Can You Pay Rent in Cash in Poland? The Rules and Safe Practice

Yes – you can pay rent for a flat in cash. When the landlord is a private individual, no law requires a bank transfer, and the often-cited 15 000 zł limit applies only to transactions between businesses and has nothing to do with "AML rules". Cash has one serious weakness: it is harder to prove you paid. So get a written receipt for every payment.

What the law says about paying rent in cash

How and when rent is paid is agreed by the parties in the lease. The Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny) only requires the tenant to pay on the agreed date, and if the agreement does not specify a date – for a lease longer than one month, rent is paid in advance by the tenth day of the month (Art. 669 of the Civil Code, consolidated text Dz.U. z 2026 r. poz. 795). The form of payment – cash, bank transfer or BLIK – therefore depends on what the parties have agreed. The same goes for an occasional lease (najem okazjonalny): the Tenants' Rights Protection Act (ustawa o ochronie praw lokatorów) imposes no obligation to pay by non-cash means.

The 15 000 zł limit – who it really applies to

The limit comes from Art. 19 of the Business Law Act (ustawa – Prawo przedsiębiorców) (consolidated text Dz.U. z 2025 r. poz. 1480). A payment must go through a business's payment account only when both of these conditions are met:

• the payment is related to business activity and the other party to the transaction is another business,
• the one-off value of the transaction exceeds 15 000 zł – regardless of the number of payments it is split into.

A private landlord does not run a business, and under an occasional lease cannot do so in respect of renting out flats (Art. 19a(1) of the Tenants' Rights Protection Act). The limit therefore does not apply to a typical agreement between a private individual and a tenant. It matters only when both parties act as businesses – e.g. a company renting a flat for an employee from a landlord who runs a business. In that case what counts is the value of the whole transaction, not a single instalment, and a company that pays in cash above the limit cannot treat that amount as a tax-deductible cost (Art. 22p of the Personal Income Tax Act (ustawa o PIT)).

What about anti-money laundering rules?

The Act on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ustawa o przeciwdziałaniu praniu pieniędzy oraz finansowaniu terroryzmu, consolidated text Dz.U. z 2025 r. poz. 644) does not prohibit paying rent in cash. Its Art. 72 requires so-called obliged institutions (including banks) to report deposits and withdrawals exceeding the equivalent of 15 000 euro – this is a reporting obligation for institutions, not a limit for tenants and landlords.

Cash and the landlord's tax

The form of payment does not change tax obligations. With private rentals, the flat-rate tax (ryczałt) applies to money received by the landlord or placed at their disposal (Art. 6(1a) of the Flat-Rate Income Tax Act (ustawa o zryczałtowanym podatku dochodowym)) – rent handed over in cash is just as much income as a bank transfer. We cover the rates, deadlines and the PIT-28 return in our article on the taxes paid by landlords. Bear in mind that if spending exceeds the income declared to the tax authorities, the excess may be taxed as income from undisclosed sources at a rate of 75% (Art. 25b–25e of the PIT Act). Hiding rent "because it was cash" is therefore a bad idea.

The biggest risk: proving that you paid

A bank transfer leaves a trail at the bank; cash leaves one only if you have a receipt. The law is on the payer's side here: a debtor who performs an obligation may demand a receipt from the creditor (Art. 462 § 1 of the Civil Code). If the landlord refuses to issue a receipt, the tenant may withhold payment or deposit the money with the court (Art. 463 KC).

Having no proof of payment can have serious consequences. Rent arrears for at least three full payment periods – after a written warning and an additional one-month deadline to pay – allow the landlord to terminate the agreement (Art. 11(2)(2) of the Tenants' Rights Protection Act). This provision also applies to an occasional lease (Art. 19e). Under an occasional lease the tenant submits to enforcement in advance in a notarial deed, so once the agreement is terminated the path to vacating the flat is short – we describe how it works in our article on the eviction procedure under an occasional lease. In a dispute over alleged arrears, your receipts will be your only evidence.

What a rent receipt should include

• the date and place the money was handed over,
• the amount in figures and in words,
• what the payment is for: rent, service charges, utilities or the deposit – listed separately,
• the period the payment covers (e.g. "rent for December 2026"),
• the address of the flat and the date of the lease agreement,
• the landlord's full name and legible signature.

Keep your receipts for the whole tenancy and after it ends – they will also come in handy when settling the deposit.

Cash or bank transfer – a comparison

How to pay rent without cash

The simplest solution is a standing order set up a few days before the due date in the agreement. The transfer reference should clearly state what you are paying for, e.g. "Rent for 12/2026, ul. Przykładowa 1/2, agreement of 1.10.2026". If you pay rent and utilities separately, make separate transfers or break down the amount in the reference. It is best to write the landlord's account number into the agreement – that way there is no doubt if someone asks you to pay into a different account.

If the agreement provides for cash but you prefer a transfer (or vice versa), change that clause with an annex. An occasional lease agreement and any amendments to it must be made in writing on pain of invalidity (Art. 19a(6) of the Tenants' Rights Protection Act).

Foreigners: do the authorities require bank transfers?

The law does not require a foreigner to pay rent by bank transfer. For address registration (meldunek) or residence matters, what you mainly need is a document confirming your right to occupy the flat, i.e. the lease agreement – more in our guide on registering your address in a rented flat. However, if in any proceedings you need to show that you actually live at a given address and bear the costs, your transfer history is the easiest evidence to present.

Planning an occasional lease and need a statement from the owner of another property (oświadczenie właściciela), which the market calls a "guarantee" (poręczenie) or an "address"? You will find the options and prices on our page of documents for an occasional lease.

Frequently asked questions