Selling an Inherited Flat Step by Step – Division of the Estate and Costs

Selling an inherited flat is possible only once the heirs confirm their rights with a document: a registered notarial deed certifying inheritance (akt poświadczenia dziedziczenia) or a final court decision confirming the acquisition of the estate. Then the estate must be reported to the tax office, the heirs disclosed in the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta), and a method of sale chosen: all together, after the division of the estate, or a sale of a share. Below we describe each stage with costs, deadlines and an example for three siblings.

Key facts

• Towards the buyer and the notary, you can prove your right to the estate only with a confirmation of the acquisition of the estate or a registered notarial deed certifying inheritance (Art. 1027 of the Civil Code, "k.c.").
• At a notary the maximum fee is PLN 100 for the inheritance record and PLN 50 for the deed certifying inheritance (plus 23% VAT); in court the fee for the application is PLN 100.
• Close family keeps the exemption from inheritance tax if it reports the acquisition on form SD-Z2 within 6 months.
• Entering the heirs in the land register costs PLN 150 – one fee, regardless of the number of shares.
• Before the division of the estate, selling the whole flat requires the signature of all heirs, and selling a share in the flat requires the consent of the others (Art. 1036 k.c.).

Step 1: notarial deed certifying inheritance or a court confirmation of acquisition of the estate?

Heirs acquire the flat at the moment the deceased dies, but a sale requires a document that confirms it. The Civil Code provides two equal routes (Art. 1025 k.c.): a court decision confirming the acquisition of the estate, or a deed certifying inheritance drawn up by a notary. A registered deed certifying inheritance has the effect of a final court decision (Art. 95j of the Notaries Act), so the buyer and the buyer's bank should not treat it any worse.

Notary – fast, but only if everyone agrees

The notary first draws up an inheritance record with the participation of all persons who may come into play as statutory or testamentary heirs (Art. 95b). If someone lives abroad, they do not have to come to the same meeting: the notary may prepare a draft record, and each person confirms it separately, also before another notary (Art. 95ca). After the record, the notary draws up the deed and enters it in the Register of Estates.

The notary will refuse if not all potential heirs appear, if there is an unopened will, or if there are doubts about the circle of heirs or the size of the shares (Art. 95e). In a family dispute, that leaves the court.

Court – longer, but it works even in a conflict

An application to confirm the acquisition of the estate is filed with the court of the deceased's last place of habitual residence (Art. 628 of the Code of Civil Procedure, "k.p.c."). The court holds a hearing, summons the deceased's spouse, children, parents and siblings (Art. 669 k.p.c.) and checks of its own motion whether there was a will (Art. 670 k.p.c.). The time depends on the court's workload and on whether all participants appear. Important for both routes: neither a confirmation of acquisition of the estate nor a deed certifying inheritance can be issued before 6 months have passed since the death, unless all known heirs have already declared acceptance or renunciation of the estate (Art. 1026 k.c.).

Item	Notary	Court
Fee for the document itself	PLN 50 (deed) + PLN 100 (record), net	PLN 100 for the application
Declaration of acceptance/renunciation of the estate	PLN 50 each, net	PLN 100 for the application to receive the declaration
Entry in the Register of Estates	PLN 5	PLN 5
Consent of all required	yes	no
Earliest	6 months from the death or after the declarations of all heirs

Step 2: SD-Z2 and the land register – formalities before the sale

A spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, a stepchild, a stepfather and a stepmother are exempt from inheritance tax if they report the acquisition to the head of the tax office (form SD-Z2) within 6 months of the court decision becoming final or of the registration of the deed certifying inheritance (Art. 4a of the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act). A late report means tax at the rates of the first group. This is a separate matter from the sale – income tax on the sale and counting the 5 years are described in the article tax on selling an inherited flat.

