Selling a Flat Through an Agency or on Your Own? Costs and Risks

Selling a flat through an agency or on your own? Selling on your own saves the commission, but requires time, knowledge and readiness to handle negotiations and documents yourself. An agency costs money – assuming 2% + VAT on a price of PLN 700 thousand, about PLN 17 thousand – but takes over marketing, viewings and coordination of the transaction. Below we compare both options in a table, show what the law says about brokers, and calculate when the commission pays for itself.

Key facts

• A brokerage agreement requires written or electronic form on pain of invalidity (Art. 180 sec. 3 of the Real Estate Management Act).
• The broker must hold mandatory liability (OC) insurance with a minimum guarantee sum of EUR 25 000, and a copy of the policy is an attachment to the agreement.
• Since 1 January 2014 the profession of broker has been deregulated – there is no state licence, but a clean criminal record is required.
• The amount of commission does not follow from the Act – you set it in the agreement. At 2% + 23% VAT on PLN 700 000 it is PLN 17 220.
• As a rule you can withdraw from a brokerage agreement signed away from the agency's premises or at a distance, without giving a reason, within 14 days (Consumer Rights Act).

Agency or selling on your own – comparison in a table

Both ways lead to the same notarial deed. They differ in who does the work along the way and who bears the risk of mistakes. The summary below describes a typical division of tasks – the specific scope of an agency's services always follows from the brokerage agreement.

Criterion	On your own	Through an agency
Cost	No commission; you may pay for premium listings, photos, a valuation	Contractual commission (e.g. 2% + VAT = PLN 17 220 on PLN 700 000) – usually payable after the sale agreement is concluded
Owner's time	Listings, calls, viewings, negotiations, documents – all on your side	Most contacts and viewings are handled by the broker; you make the decisions
Reach	Listing portals and your own contacts	Portals plus the agency's buyer database and cooperation with other agencies (depending on the agreement)
Negotiations	Directly with the buyer – faster, but emotional	Through the broker – a buffer between the parties, easier to hold to an agreed minimum
Legal security	You verify the buyer, the deposit and the draft preliminary agreement yourself	The broker has liability insurance for damage caused in the course of brokerage; the notary is responsible for the deed and its content
Documents	You order certificates and extracts yourself	The broker has a statutory right of access to, among others, land registers and price registers; usually assembles the documents
Viewings	At your convenience, often evenings and weekends	Conducted by the broker, also in your absence

The full map of the stages – from preparing the flat to handing over the keys – is described in the guide selling a flat step by step. This article focuses on a single decision: who is to lead the way.

A real estate broker's duties – what the law says in 2026

The rules of brokerage are governed by chapter 2 of part V of the Real Estate Management Act. A broker is an entrepreneur carrying on business in this field (Art. 179a), and brokerage consists in the paid performance of activities aimed at other persons concluding sale, rental or lease agreements for real estate, and disposal of the cooperative ownership right to a flat (Art. 179b).

• The brokerage agreement defines the scope of activities and must be in written or electronic form – an oral agreement is invalid (Art. 180 sec. 3).
• Clean criminal record – the business may be carried on by a person who has not been finally convicted of, among others, offences against property, economic transactions or the reliability of documents (Art. 180a).
• Liability insurance (OC) – the broker is subject to mandatory civil liability insurance, also for persons acting under their supervision (Art. 181 sec. 3). The minimum guarantee sum is the equivalent of EUR 25 000 per one and all events during the insurance period (regulation of the Minister of Finance of 26 April 2019).
• A copy of the policy with the agreement – the broker attaches it to the agreement and informs you of changes. If they fail to do so, you may call on them in writing to present the policy within 7 days, and then terminate the agreement with immediate effect (Art. 181 sec. 3a–3b).
• Anti-money-laundering – real estate brokers are obligated institutions (Art. 2 sec. 1 pt 18 of the AML Act), so the agency will ask you for an identity document and identification data.

The 2014 deregulation abolished the state broker's licence. In practice this means that agencies' competence varies greatly – before signing an agreement it is worth checking the firm's entry in CEIDG (the business register) or KRS (the court register), the OC policy and how the agency intends to sell your flat.

How much does a broker cost when selling a flat – a worked example

The Act does not set the amount of the broker's remuneration – it is a matter of negotiation. Most often it is a percentage of the price in the sale agreement, to which 23% VAT is added if the agency is an active VAT payer. What typical rates in Warsaw and Wroclaw are and who pays them, we discuss in the article estate agent commission. Here we show how a rate translates into zlotys – the percentages are assumptions for the example, not market data.

Assumed commission	Net on PLN 700 000	VAT 23%	Total gross
1%	PLN 7 000	PLN 1 610	PLN 8 610
1.5%	PLN 10 500	PLN 2 415	PLN 12 915
2%	PLN 14 000	PLN 3 220	PLN 17 220
3%	PLN 21 000	PLN 4 830	PLN 25 830

When does the commission pay for itself?

A commission of PLN 17 220 is 2.46% of the price of PLN 700 000. The agency "earns its keep" if thanks to it you obtain a price at least that much higher, or sell so much faster that you save a comparable amount. Example: if the flat generates PLN 4 000 a month in fixed costs (mortgage instalment, administrative rent, utilities – an assumption), then shortening the sale by 4 months gives PLN 16 000. Added to this is a risk that cannot easily be quantified: a badly written preliminary agreement, an unsecured deposit or a buyer without creditworthiness can cost more than the commission.

There is no reliable public data showing by how much agencies on average raise the price or shorten the time of sale – so we do not give such figures. Compare specific offers: what asking price the agency proposes, on what basis (transactions from the price register, not listings) and what marketing plan it has.

