It is estimated that Poland still lacks 1.5 to 2 million housing units, despite decades of development investments and several support programs aimed at helping young people acquire their first homes. In this context, much is being said about the need to accelerate the development of social rental housing, but for this, land is required. To this end, 800 hectares of State Treasury land have been allocated within the National Real Estate Resource (Krajowy Zasób Nieruchomości, KZN), which are managed jointly with local governments. This pool of land suitable for residential construction could be up to three times larger.
“We have 800 hectares of land in various locations within the National Real Estate Resource — both in large cities and smaller towns, as well as rural areas. The vast majority of this land is already designated for residential construction, because only lands identified as potentially suitable for residential development enter the national resource,” said Dr. habilitated Adam Czerniak, Professor at the Warsaw School of Economics and Deputy President of KZN, in an interview with the Newseria news agency. “The main task of KZN is to analyze State Treasury lands specifically from the perspective of the possibility to carry out residential investments, especially social housing projects, and prepare them for transfer to municipalities, contribution in kind to social housing initiatives, or to special purpose vehicles that will build rental apartments with relatively affordable rents.”
According to a 2022 PwC report, the housing gap in Poland was estimated at 2 million dwellings, despite the fact that the housing stock in the country has been steadily increasing. Between 2010 and 2020, it grew from 13.5 million to 15 million units — an increase of 1.5 million. Research by McKinsey indicates that this is roughly the number still needed to meet all housing demands of Poles. The problem is not so much the overall shortage of dwellings nationwide, because the number of vacant units would fully cover the estimated deficit, but rather the quality and location of these homes. The shortage is concentrated mainly in the largest metropolitan areas and their satellite towns, which are attracting growing populations, while smaller towns far from urban centers are losing residents.
Another challenge is the large group of people in the so-called “rent gap,” meaning those who cannot afford a mortgage loan and simultaneously do not meet the criteria for obtaining municipal housing. In areas where the commercial market does not offer real solutions and housing needs are met only within families, the National Real Estate Resource, cooperating with local governments, develops Social Housing Initiatives (Społeczne Inicjatywy Mieszkaniowe, SIM) — projects building rental apartments with the option to eventually purchase them. These investments are carried out in places where they are most needed but least profitable for the private sector. KZN holds shares in over 500 SIM projects nationwide.
“KZN primarily manages State Treasury land, and land is currently the biggest constraint on residential construction, especially in large locations. Good management of the remaining Treasury land — including removing agricultural status, transforming, equipping infrastructure, preparing local development plans or zoning conditions — unlocks these lands for residential construction. Thanks to this, we at KZN can indirectly contribute to increasing housing supply,” explained Prof. Adam Czerniak. “Besides this core role, we advise local governments on how to obtain funding, both from the state budget — e.g., the Subsidy Fund or SBC [social rental housing loan] — and from commercial sources. We also support local governments in implementing housing investments, overseeing projects, and advising at every stage on what should be done and when to ensure smooth and timely project completion.”
KZN also works with local authorities to identify housing needs for specific areas, including how many units can be built and their size. The expert emphasizes that several legal changes could streamline KZN’s operations and thus further support housing development in Poland.
“One such change that would greatly help us is expanding the catalog of State Treasury lands we are allowed to analyze. Currently, we can analyze about 1 million hectares, which is only about 10% of all the land owned by the Treasury. Our preliminary assessments suggest we should be able to analyze 2 to 3 million hectares, because such a large resource offers locations suitable for residential investments, especially social housing,” the KZN Deputy President said.
Over the last 20 years, several government programs have been introduced to support housing availability for young families. The first was “Rodzina na Swoim” (Family on Their Own), under which the State Treasury subsidized mortgage installments for the first eight years of the loan period. The program operated from 2007 to 2012. Its successor was “Mieszkanie dla Młodych” (Apartment for the Young), available between 2014 and 2018, aimed at enabling young people to purchase their first home through a one-time down payment subsidy given at the time of mortgage loan disbursement. In 2023, for half a year, the “Bezpieczny Kredyt 2%” (Safe 2% Loan) program operated, where the state subsidized mortgage loan repayments taken from banks. In all these cases, the support related to easing access to or repayment of commercial mortgage loans.
According to the KZN Deputy President, the effectiveness of public housing policies depends not only on the scale of funds allocated but primarily on how those funds are used. At a conference organized by the National Bank of Poland in Gdańsk, he compared Polish housing policy approaches with Austrian ones. Although Poland spends more on housing in both absolute terms and relative to GDP, the outcomes differ. In Poland, the dominant model is non-refundable investment grants for municipalities and subsidies to mortgage loans for individuals. In Austria, public funds are largely directed toward repayable instruments supporting rental housing construction and benefits for the lowest-income individuals. As a result, Austria produces more housing units per euro of public support and achieves durability of the housing stock — owners lack incentives to sell properties because rents cover maintenance costs.
“The biggest challenge for housing policy in Poland is the ongoing debate and resulting political deadlock,” diagnoses the Warsaw School of Economics professor. “We need to finally sit down together, discuss all arguments, rely on substantive knowledge and scientific research, and create a housing program accepted by all political sides — not just for the next term but for at least 10 years. Housing policy must be conducted over the long term because residential construction takes time, and the buildings created, along with the conditions under which tenants are accepted, will outlast one, two, or even often ten legislative terms.”
According to KZN, in the period from January to March 2025, 740 social rental housing units were put into use under TBS and SIM programs — 21.1% more than the previous year and more than all municipal, cooperative, and commercial rental apartments combined (725 units). Of these, 122 apartments were delivered by Social Housing Initiatives involving KZN participation, the highest number ever (16.5%).
Preliminary data from the Central Statistical Office shows that from January to April 2025, 62,200 dwellings were completed — 3.3% fewer than in the same period in 2024. Developers handed over 37,700 apartments — 2.9% less than a year earlier, while individual investors completed 22,900 units — 4.5% less. These two forms accounted for 97.5% of all new housing. Other forms (social, municipal, cooperative, employer housing) contributed only 1,500 dwellings.