The owner of a property is obliged to disclose their right in the land register without delay (Art. 35 of the Land and Mortgage Registers Act). For an application to enter ownership or the cooperative ownership right on the basis of inheritance or division of the estate, the court charges a single fee of PLN 150, regardless of the number of heirs (Art. 42 sec. 3 of the Act on Court Costs). Since 17 March 2026, a notary who draws up a deed certifying inheritance files, at the heir's request, the application for entry in the land register electronically (Art. 95ga and 95j § 2 of the Notaries Act) – one visit fewer.

Must the land register entry be ready before the sale deed? Formally the seller is the heir, and their title results from the inheritance document. In practice, the buyer's bank, which establishes a mortgage, may want to see the current owners in the register, so it is better to file the application straight away. The full list of papers for the deed, including the certificate from the tax office, is in the article documents for selling a flat.

Sale by several heirs – three variants

If several people inherited the flat, until the estate is divided they are co-owners in fractional shares (Art. 1035 k.c.). Hence three possible scenarios.

Variant A: all heirs sell together

The simplest route: in the notarial deed (Art. 158 k.c.) all heirs appear as sellers, and the price goes to each according to their share – separate accounts can be named in the deed. Anyone who cannot attend grants a power of attorney in the form of a notarial deed, because the power of attorney must take the same form as the sale (Art. 99 § 1 k.c.). Details in the guide power of attorney for selling a flat. A division of the estate is then not needed.

Variant B: division of the estate, then sale by one person

A division of the estate may be contractual or judicial (Art. 1037 k.c.). An agreement on the division of an estate that includes real estate requires a notarial deed; the basis of the notary's fee is the value of the divided property, and for persons in the first tax group the fee will not exceed PLN 7500 net. An application for a court division of the estate costs PLN 500, and with an agreed division plan – PLN 300 (Art. 51 of the Act on Court Costs). If one heir takes the flat and pays out the others, 2% PCC (civil law transactions tax) is due on pay-outs exceeding the value of their share.

Variant C: sale of a share in the inherited flat

Before the division, an heir can dispose of their share in the flat only with the consent of the others. Without it, the sale is ineffective to the extent that it would infringe their rights in the division of the estate (Art. 1036 k.c.). The Code gives co-heirs no right of pre-emption here for ownership of a flat, but in practice the consent requires an agreement anyway. Another route is to transfer the whole inheritance share, rather than a share in the flat itself (Art. 1051–1052 k.c., notarial deed) – the purchaser then steps into the heir's rights and obligations, including debts. Selling a share alone rarely gets a good price, because the buyer acquires co-ownership with strangers. A similar problem with co-ownership after divorce is described in the article selling a flat after divorce.

Not sure which variant to choose, or what the flat inherited from your parents is really worth? Order a valuation and sale plan – we will help prepare the documents and carry out the sale so that all heirs know what they are signing and when.

Example: three siblings sell a 2-room flat in Warsaw

The mother, a widow, died without a will. The three children inherit in equal parts, 1/3 each (Art. 931 § 1 k.c.). We assume the siblings sell a 2-room flat in an apartment block for PLN 720 000. The price must be set on the basis of transactions in the area (a reliable valuation is made by a valuer – see valuation report). As a reference point: according to TM Invest offer data as at 27.09.2026, the median price of a new 2-room flat in Warsaw is PLN 755 824 (median 39.4 m² and PLN 18 600/m²). This is competition from the primary market, against which the buyer will compare your offer – current prices of new flats can be checked in the catalogue of developments in Warsaw.

Stage	Where	Cost (maximum rates)	Time
Record and deed certifying inheritance	notary	PLN 150 + PLN 34.50 VAT + PLN 5 register = PLN 189.50 + copies	after 6 months from the death – one visit
SD-Z2 report (each sibling)	tax office	no fee	6 months from registration of the deed
Land register entry	court (application filed by the notary)	PLN 150	depends on the court
Sale deed – all siblings sign	notary	fee as agreed by the parties	after finding a buyer
Division of the price	sale deed	PLN 240 000 per person	at the deed or by transfers

For comparison, variant B: one sister takes over the flat in a contractual division of the estate and pays out her brother and sister PLN 240 000 each. The maximum notary's fee on a value of PLN 720 000 is PLN 1010 + 0.4% × PLN 660 000 = PLN 3650 net (PLN 4489.50 with VAT). On the pay-outs (PLN 480 000 above her share) she will pay 2% PCC, i.e. PLN 9600. Variant B makes sense when someone wants to keep the flat. If everyone wants to sell, a joint sale is clearly cheaper.

