Moving out of a rental in Poland: the step-by-step checklist

Moving out is a dozen small errands, each trivial on its own. The problem is that they run on different clocks: some must be handled a month ahead, others can only be done on the day you hand back the keys.

This page puts them in order. Your ticks are saved in this browser, so you can come back here throughout the whole month of packing.

4 weeks ahead: deadlines and paperwork

First the things that cannot be caught up on later, because contract deadlines govern them.

A month before moving out

• Find your rental contract and check the notice period, and whether the contract allows early termination at all
• Hand in your notice in writing and keep proof: the landlord's signature on a copy, or a postal receipt
• Check the contract for the state you must return the flat in: repainted, cleaned, carpets washed
• Agree a handover day and hour with the landlord
• If utilities are registered in your name, check the notice periods with the electricity, gas and internet providers
• Start a photo inventory of what is yours, so you do not pack the landlord's equipment by mistake

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The most common mistake is giving notice verbally. Without a dated letter you cannot prove when the notice period started running, and that is what decides until when you pay rent.

2 weeks ahead: utilities, addresses, the move itself

Now the logistics, meaning everything that involves waiting for someone else.

2 weeks before moving out

• Book movers or reserve a van for a specific day
• Report your change of address to the bank, your employer and anyone who sends you paper letters
• Update parcel lockers and the default address in online shops
• Arrange the transfer or termination of electricity, gas and internet contracts for your moving date
• Eat through the freezer and the pantry instead of transporting them
• Pack what you do not use daily, and label boxes by room

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Internet usually has the longest notice period on the list, often a full month. If you are moving the service to the new address rather than ending it, the provider can often do it without a gap, but they too need advance notice.

Key-handover day: meters, photos, the protocol

This is the only moment you can document the state you are leaving the flat in. Once the keys are handed back, you no longer have access.

At the handover

• Write down the readings of the electricity, gas, water and heat meters, each with its meter number
• Photograph the meters and every room, with the date in the photo metadata
• Walk the flat with the landlord room by room and compare its state with the move-in protocol
• Draw up the handover protocol in 2 copies and both sign each copy
• Record in the protocol how many sets of keys you returned, including the mailbox and cellar keys
• Take the manuals and warranty papers that are yours, and leave the ones for the landlord's equipment

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If a protocol was drawn up when you moved in, bring it along. You answer for damage beyond normal wear, and the move-in protocol is the best proof of what was already damaged before you.

After the move: the deposit and loose ends

The last list is short, but it is the one with the money on it.

After handing the flat back

• Send the landlord your account number for the deposit refund and keep the message with its date
• Watch for the final utility settlements, and pay them or collect the overpayment
• If your stay was registered (zameldowanie), deregister online or at the local office
• If a month passes without the deposit, send a written payment demand with a deadline

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When the deposit does not come back

1. 1
   Work out how much you should getThe deposit returns after deducting documented arrears and damage beyond normal wear. Ask for an itemised settlement in writing.
2. 2
   Send a payment demandIn writing, with the amount, your account number and a deadline, e.g. 7 days. Send it so that you have proof of delivery.
3. 3
   Use the evidence from handover dayPhotos, meter readings and a signed protocol are the full set that makes a deposit case simple. Without them it is word against word.

Frequent questions

How long does the landlord have to refund the deposit?

For a residential tenancy, the tenant protection act gives a month from the day the flat is vacated. The landlord may deduct documented arrears and the cost of repairing damage beyond normal wear.

What is the notice period for an open-ended contract?

Unless the contract says otherwise, with rent paid monthly the notice must be given at the latest 3 months ahead, taking effect at the end of a calendar month. The contract can set a shorter period in your favour.

Do I have to repaint the flat before returning it?

Check the contract: it often requires returning the flat in a non-worsened state, or repainting outright. You do not answer for normal wear, like scuffs after years of living, but you do answer for holes left by shelves.

What counts as normal wear, and what as damage?

Normal wear is the trace of ordinary living: a worn path on the floor, faded paint. Damage is a stain on the carpet, a cracked pane, a torn-off cabinet door. The first is the landlord's cost, the second is yours.

One sentence to remember

Give notice in writing a month ahead, and on key-handover day record the meters, take photos and sign the protocol in 2 copies, because those pieces of evidence are what your deposit refund depends on.