TBS social rental flats in Poland: income limits and how to apply

A TBS (Towarzystwo Budownictwa Społecznego) is a social housing company that builds flats for rent to households with low or moderate income. It is a different thing from a municipal flat and from a market rental. This guide uses two local pages as examples, from the TBS in Zamość (current conditions page, read 19 October 2026, undated) and the city of Bielsko-Biała (call for applications, 27 March 2026), plus two Ministry of Development and Technology news items from 2026 about a planned reform. Rules and amounts differ from city to city.

How a TBS flat works

The Zamość TBS says applicants must meet four conditions:

• they cannot hold a legal title to another dwelling in the same town, such as ownership, a cooperative right or a municipal or service tenancy; if they do, they declare they will give it up by the day before taking the flat;
• their household income must allow them to pay rent but stay under the upper income limits set by the law on social forms of housing development;
• after signing a participation agreement, they pay a percentage of the construction cost of the flat;
• they pay a security deposit within 7 days before signing the lease.

Applications are reviewed by a qualification commission. The Zamość page says the law sets no lower income limit, but the commission checks whether the household can pay the rent and other costs. Documents named on that page are the application, a tax office certificate of last year's income and an income declaration.

An example with numbers: Bielsko-Biała

The city's page describes a call for 60 flats in a new TBS building, with keys planned for 31 May 2028. Applications ran from 30 March to 17 April 2026. According to the city:

• Participation in construction costs is 19.77 percent of the flat's value, counted at 9,762 zloty per square metre. That is about 53,000 zloty for the smallest flats and about 148,500 zloty for the largest. The city says the smallest flats need at least about 60,000 zloty in total and the largest about 170,000 zloty in funds.
• The deposit is 12 months of rent, due in May 2028. Rent at the time of the call was 22.41 zloty per square metre per month.
• The household's average monthly income over the last three months cannot be lower than five times the rent. The page gives 3,075.77 zloty for a studio and 4,006.91 zloty for a two-room flat.
• Upper income limits are 8,501.20 zloty for one person and 11,901.68 zloty for two. Each further person adds 35 percent of the base amount.
• You do not need to live in the city to apply. Points are given for things such as medical professions, graduates under 30, age under 40 and parents with children.
• Tenants can apply for rent subsidies from the Subsidy Fund.

* Photos: residential buildings at Malczewskiego street, Bielsko-Biała (cover and body), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, used as illustrations only; they do not show a TBS project.

A planned reform, not yet law

On 19 May 2026 the ministry said a draft act on social housing resources had been entered into the government's work list. According to the ministry, it would cut participation from up to 30 percent to at most 10 percent of construction cost, remove it for part of the flats reserved for people under 35, add tenant councils and an income check for tenants. A second item dated 30 July 2026 describes a draft that would put state guarantees on consumer loans used to pay participation, with repayment extended from 10 to 15 years. The ministry says it does not bring back the "bezpieczny kredyt 2%". These are drafts. Do not plan around them until they are passed and published.

What the sources do not say

None of the pages say whether non-citizens can apply, or whether residence permits or registration matter. The Zamość page says nothing about amounts. The Bielsko-Biała figures are for one call in one city. Ask the TBS company in your city for its own rules.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to live in the city to apply for a TBS flat?

In Bielsko-Biała, the city says you do not need to be a resident. Other TBS companies may differ.

Do I pay a deposit and a participation fee?

According to both local pages, yes: a participation payment based on construction cost and a security deposit. Amounts vary by project.

Is the participation cap of 10 percent in force?

No. The ministry describes it as part of a draft act announced on 19 May 2026.

Sources

• TBS Zamość: conditions of lease in the TBS system (undated, read 19 Oct 2026)
• Bielsko-Biała city: TBS call for applications (27 Mar 2026)
• Ministry of Development and Technology: new rules for social housing (19 May 2026)
• Ministry of Development and Technology: cheaper participation in SIM and TBS (30 Jul 2026)