Renting an Apartment in Krakow with Friends or a Partner: Costs & Lease Agreements

Monthly payment structure

• Rent: The amount due to the owner. When co-renting with a couple, determine whether you pay in proportion to the size of the rooms or divide the amount in half.
• Administrative rent: It includes fees to the cooperative or community. Remember that in Krakow it often includes advances for water and heating.
• Utilities (electricity/gas): Billed according to actual consumption. In old tenement houses in Kazimierz or Śródmieście, gas heating in winter can cost more than rent.
• Internet: A service often contracted by the landlord, but paid for by tenants. It requires you to choose the fastest fiber optic connection at a price divided by the number of tenants.

Methods of allocating expenses

• “Headcount” model (per head): It works well with identical rooms. You add up all the fees and divide by the number of residents.

• “Metre” model (room): It is fairer if there are drastically different sized rooms in the apartment (e.g. one large living room vs a small bedroom). The cost of renting a room is calculated based on the area, and utilities are divided equally.

Specificity of the Krakow market: Heating and utilities

Krakow is a city of diverse construction, which has a direct impact on the amount of bills. When choosing an apartment with friends, check the type of installation, as it will put the greatest burden on your joint budget.

Types of heating and costs

• City Heating (MPEC): The safest option for a couple or a group of friends. The cost is predictable, and the apartment is warm regardless of whether you stay in it all day.

• Gas heating (combi furnace): It requires conscious temperature management. It requires a periodic technical inspection, which is paid for by the owner, but the operation is a burden on you.

• Electric heating: In Krakow’s tenement houses, it is the biggest enemy of the wallet. Avoid renting apartments with such a system in a group, unless the building has undergone a thorough thermal modernization.

Deposit – return policy for joint tenancy

A deposit in Krakow is usually the equivalent of 1 or 2 months’ rent. When renting together, this amount is significant and often becomes a bone of contention when moving out.

How to secure the return of the deposit?

• One transfer, one return: Determine that you pay the deposit in one transfer from the account of one person who is the “main tenant” in the eyes of the owner. The deposit should also be returned to the same account.

• Internal division: Make your own document (private agreement between yourself) of who paid what part of the deposit. Thanks to this, when one person moves out, it is known how much money should be returned to them and how much remains in the owner’s deposit.

• Protocols: When moving into an apartment (especially in new investments in Ruczaj or Zabłocie), take photos of every scratch on the floor and stain on the wall. It is a document that is more important than verbal assurances in the event of a dispute over the bail.

Crisis scenarios: Couple breakup or group conflicts

Renting an apartment with friends or a partner is associated with the risk of changing your personal situation. In the Krakow rental market, where contracts are rigid, you need to be prepared for emergencies.

A couple’s breakup or a conflict between friends

• Contingency plan: Before signing the contract, determine: what happens if one person moves out early? Does the rest pay rent for it? Are you looking for a new tenant?

• Provisions in the contract: It is worth having an annex to the agreement ready, which, if necessary, will allow you to change one tenant to another with the consent of the landlord. Landlords in Krakow usually agree to this if the new tenant undergoes verification.

Loss of source of income

If one of the tenants loses his job or funds for his studies, you need to have a strategy. Does the rest of the group credit it for a month? Are you looking for a cheaper place? Determining this “coldly”, before moving in, saves a lot of nerves.

Practical tips for a group of tenants

• Cleaning Schedule: In student apartments in Krakow, cleaning is the main reason for conflicts. Create a schedule – if you don’t want to clean, consider paying a fee to a cleaning company once every two weeks. With 3-4 people, the cost is negligible.

• Shared shelf in the fridge: Determine what is common (e.g. spices, oil, toilet paper) and what is individual. This prevents food from being “stolen”.

• Guest policy: Set a limit on the nights per month that guests can stay in the apartment. The lack of such rules leads to a situation where your roommate’s partner lives with you for free.

Technical audit of the apartment in the first 24 hours

Once you have received the keys to your apartment in Krakow, do not unpack your suitcases until you have completed a full audit. Property owners in districts such as Czyżyny or Krowodrza often count on the fact that the student will not notice defects hidden in dark corners.

