01
The deposit
How much it is, on what terms it comes back and by when. We make sure the agreement says plainly what the landlord may deduct for, and that the inventory matches the actual state of the flat.
Rent a Property
Apartments, houses and commercial units in Warsaw and the surrounding area.
I
A home chosen with the heart
Since 2019 we've helped people find the right place — apartments, houses and commercial units.
II
Move in with a clear head
We arrange the viewings, negotiate the terms and take you through to the handover of the keys.
III
Ready to move in
A lawyer reads the agreement — you know exactly what you're signing.
[ 01 · Service ]
Rent without the risk.
A good Warsaw flat is gone in a day. A bad agreement stays with you for a year.
Villa Estate is a Warsaw agency run by lawyers. We look for your apartment, house or commercial unit, come to the viewings with you, check the landlord and the property, and read the agreement sentence by sentence — before you sign it.
[ 02 · The point ]
You aren't renting a flat. You're renting the agreement that describes it.
You see the flat for twenty minutes at a viewing. The agreement stays with you for a year or two, and it is what decides whether you get your deposit back, how much warning you get before a rent rise, who pays for a burst pipe, and whether you can leave when your job changes. Most disputes between a tenant and a landlord aren't arguments about the flat — they're arguments about a sentence nobody read.
[ 03 · Comparison ]
On your own, or with us
Searching alone looks free. You usually pay for it in time, in stress, and in a deposit you end up chasing.
On your own
- You ring ten adverts, three of which are out of date and two of which never existed.
- You view in a rush, alongside five other people, and decide the same evening.
- You're handed the agreement on the spot and sign it, because there's no time to read it.
- You have no idea whether the person on the other side even owns the place.
With Villa Estate
- You get a short list of verified listings, including ones that never reach the portals.
- We book the viewings and we're there with you.
- A lawyer reads the agreement before you sign anything, and explains every clause.
- We check the land register to see who actually owns the property.
[ 04 · Access ]
The best flats are let without ever being advertised
Owners of good flats rarely want thirty phone calls a day. Many of them hand the listing to agencies they trust, or call us directly, because they would rather have one verified tenant than a crowd at a viewing. We work with hundreds of Warsaw offices, so you also see what never reaches the portals — and you see it before the rest of the city does.
[ 05 · The agreement ]
What we read in your agreement
The six places where tenants in Warsaw most often lose money or peace of mind.
02
Term and renewal
Whether the agreement is for a fixed or an indefinite term, and what happens when it runs out. That decides whether you stay on your own terms or negotiate from scratch.
03
Notice
When and with how much warning you can move out — and when the landlord can ask you to. A fixed-term agreement with no notice clause can be a trap for a whole year.
04
Rent increases
Whether the rent can rise mid-term, by how much and with what notice. We also check what the rent actually covers and what is billed separately.
05
Bills and repairs
Who pays for utilities, advance payments and reconciliations, and who pays for repairs. Minor day-to-day on the tenant, anything larger on the landlord — provided the agreement genuinely says so.
06
Inventory and condition
A written record, meter readings and photographs at move-in. It is the only document that protects you at move-out from a bill for damage that was never yours.
[ 06 · Edge ]
Law, verification, negotiation
Three things that can't be done single-handed during one afternoon viewing.
01
Tenancy law
Villa Estate is run by lawyers. We know the difference between an ordinary, an occasional and an institutional tenancy, and what each of them means for you. Risky clauses get caught before signing, not at move-out.
02
Verifying the landlord
We check the land register for who owns the property and whether the person signing has the right to. We also check the technical condition, and whether anything is registered against the flat that would reach you during the tenancy.
03
Negotiating the terms
We don't only negotiate the rent. The move-in date, what furniture stays, permission for a pet, the right to make small changes, the notice period — all of it is open to discussion if someone knows how to have it.
[ 07 · Who for ]
Who we do this for
Renting isn't one situation. Each of these looks different and needs something different.
01
Individuals
You're looking for a flat for yourself and want to be sure the agreement is fair and the landlord is real. The most common case and the most straightforward to run.
02
Families moving to Warsaw
Schools, commutes and not having to move again in a year all come into it. We search around the shape of your day, not just the floor area.
03
Companies
Offices, service, retail and hospitality units, and flats for staff. Commercial agreements are longer and harder — all the more reason to read them.
04
Clients from abroad
We handle tenancies in English, Ukrainian and Russian, explain how things actually work in Poland, and can run the whole thing remotely before you arrive.
[ 08 · Benefits ]
What you actually get
No asterisks and no small print — this is the scope we deliver on every tenancy.
01
Listings beyond the portals
Flats from owners who don't want a public advert, and listings from the closed databases of Warsaw agencies.
