In Poland, the commune is responsible for providing residents with appropriate housing conditions. According to the act, it is obliged to help primarily low-income households. As part of this assistance, it may provide municipal apartments, social rented premises and replacement premises.
However, this does not mean that every person with low earnings will automatically receive an apartment. The commune establishes its own rules for renting premises from its resources, including income criteria, housing conditions and priority rules. In practice, this means that a person who meets the requirements in one commune will not necessarily meet the same criteria in another.
The basic criteria may vary depending on the local government. The most frequently analyzed are the household's income situation and housing conditions.
The commune may take into account, among others: the amount of household income, the number of people forming the household, the lack of suitable housing, overcrowding of the occupied apartment, the technical condition of the current premises, a particularly difficult living or housing situation, and the applicant's relationship with a given commune, if required by local regulations.
Income is crucial, but there is no single limit for the whole of Poland. This is one of the most important elements to remember when applying for a municipal apartment. Specific thresholds are set by the commune council in a resolution on the rules for renting premises. Therefore, before submitting an application, you must check the regulations in force in a specific locality. In Krakow in 2026, the average monthly income per person may not exceed: PLN 3,561.28 - in a single-person household, PLN 3,066.66 - in a two-person household, PLN 2,572.04 - in a multi-person household.
Income is calculated based on earnings from the three months preceding the submission of the application.
It is also worth distinguishing between a municipal apartment and a social apartment, currently defined in the Act as a premises intended for social rent. These are different forms of housing assistance, and the criteria and rules for granting them may vary.
A municipal flat is an ordinary premises from the commune's resources, rented on preferential terms, while a social rented premises is intended for people in a particularly difficult financial and life situation.
There is no single nationwide list of eight groups that always have priority for public housing. The catalog of preferred people is established by the commune.
Local regulations may give preference to people in particularly difficult housing or life situations. Depending on the local government, the following may be taken into account: large families, especially when the premises are too small, people with disabilities and households requiring premises adapted to their needs, single parents raising children, seniors in a difficult housing situation, people affected by domestic violence, foster care pupils starting their independent life, people living in premises in very poor technical condition or requiring urgent improvement of conditions, people at risk of homelessness or in a particularly difficult housing situation.
However, this does not mean an automatic right to the premises.
Local governments may also apply additional solutions related to local housing policy. Therefore, in some cities, preferences may include specific professional groups considered important for the functioning of the local community.
An example is Warsaw, where the rules regarding the city's housing stock are specified in local regulations. Priority applies to employees of social welfare institutions, family support and foster care institutions, and care for children up to 3 years old provided by the capital city. Warsaw, paramedics employed in medical entities and with at least two years of work experience.
Merely meeting the criteria does not mean that the apartment will be granted immediately. The problem is the limited number of premises available in municipalities. In the largest cities, waits can be especially long.
There is no statutory deadline, uniform throughout Poland, within which the commune must hand over the apartment to every person who meets the criteria. The order in which apartments are allocated is determined by local rules, the number of available apartments and the situation of people waiting. In practice, this means that qualifying for housing assistance does not always mean quickly receiving a specific apartment.
At the same time, 2027 is expected to bring greater financial support for housing. The Council of Ministers adopted the draft state budget for 2027, which allocates almost PLN 5.8 billion for housing-related tasks. Of this amount, approximately PLN 3.4 billion is to go to the social and municipal housing program.
These funds are intended to support, among others: investments implemented by local governments. Greater financing of municipal construction may mean an increase in the number of available premises if municipalities use the funds for new investments or renovation of existing stock.
People who have submitted an application earlier and are still waiting for a flat should first check whether their situation still meets the criteria set by the municipality.
In particular, it is worth verifying: whether the income situation of the household has not changed, whether the requirements regarding housing conditions are still met, whether documents or declarations need to be updated, whether the position on the waiting list has changed, whether the commune is conducting new recruitment processes or has premises intended for specific groups.
The mere fact of waiting for a municipal apartment does not mean a guarantee of receiving the apartment in a specific year. The deadline depends on the availability of apartments and the rules in force in a given local government.
The procedure is also determined locally. The applicant should contact the commune or city office or the appropriate housing management unit.