A flat inherited from a parent with a mortgage or debts

A mortgage does not disappear with the borrower's death – it encumbers the flat, and the debt passes to the heirs. The extent of their liability depends on how the estate is accepted (Art. 1012 and 1031 k.c.). With simple acceptance they are liable without limit. With acceptance with the benefit of inventory – only up to the value of the estate's assets according to the list or inventory. Anyone who makes no declaration within 6 months of learning of being called to the estate accepts it with the benefit of inventory (Art. 1015 k.c.).

Until the estate is divided, the heirs are jointly and severally liable for the debts; after the division – in proportion to their shares (Art. 1034 k.c.). The sale itself proceeds as with any flat with a mortgage: the bank issues a certificate of the balance and consent to delete the mortgage after repayment, and the buyer transfers part of the price directly to the bank. We describe this step by step in the article selling a flat with a mortgage.

Cooperative ownership right to a flat inherited from the deceased

The cooperative ownership right to a flat (spółdzielcze własnościowe prawo do lokalu) passes to the heirs and can be sold in the form of a notarial deed, and the notary sends a copy to the cooperative (Art. 17² of the Housing Cooperatives Act). Two differences compared with separate ownership:

• Where the right passed to several heirs, they should, within a year of the death, appoint from among themselves a representative for matters concerning the flat; if they do not, the court may appoint a representative (Art. 17⁹).
• On a sale of a fractional part of the right, the other co-holders have a statutory right of pre-emption – the agreement is concluded conditionally, and omitting this procedure makes it invalid (Art. 17² sec. 6).

If the flat has no land register, the notary or the cooperative will indicate which certificates are needed. Also consider converting the right into separate ownership beforehand – we write more about this in the guide to selling a flat step by step.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

The order for selling an inherited flat is fixed: the inheritance document (a notary for about PLN 190 or the court for PLN 105), the SD-Z2 report within 6 months, the land register entry for PLN 150, and then the choice of variant. When all heirs want to sell, the cheapest option is to sign the deed together and divide the price according to the shares. A division of the estate pays off mainly when someone wants to keep the flat. If you plan to buy a new flat with the inheritance money, read how to coordinate the sale with the purchase.

Do you want to sell the inherited flat efficiently and without disputes over the price? Order a valuation and sale plan – we will help prepare and carry out the sale. And if you are buying a new flat with the inheritance money, we will help you choose one – in most cases with no commission for the buyer, as the developer usually pays our fee.

Legal position as at September 2026. The calculations are indicative, and the notary's fees are maximum rates. This article is not legal or tax advice – in disputed matters consult a notary or a lawyer.

Sources

• Civil Code – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 795 (Art. 99, 158, 931, 1012, 1015, 1025–1027, 1031, 1034–1037, 1051–1052).
• Notaries Act – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 614 (Art. 95a–95p).
• Code of Civil Procedure – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 468 (Art. 669–670).
• Regulation on maximum rates of notarial fees – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2024 item 1566 (§ 3, § 8 pt 9, § 10a, § 12).
• Regulation on fees for entries in the Register of Estates – Dz.U. 2016 item 1420.
• Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2025 item 1228 (Art. 42, 49, 51).
• Land and Mortgage Registers Act – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 1066 (Art. 35–36).
• Inheritance and Gift Tax Act – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 478 (Art. 4a).
• Act on Tax on Civil Law Transactions – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 191 (Art. 1 sec. 1 pt 1 lit. f, Art. 6, Art. 7).
• Housing Cooperatives Act – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 889 (Art. 17², 17⁹).
• Family and Guardianship Code – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026 item 236 (Art. 101).
• Flat prices: TM Invest investment catalogue, as at 27.09.2026.