Buying a flat with cash from a developer in Poland 2026 – step by step

Buying a flat "with cash" from a developer is in practice a purchase without a mortgage, paid in full by transfers from your account – not in banknotes. The loan application, the bank's valuation and waiting for a decision fall away, so you can buy a completed flat in a few weeks. In return you must prepare documents confirming where the money comes from and safeguard the moment of payment well. Below we describe the steps, the payment rules, AML, a gift from family and the schedule of transfers on the example of a completed flat from our offer.

Key facts

• "With cash" means from your own funds – payments into the escrow account for a flat under construction go, by definition, by transfer and in line with construction progress (Art. 8 of the Developer Act).
• Cash payments between businesses are permitted only up to 15 000 zł per transaction (Art. 19 of the Entrepreneurs' Law) – this matters when you buy through a company.
• A notary, when real estate is sold, is an obliged institution within the meaning of the AML Act and may examine the source of your funds; it reports transactions above 15 000 euro to the General Inspector of Financial Information.
• Money from parents above 36 120 zł (the tax-free amount of group I) is exempt from tax if it arrives in your account and you report it on the SD-Z2 within 6 months.
• For a completed flat bought straight away under a sale agreement there is no escrow account – you secure the payment, for example, with a notarial deposit (Art. 108 of the Notary Law).

Buying a flat with cash step by step

We describe the general path of a purchase in the guide How to buy a new-build apartment in Poland, and for first-time buyers we recommend the guide to a first flat (in Polish). When buying without a mortgage it looks simpler, because the bank stage disappears, but it depends on whether the flat is completed or under construction.

1. Preparing the funds. Before you reserve a unit, gather the money in one account in Poland: break deposits, sell bonds, accept a gift by transfer. Check your daily transfer limit at the bank and raise it in advance.
2. Reservation. The reservation fee cannot exceed 1% of the price from the prospectus and is credited towards the price (Art. 32 of the Developer Act). We describe the rules of refund in the text Reservation agreement with a developer.
3. The agreement. For a flat under construction – a developer agreement. For a completed one – a sale agreement straight away, or first a notarial obligation agreement with payments into the escrow account. We explain the differences in the article Developer agreement vs preliminary agreement.
4. Payments. Under construction you pay into the residential escrow account after successive stages in the schedule are completed. With the sale of a completed unit you pay the whole price at the deed.
5. Handover. The Act requires a handover inspection of the unit with a report before ownership is transferred – also with a sale agreement (Art. 3 and Art. 41(1)–(3)). You will find a checklist in the article Handover of a flat from a developer.
6. The notarial deed. The notary identifies the parties, asks about the funds, collects the fee and court charges and files the application to the land and mortgage register. After signing you collect the keys.

Paying for the flat – transfer or cash?

For a flat under construction the answer is given by the Developer Act: the buyer pays money into the residential escrow account, and the amount of payments depends on the actual degree of completion of the stages in the schedule (Art. 8(1)–(3)). So you pay by transfer to the account named in the deed and – even if you have the whole amount – you pay it in line with construction progress, not at once. What typical schedules look like, including the 10/90 model, we explain in the article A 10/90 flat and the developer's payment schedule, and the protection of payments – in the text Escrow account and DFG.

The cash payment limit in Art. 19 of the Entrepreneurs' Law concerns transactions in which both parties are businesses and the value of the transaction exceeds 15 000 zł – the payment must then go through the entrepreneur's payment account. If you buy as a private individual, this provision does not cover you, but that has no practical significance: developers accept payments to bank accounts, and a transfer is for you proof of payment and of the source of funds. When buying through a business the limit applies – more in the article Buying a flat through a company (in Polish).

If you keep your savings in banknotes, first pay them into your own account. The bank is also an obliged institution: it may ask about the source of the money, and cash deposits of an equivalent above 15 000 euro it passes to the GIIF (Art. 72(1) of the AML Act). Do it in advance and have the documents with you – not on the day of the deed.

The source of funds – what do the notary and the tax office check?

A notary drawing up a real estate sale agreement is an obliged institution (Art. 2(1)(13) of the Act on Counteracting Money Laundering). It applies financial security measures – it identifies the parties and, in justified cases, examines the source of the assets (Art. 34(1)). It reports transactions with an equivalent above 15 000 euro to the GIIF (Art. 72(4)). In practice the notary or its office will ask you for a statement of where you have the money from, and possibly for documents.

You do not have to report the purchase itself to the tax office – what and when to do after a purchase we describe in the article Do you have to report the purchase of a flat to the tax office? (in Polish) The office may, however, take an interest in an expense that has no cover in your income. The excess of the expense over documented income (taxed or exempt) is income from undisclosed sources, and the tax on it is 75% (Art. 25b and 25e of the PIT Act).