Zero-Day Inspection Procedure

• Water pressure test: Turn on all faucets in the bathroom and kitchen at the same time. In old buildings in the center of Gdynia or Krakow, a drop in pressure after turning on two taps is the norm, but if the water barely drips – report it in writing to the owner.
• Window test: Windy days are frequent in Krakow. Open and close each window. Check that the gaskets are not frayed. A leaky window means higher heating bills in winter.
• Socket test: Take your phone charger with you and check every socket in each room. A common problem in student apartments is loose, “falling out” sockets, which are a real fire hazard.
• Cloud photo documentation: Create a cloud folder (Google Drive/iCloud) that is accessible to all roommates. Upload photos of every scratch on the floor, stain on the wall or chipped tile. In case of disputes when handing over the apartment after a year, you have a document ready with a date.

Owner Communication: Professional Templates

In relations with the Krakow landlord (especially in the case of private individuals from the 50+ generation), written communication is the foundation of security. Avoid getting things done over the phone.

Failure Report Template (to be sent by e-mail)

“Good morning, I would like to inform you about the occurrence of a defect in the apartment at [Adres]Street: a leaking siphon under the sink in the kitchen. The situation threatens to flood the floor. According to the contract, I ask for a repair within [Data]. We secured the place of failure to prevent further damage. Please confirm receipt of the message.”

Such a message is specific, unemotional and is proof that you have taken preventive action. If the landlord does not respond, you have the right to send a call for repair and, if there is no response, to organize it yourself, charging the landlord with the costs (in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code on rent).

Logistics: How to avoid conflicts in a multi-person car?

Renting an apartment with friends (3-4 people) is microculture management. Krakow is a city with a fast pace of life, and an apartment must be your base for regeneration.

• Cleaning schedule: Don’t count on “self-order”. Write down the schedule on the fridge. If someone notoriously breaks it – don’t argue. Determine that the person who did not clean in his turn pays a “penalty” of PLN 20 to the common fund (e.g. for pizza for the rest). It works better than any requests.

• Work and relaxation zones: If there are two people living in the room, and one is studying law (a lot of studying in silence) and the other is studying architecture (a lot of projects with a computer) – set the hours of “silence” in the room. This will save you from the frustration of mismatching the rhythms of the day.

• Joint purchases: Determine whether you buy everything together or separately. The safest model: shared cleaning products and spices, separate food.

Occasional rental – last warning

If you rent an apartment in Krakow, you will almost certainly find an occasional rental. Remember: this is a contract in which you do not have a notice period overnight.

• What to check in a notarial deed: Is the alternate address you specified still valid? If the person who lent you a replacement address has sold their apartment or withdrawn their consent, your occasional rental becomes legally defective. In this case, you must immediately inform the landlord and provide a new statement, otherwise the landlord may terminate your lease with immediate effect.

Frequently asked questions about group rentals

1. Do everyone have to go to a notary in the case of occasional rentals?
Yes, all tenants listed in the agreement must submit a notarial declaration of submission to enforcement.

2. What if the owner does not want to settle utilities according to meters?
Avoid such offers. The lump sum for utilities is usually overstated so that the owner does not have to pay extra if you exceed consumption. Meters are the only fair way.

3. How much does internet cost in Krakow for 3-4 people?
For a fast connection (fiber optic) you will pay about PLN 80-120 per month. Dividing it into 4 people, it comes out very cheap – don’t skimp on connection speed if you all have to study/work remotely.

4. How to prove to the owner that it was not us who destroyed the floor?
Photos taken on the day of signing the handover protocol are your only proof. Send them to the owner by e-mail as soon as you enter them – with the date in the email.

5. Does a couple pay less than two friends?
For the landlord, it doesn’t matter if you live with a partner or a colleague. The price is per apartment/room. A couple often pays the same as two people, but uses less space in the common areas.

6. Can the landlord increase the rent if a new person moves in?
No, unless the contract so provides. The rent is set for the premises, not for the number of people.

Summary: How to safely divide the apartment?

Renting an apartment in Krakow with friends or a partner is a business project. You need to approach it professionally: a single, solidarity-based agreement, a common fund for utilities, clear cleaning rules and agreement on guests. Krakow is a more expensive city than most other academic centers, so maximizing your savings by paying for utilities together and renting a larger apartment instead of a few rooms is the fastest way to improve your standard of living. Don’t look for “idyll”, look for rental partners who are just as responsible for the budget as you are.