September 2025 brought an unexpected twist to Poland’s housing rental market. According to data from Otodom, the number of active listings was 15% higher than a month earlier, while responses to ads surged 40% year-on-year. Despite this remarkable activity, average rental prices rose by just 1%. The data suggest that the Polish rental market is maturing — and that its shape is increasingly influenced not only by students but also by young professionals from Generation Z.
Post-summer boom in listings
September marked one of the busiest months in Poland’s rental market history. Otodom reports that the number of active rental listings exceeded 26,000, up nearly 15% from August. Landlords added over 22,000 new offers in just one month — 20% more than in the previous period.
The increase in supply was visible both in major metropolitan areas such as Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Poznań, Katowice, and Łódź (average +15% month-on-month) and in smaller cities that had seen declines during the summer. Kielce recorded a 28% increase in available apartments, Lublin 23%, and Opole 20%.
Experts explain that this rise in listings is largely due to landlords shifting from short-term to long-term rental strategies after the holiday season.
“Many property owners who experimented with short-term rentals during the summer decided to return to the long-term model in autumn. Some were disappointed with the performance of the tourist segment, which turned out weaker than last year. This trend was especially visible in the Tri-City area, where new listings jumped by almost one-third in September compared to August. More and more landlords now choose long-term rentals as a more stable and predictable source of income,” explains Agata Stachowiak, housing market expert at Otodom.
Generation Z reshapes the market
The wave of new listings met an equally strong wave of demand. In September, responses to rental ads on Otodom reached 604,000, up 12% month-on-month and 40% year-on-year — the second-highest figure since 2018.
A large share of this surge came from young tenants. According to the report “Happy Home. The Meaning(s) of Housing Changes”, one key group were so-called educational nomads — people aged 18–25, mainly students beginning a new academic year in major university cities. Their preferences and budgets had a measurable effect on the market — for instance, Warsaw saw a notable rise in interest for flats priced up to PLN 3,000 per month.
But it wasn’t just students driving demand.
“September 2025 marks the point when the largest Generation Z cohort entered the rental market. People born around the turn of the millennium, starting their professional careers, increasingly choose to live independently. Unlike previous generations, who prioritized owning a home, this group sees renting as a conscious and long-term lifestyle choice. The rise in demand for studios confirms this shift, while growing interest in two-room apartments shows that renting is becoming a natural choice not only for students but also for young couples and families,” adds Stachowiak.
A new chapter for Poland’s rental market
How much did tenants have to pay?
In September, Warsaw remained the most expensive city, with an average rent of over PLN 4,900 per month. Other academic hubs such as Kraków (PLN 3,300), Tri-City (PLN 3,200), and Wrocław (PLN 3,100) followed. Mid-sized cities like Rzeszów, Lublin, Poznań, and Szczecin ranged between PLN 2,500–2,800, while the lowest prices were recorded in eastern and southeastern Poland, where tenants could still find offers around PLN 2,000–2,200.
Remarkably, average rents remained stable despite the surge in demand. Year-on-year, prices increased by just 1%, with monthly growth averaging 0.09%.
“The stability of rental prices despite high demand shows that traditional market mechanisms don’t always work in direct proportion. Landlords are increasingly focused on building long-term relationships with tenants, avoiding rent hikes that could drive them away. Strong market competition also naturally restrains price increases. Moreover, tenants now operate within clear budget limits — exceeding them simply rules out a given offer,” notes Stachowiak.
From ownership to renting – a structural shift
The combination of stable prices and rising demand and supply may point to a deeper transformation in Poland’s housing model — from a culture of ownership to one resembling Western Europe, where renting is a common and accepted form of living.
“Poland’s rental market appears to be entering a phase of stability, professionalism, and predictability. This evolution benefits both tenants and property owners, but it also requires clear legal and institutional frameworks from the state. The key challenge will be to strike a balance between protecting tenant rights and encouraging long-term rental investment,” concludes Agata Stachowiak.
Source: CEO.com.pl – Polish Rental Market Report, September 2025