02
Speed
On the Warsaw rental market whoever turns up first with something concrete wins. We book viewings straight away and have the paperwork ready in advance.
03
An agreement read by a lawyer
Every clause explained in plain language, the risks pointed out directly, the amendments proposed in writing.
04
Better terms
Rent is only one of the things to negotiate. The date, the furnishings, the pet, the notice period — we take those conversations for you.
05
Your time
No ringing round adverts, no trips to see flats that are already gone, and no explaining what you want for the tenth time.
06
Support after signing
The inventory, the meters, the handover — and if a dispute comes up during the tenancy, you know who to call.
Tell us what you're looking for.
The first conversation is free and commits you to nothing. We reply within one working day.
[ 09 · The process ]
From the first call to the keys
This is what a typical search with us looks like. In a decent market it fits into two or three weeks.
Start
Conversation and criteria
We work out what you actually need: districts, a budget including bills, move-in date, commutes, pets, furnishings. We also say plainly what that budget can realistically get.
Days 1–7
Shortlisting
We search the portals, the closed agency databases and our own network. We check a listing is still live before we even show it to you.
Viewings
Viewing together
We group the appointments and come with you. We ask the things nobody asks in the moment: heating, damp, the neighbours, what the bills really come to.
Reserving
Putting you forward and negotiating
We present you to the landlord as a verified tenant and negotiate the terms — rent, dates, furnishings and the clauses that matter to you.
Agreement
Legal review
A lawyer reads the agreement sentence by sentence, explains it in ordinary language and proposes amendments. You sign only once you know what you're agreeing to.
Completion
Inventory and keys
We record the condition of the flat and the meter readings, take photographs and collect the keys. That inventory is what defends your deposit a year from now.
During the tenancy
We don't disappear after signing
If a dispute comes up over the deposit, a rent rise or a repair, you know who to call. We also help with renewals and with the move-out when the time comes.
[ 10 · Voices ]
What tenants say
From people we found a flat or a commercial unit for in Warsaw and the surrounding area.
We arrived in Warsaw with two children and three weeks to find anything at all. We were given five flats to see in a single day, all near the school. We took the second and signed an agreement that somebody had walked us through sentence by sentence.
The agreement the landlord gave me said nothing about notice, and it ran for two years. Villa Estate proposed amendments and the landlord accepted them. A year later I changed jobs and moved out without any trouble at all.
I was looking for a unit for my practice and would have had no idea what to ask. They checked the permitted use, the notice terms and who pays for the fit-out. It turned out the first place I liked couldn't legally house my business at all.
[ 11 · Questions ]
Before you ask
The questions tenants ask most often. If yours isn't here, write to us and we'll answer it personally.
We agree the fee before the search starts and write it into the contract — nothing gets added along the way. The amount depends on what you're looking for and how wide the scope is, so we quote it after the first conversation. That conversation itself is free.
An occasional tenancy requires a notarial declaration naming the address you would move to when the agreement ends, and it gives the landlord a much faster route to eviction. It isn't a bad thing in itself and is sometimes the condition of getting a good flat — but you need to know what you're agreeing to, and we explain it before you sign.
From the land register and the documents. We check the register number, the owner and any encumbrances, and if the agreement is being signed by an attorney or a manager, their authority to do so. It's one of the commonest sources of fraud on the Warsaw rental market and one of the first things we verify.
On the Warsaw market, usually one or two months' rent. It comes back after the tenancy ends, once the bills are settled and the flat is compared against the inventory — which is exactly why we insist that inventory exists and is thorough. The deadline for its return should be stated in the agreement.
Yes, and we tell the landlord up front rather than hiding it until signing. Plenty of adverts rule out pets reflexively, and faced with a specific, verified tenant an owner often changes their mind. We then put the permission in the agreement so it can't be revisited.
Yes, and we do it regularly. Viewings are done on video, we go through the agreement in an online meeting, and signing can be arranged by post or through an attorney. We handle tenancies in Polish, English, Ukrainian and Russian.
Yes. Offices, service, retail and hospitality units, and flats for staff. Commercial units bring in questions flats don't: permitted use, consents, the scope of the fit-out and who pays for it. We check all of that before signing.
With clear criteria and a realistic budget, usually two to three weeks from the first conversation to the keys. What slows it down most is an inflexible move-in date, or criteria too narrow for the budget — and we say so plainly at the start.
[ 12 · The search ]
Tell us what you're after.
Write and tell us where you want to live, at what budget and from when. Within one working day we'll come back with an honest read on the situation, some first suggestions and clear terms — no obligation, and no adding you to a mailing list.
- The first conversation is free and commits you to nothing.
- A lawyer reads the agreement before you sign it.
- Your details stay with Villa Estate. We don't sell them and we don't share them.