Commission and tax on a sale within 5 years

If you sell before 5 years have passed from the end of the year of acquisition, you pay 19% tax on income. Revenue is the contract price reduced by the costs of the onerous disposal (Art. 19 sec. 1 of the PIT Act), and podatki.gov.pl counts brokerage costs among such costs. In practice a commission of PLN 17 220 reduces the tax by PLN 3 271.80 (19%), so its real cost is about PLN 13 948. You will find details and a worked example in the article tax on selling a flat within 5 years.

Not sure whether an agency will pay off in your case? Order a valuation and sale plan – we will show you the realistic price, the strategy and the cost before you decide.

Selling a flat without a broker – when does it make sense?

Selling on your own is reasonable when you have most of the difficult elements "behind you". It works well in situations such as:

• You have a buyer – a neighbour, a tenant, someone from the family. Then paying for finding a client makes no sense; a notary and possibly a review of the preliminary agreement is enough.
• The legal status is simple – separate ownership with a land register, one owner, no mortgage, inheritance or co-ownership after divorce.
• You are not pressed for time – you can calmly test the price and answer calls for several months.
• You can value the flat from transactions, not listings – how to do it is described in the guide how much is my flat worth.
• You have time for viewings and good photos – practical tips are in the text how to sell a flat quickly.

When selling on your own, be especially careful with the preliminary agreement: its form, the amount of the deposit, the deed date and the condition of the buyer obtaining a mortgage. We discuss this in the article preliminary agreement for the sale of a flat.

Is it worth selling a flat through a broker? When an agency pays off

• You live far away or work during the hours when buyers want to view flats.
• The sale is complicated – a mortgage to be repaid from the price, a flat from inheritance, several co-owners, a cooperative right without a land register.
• You need to align the sale with a purchase – e.g. you are selling the old flat to buy a new one from a developer, and the dates must dovetail.
• You do not like negotiating or you are emotionally attached to the flat – the broker separates you from the buyer's pressure.
• The flat is expensive or unusual – then reach and getting to the right buyers matter more than for a standard studio.

A sale with a mortgage has its own procedure (a certificate from the bank, a promise to release the mortgage, repayment from the price) – we describe it in the guide selling a flat with a mortgage step by step.

The agreement with the agency – what to watch before signing

Most conflicts with estate agencies stem not from the broker's work but from provisions of the agreement that the seller did not read. Before signing, check above all:

• Exclusivity – whether you can sell on your own or through another agency, and if not, what happens then to the commission.
• Duration and termination – for how many months the agreement binds and whether it renews automatically.
• Contractual penalties – e.g. for a sale bypassing the agency or for a change of decision about selling.
• When the commission is paid – at the preliminary agreement or only at the notarial deed, and what happens if the transaction does not go through.
• The "protection" period – whether commission is also due on a sale to a client introduced by the agency after the agreement has expired.
• The attached OC policy and the specific scope of services: photos, listings, viewings, help with documents.

If you sign an agreement away from the agency's premises (e.g. in your own flat) or at a distance, as a consumer you can withdraw from it within 14 days without giving a reason (Art. 27 of the Consumer Rights Act). If you ask the broker to start acting before that period expires, on withdrawal you may have to pay for the services performed up to that moment.

Selling in order to buy a new flat? Competition from the primary market

A buyer of a used flat often compares it with developers' offers. According to TM Invest offer data as at 27.09.2026, the median prices of new flats look like this – it is a reference point for the asking price, not a valuation of a secondary-market flat:

Type of flat	Warsaw – median price	Wroclaw – median price	Commission 2% + VAT on the Wroclaw median
1 room	PLN 824 404	PLN 595 638	PLN 14 652.69
2 rooms	PLN 755 824	PLN 662 405	PLN 16 295.16
3 rooms	PLN 935 503	PLN 878 658	PLN 21 614.99

If the money from the sale is to go into a new flat, check the current developments in Warsaw and Wroclaw. When buying from a developer, we will help you choose a flat, in most cases with no commission for the buyer – the developer usually pays our fee. How to align the two transactions is covered in the article how to buy a new flat while selling the old one.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

Selling a flat on your own saves a dozen or so thousand zlotys, but also means several months of work and full responsibility for the price, negotiations and the preliminary agreement. An agency makes sense when it genuinely shortens the time of sale, helps obtain a better price or takes over a complicated part of the transaction. Whichever you choose: count the commission in zlotys (with VAT and the tax effect), read the brokerage agreement and check the OC policy.

Do you want to sell a flat in Warsaw or Wroclaw? Order a valuation and sale plan – we will help prepare and carry out the sale, and if you are buying a new flat, we will align both transactions. TM Invest has been on the market since 2016.

Legal position as at September 2026. The calculations are indicative, and the commission rates in the examples are assumptions, not market data. The article is not legal or tax advice.

Sources

• Act of 21 August 1997 on Real Estate Management, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 399 – Art. 179a, 179b, 180 sec. 3, 180a, 181 sec. 3–3b, 181a
• Regulation of the Minister of Finance of 26 April 2019 on mandatory liability insurance of a real estate broker, Dz.U. 2019 item 804 – § 4
• Act of 13 June 2013 amending acts regulating the practice of certain professions, Dz.U. 2013 item 829 – deregulation from 1 January 2014
• Act on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 644 – Art. 2 sec. 1 pt 18
• Consumer Rights Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1244 – Art. 27
• Personal Income Tax Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 592 – Art. 19 sec. 1
• podatki.gov.pl – disposal of real estate (in Polish)
• Flat prices: TM Invest investment catalogue, as at 27.09.2026