Cheap accommodation from agencies in Poland – is it worth it?

Most foreigners who have ever thought about working in Poland have thought not only about the salary, but also about where they will live. In an effort to earn as much as possible, the logic is quite simple – to reduce costs to a minimum, for everything. Including housing.

Of course, not everyone is guided by this logic, because some people believe that there is only one life, and saving for six months to “live” for a month and a half is not an option.

Others simply see no other way out and try to earn more money in a short period of time.

As mentioned earlier, free or cheap housing is a way to save money and earn more. But this is only at first glance, because there are many pitfalls and surprises associated with this issue, which we will try to consider today in order to be “savvy” in these matters in the future and save ourselves time, nerves and even money.

Disadvantages of free housing in Poland

People love freebies, and psychologically, many people have a preconceived model of behavior that “falls for” them. But rarely does anyone think about the fact that free cheese is only in a mousetrap.

The first disadvantage of cheap housing from an agency in Poland

If there is something free, then most likely someone has already figured out how to make money on it, because no one will work at a loss. It’s a bit like when stores raise the price by 30% before giving a 20% discount on a product. Everyone is happy, and, as they say, wolves are fed and sheep are safe.

“What does housing in Poland have to do with it, and free housing at that?” you may ask. The point is that an employer looking for housing for an employee has to pay for this housing on a monthly basis, and the employee will not pay for it out of his own pocket. Or rather, he will, but then he will compensate for these costs at the expense of his employees.

Let’s say an employer rents an apartment for PLN 3000 per month and moves in 10 employees from the Philippines. He charges each of them PLN 300 per month. Thus, he breaks even or even loses money.
If the employer charges 400 PLN per person, then for the “extra” thousand he compensates his own expenses, often buys the necessary things for such housing – a refrigerator, a bed, or pays for an Internet connection, or simply keeps the excess payment for himself.
The more employees an employer accommodates in one apartment, the cheaper the housing will be and the more he will earn from them in the end.
There are also employers who not only compensate for the price of housing, but also try to make good money on it by looking for housing with poor living conditions and settling a large number of people there.

There is also an option when the employer offers an initial rate for work, but deducts a certain amount per month for housing.

It can be different, but you get the idea – free housing is not free at all, and this is its first major disadvantage.

Very few agencies try to provide employees with good housing conditions because they understand that it is their brand, people’s loyalty to them, low turnover rate, and a constant flow of new employees through word of mouth. There are very few agencies that focus on their own reputation through brand development connection. Unfortunately, the labor market is dominated by “one-day” agencies aka those that look at the short-term perspective of quick earnings. Therefore, you need to be very careful when choosing an agency and choose only reliable employment agencies in Poland.

The second disadvantage of cheap accommodation from an employment agency in Poland

The second disadvantage of free housing is the large number of people living in the apartment, neighbors of different nationalities, and, as a rule, the specifics of living.

Large groups of people in such worker hostels often make noise, get together, and drink alcohol. This means that there is often a complete lack of personal space. If you add to this the hard work of long hours, stress, and being in a foreign country, it can be an unbearable experience for some. It is sometimes even difficult to talk on the phone to your family without having ears on you.

There are also purely domestic inconveniences, such as the queue for the toilet (especially in the morning when everyone is in a hurry to get to work) and the queue for the shower (when everyone is after work and wants to quickly wash and go to bed), or, for example, the smelly feet of a roommate with whom you have to verbally fight to get him to go wash them.

You will also have to fight with yourself, because if you have a weak willpower, then companies of drunks will constantly invite you to “relax” with a drink after work, and if you give in, you will eventually get involved in this shit and lose your purpose of coming to Poland and your reference point in life. You may even think that you live like you do in your home country, only you earn more. Be careful with alcohol in Poland. Remember your primary purpose for coming here.

The third disadvantage of cheap housing from an employment agency in Poland

The third disadvantage is somewhat similar to the second one and can be called a lack of comfort. Yes, the living conditions may even be good, but the large number of people makes it all seem like living in a barracks, where you start to feel like a real guest worker, as it is written about on the Internet and not only.

Advantages of cheap accommodation from employment agencies in Poland

The first advantage of cheap housing from an agency in Poland

Among the main advantages, of course, is the relative cheapness. 350-400 PLN per month seems like a low payment, but most likely it will be at least 650 zlotys per person. In the best case scenario, you will share a room with three other neighbors, which means 1950-2200 PLN per room for all of you.

For this amount you can rent an apartment yourself and live with friends, but to do this you might need to know the language, pay the rent, know whether there is additional house keeping community rent and what is its monthly fee… and many other complicated nuances that you can read about in this article (How to rent an apartment in Poland yourself).

The second advantage of cheap housing from an employment agency in Poland

The second, main advantage is the lack of hassle associated with finding accommodation. This includes language skills, the fact that it takes time and money to call those who rent housing, and you need to know the city to get to and see a potential apartment, and it is better to do it by car, and sometimes foreigners are refused just because property owner hears an accent and does not want to rent a flat to foreign people. It is because in the past he/she usually had bad experience with foreign workers housing his real estate. For example, foreigners who rent an apartment were often drinking, were rowdy, littered, and the owner does not want to rent to foreigners anymore.

The third advantage of cheap housing from an agency in Poland

The third advantage is that you don’t have to pay a deposit. For those who do not know what it is, I will briefly explain. When you rent an apartment in Poland, you have to pay a deposit for the first month in the amount of the monthly rent.

That is, if renting an apartment costs PLN 1500 per month, then you will need to pay PLN 3000 for the first month – PLN 1500 for the deposit and PLN 1500 for the rent.

Deposit (in Polish: kaucja) is an amount that is returned to you at the end of the rental period and serves as a deposit for possible damage to the apartment property. For example, if the tenant damages the furniture, appliances, in short, commits some kind of vandalism against the property. Everything that the tenant may not be refunded the deposit for in case of damage is described in the rental agreement.

The fourth advantage of cheap housing from an agency in Poland

The fourth advantage is the absence of rent to the cooperative. Rent to the cooperative is another payment that is often an unpleasant surprise for foreigners who rent housing in Poland. Rent to the cooperative is similar to a payment to a utility company or condominium in many countries.

It includes payment to the community for garbage collection, elevator work, territory cleaning, and other services. There are houses without rent to the cooperative, and there are houses with rent to the cooperative – all this is mentioned in Polish housing renting announcements and you need to pay attention to it.

For example, an announcement may often say that an apartment is rented for PLN 1400 per month, but there is also a rent to the cooperative (in Polish: czynsz) of PLN 450 per month, plus utilities, and the total will be PLN 1900-2100 per month.

Who migh be happy with free accommodation from employment agencies in Poland?

1. Those who are going to work in Poland for the first time. I think it is necessary, unless you are going to a reliable friend and will live with him/her
2. Those who have little or no money to start with
3. Seasonal workers who go for a few months to earn as much as possible in a short or relatively short period of time
4. Those who do not know Polish at all and will not be able to look for accommodation on their own
5. Those who have good living conditions and at the same time good pay

Who is better off looking for rented housing in Poland?

1. Those who want to settle in Poland for a long period of time or permanently
2. Couples, especially couples with children, who have been in Poland for a long time or are going to live in Poland for a long time
3. Those who have their own goals, plans, like to live in peace, need personal space
4. Those who have enough money to pay for the deposit (kaucja) at the beginning
5. Those who have such a desire and know the language and the city well, or have good friends who can help you find accommodation, make arrangements, and, if necessary, take you to see the options on appartment offered
6. Those who have enough money and earn money at the computer and need peace and comfort to do so – programmers, all IT professions, copywriters, translators, etc.