to avoid this trap?

The only effective protection against joint and several liability is to require the owner to sign individual occasional lease agreements for specific rooms with the right to use the common areas (kitchen, bathroom, hallway). In this case, you are solely responsible for your own rent, and you submit a statement to the notary that your room will only be vacated.

The myth of immediate eviction – how Krakow district courts process the enforceability clause

Many apartment owners and students live in the misconception that having a notarial deed for occasional leases allows the landlord to immediately evict the tenant from the apartment, e.g. by replacing locks or cutting off utilities. Such actions on the part of the owner are a crime under Article 191 § 1a of the Criminal Code (forcing to behave in a certain way by obstructing the use of the premises), punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years.

A notarial deed does not give the owner the right to self-judgment. It only replaces a lengthy eviction lawsuit. To physically remove a tenant, the landlord must go through an official court-bailiff path.

Procedure for granting an enforceability clause in Krakow

When the contract is terminated (e.g. due to debt) and you do not leave the premises within the specified period, the landlord must submit an application to the district court to give an enforceability clause to the notarial deed in which you submitted to enforcement.

• Choice of court: The case goes to the court with jurisdiction over the location of the apartment (e.g. the District Court for Krakow-Krowodrzy, the District Court for Krakow-Śródmieście or the District Court for Krakow-Podgórze).
• Lead time: Although the regulations require the courts to consider such an application within 3 days, in Krakow, due to the huge workload of civil cases, this process takes an average of 3 to 8 weeks in 2026.
• Bailiff’s participation: Only after obtaining the enforceability clause can the owner go to a court bailiff. It is the bailiff, as the only state authority, who has the right to physically carry out the eviction and move you to the substitute premises indicated in the contract.

This means that even with occasional rentals, it usually takes 3 to 5 months from the moment of cessation of payment to the moment of physical eviction. This knowledge is crucial in case of possible disputes with the landlord who tries to use unlawful threats of immediate removal from the apartment.

Why is institutional rental safer for a student without an address?

If you rent an apartment from a company (e.g. an investment fund offering apartments for rent, a specialized developer or a professional property manager acting as an entrepreneur), you enter into an institutional lease agreement.

• No alternate address: The Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights in the case of institutional lease completely excludes the obligation to provide a statement from the owner of the replacement premises about taking you under their roof.
• The only attachment: The only document you need to draw up with a notary is your own declaration of submission to enforcement and an obligation to vacate the premises after the expiry of the contract. You acknowledge that in the event of eviction, you are not entitled to social housing or temporary accommodation, but you do not have to involve your parents or look for fictitious addresses in Poland.

The trap of tax evasion by owners

Some of Krakow’s owners, who de facto run a business consisting in renting out many apartments (e.g. they own 5-10 apartments bought for rent to students around AGH UST or PK), are trying to force students to sign an occasional (private) lease agreement instead of an institutional one. They do this to avoid higher taxation of their business or the need to issue invoices.

If a landlord runs a business in the field of renting real estate, and forces you to sign a private occasional lease, this agreement is legally defective. In the event of a court dispute, it can be considered a regular lease agreement, which will deprive the landlord of the right to evict quickly, and give you full tenant protection.

Frequently asked questions about occasional rental for a student (2026/2027)

Can a notary refuse to draw up a deed if I indicate an address abroad?

Yes, Polish notaries refuse to draw up a deed of submission to enforcement if you indicate a property located outside the territory of the Republic of Poland as a substitute premises. Enforcement procedures of a bailiff cannot be effectively conducted abroad, which makes such a statement useless for the owner of an apartment in Krakow.

What happens if the owner of the substitute premises withdraws his consent during the academic year?

You are obliged to present the owner of the apartment in Krakow with a new statement of another owner of the substitute apartment (along with an indication of the new address) to the owner of the apartment in Krakow within 21 days from the date of becoming aware of this fact. If you fail to do so, the landlord has the right to terminate your contract immediately.

Can an occasional lease agreement be signed for a room or only for the entire apartment?

An occasional lease agreement can be signed for both the entire apartment and a single, separate room in a multi-room apartment. The notarial procedure and the requirements for attachments are exactly the same in both cases.

Can a student who is under 18 years old sign an occasional lease agreement?

A minor has limited legal capacity. To sign an occasional lease agreement and submit a statement to a notary, the consent and presence of a parent or legal guardian is required, who will sign the documents on behalf of the minor student.

How long is the validity of a notarial deed of submission to enforcement?

The notarial deed is closely related to the main lease agreement. It is valid for the entire duration of this particular agreement (e.g. for a fixed term of one academic year). If you are extending the lease for another year (2027/2028) through an annex, you may need to re-submit the declaration to the notary, unless the original deed provided for the possibility of extending the term of the agreement.

An occasional lease agreement in the academic year 2026/2027 is the dominant form of securing transactions on the Krakow real estate market. Although it entails an additional cost of about PLN 550 – 650 and requires efficient logistics related to obtaining a replacement address, its proper finalization guarantees a safe and stable lease.

Before signing the documents, make sure that the owner undertakes to report the agreement to the Tax Office, and the costs of the notary fee will be divided in a way that satisfies both parties.