That is why prepare a folder of documents:

• account statements showing how your savings grew (salary, closed deposits, redemption of bonds);
• the notarial deed of sale of your previous flat and confirmation of receipt of the price – if you are buying with the proceeds of a sale (we write about lining up the two transactions in the article How to buy a new flat by selling the old one (in Polish));
• the gift agreement, confirmation of the transfer and the SD-Z2 – for money from family;
• a decision confirming acquisition of an inheritance or a notarial certificate of inheritance – for funds from an inheritance.

A gift from parents towards a flat – only by transfer

A gift from a spouse, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, a stepchild, a stepfather or a stepmother is exempt from inheritance and gift tax if you report it to the head of the tax office on form SD-Z2 within 6 months (Art. 4a(1)(1)). When the gift is money and its value – together with what you received from the same person in that year and in the 5 years before – exceeds 36 120 zł, you must also document its receipt by a transfer to your own account or a postal money order (Art. 4a(1)(2)). Money handed over "from hand to hand" does not meet this condition – you lose the exemption and pay tax as in group I.

Example: your parents want to add 200 000 zł. Simplest: a transfer from their account to yours with the title "gift towards buying a flat", a written gift agreement and the SD-Z2. Only from your account do you pay the developer. Do not ask your parents to transfer directly to the developer – then it is harder to show that you received the gift.

A cash discount at a developer – what to negotiate?

Developers do not publish "cash discounts", and their size cannot honestly be given in advance. You do have arguments that a buyer with a mortgage does not: no risk of a mortgage refusal (and so of a refund of the reservation fee under Art. 34(1)(1)), a quick signing of the deed and – with a completed flat – immediate payment of the whole price. The most room is usually given by units in completed buildings that the developer wants to sell before closing the development.

Besides the price, negotiate a parking space or storage room, the date the keys are handed over and fixes before the handover. We describe negotiating tactics in the guide How to negotiate the price of a flat.

Buying without a mortgage and want to finalise the transaction quickly? We will help you buy a flat from a developer, usually with no commission – the fee is typically paid by the developer: we will select completed units from the catalogue, talk to the developer about the price and terms of purchase and guide you through the process up to the notarial deed.

A completed flat without an escrow account – how to pay safely?

To the sale agreement of a completed unit the Developer Act applies only selected provisions – among others access to documents, the rules of reservation and a handover with a report (Art. 3). There is no escrow account and no statutory right of withdrawal, because the money and ownership are to pass at the same time. The key question is therefore: when to transfer the price?

• A notarial deposit. The notary may accept money for safekeeping and release it to a named person (Art. 108 of the Notary Law). You pay the price before the deed into a special notary account, and the notary passes it to the developer after the agreement is signed. The maximum fee is half of the § 3 rate of the notary-fee regulation (§ 6(13)).
• A transfer on the day of the deed. You order the transfer at the notary's office, and the deed sets the date of payment. Agree in advance with the developer whether confirmation of the transfer order is enough for signing – with large amounts check the daily limit at the bank.
• An obligation agreement with an escrow account. First a notarial agreement under Art. 2(1)(3), a payment into the escrow account, then a second deed. It costs more, but the money is protected by the Act's provisions.

Avoid transferring the whole price to the developer's ordinary account before the deed just so the notary writes "the price has been paid". Before you pay, also check the unit's land and mortgage register – whether the seller is the developer and whether the mortgage of the bank financing the construction will be released.

Example: a completed 2-room flat in Targówek – the schedule of transfers

According to TM Invest offer data, as of 27.09.2026, in the completed development Rezydencja Liwska 3 in Warsaw's Targówek, 37 2-room flats were available, and their median price was 650 000 zł (a unit of about 38,5 m²). Suppose you buy such a flat straight away under a sale agreement, from your own funds, with part of the money from your parents.

Stage (sample date)	What you do	Transfer
A week before the reservation	Your parents transfer the gift to your account; you raise your transfer limit	e.g. 200 000 zł (parents → you)
Day 1	The reservation agreement	up to 6 500 zł (max 1% of the price) – the developer
Days 2–10	Inspecting documents, a land register extract, the draft deed from the notary	–
Days 10–14	Handover of the unit with a report before the deed	–
The day before the deed	Paying the rest of the price into a notarial deposit (optional)	643 500 zł – the notary's deposit
The day of the deed	The sale agreement, handing over the keys; the notary releases the deposit	the fee and court charges – the notary
Within 6 months of the gift	Filing the SD-Z2 at the tax office	–

Cost on the buyer's side	Calculation	Amount
The notary fee for the sale agreement of the unit (½ of the rate)	(1 010 zł + 0,4% × 590 000 zł) ÷ 2 = 1 685 zł + 23% VAT	2 072,55 zł
Registering ownership in the land and mortgage register	a fixed fee	200 zł
Opening the land and mortgage register (when the unit does not have one yet)	a fixed fee	100 zł
A notarial deposit (optional, for 643 500 zł)	(1 010 zł + 0,4% × 583 500 zł) ÷ 2 = 1 672 zł + 23% VAT	2 056,56 zł
Total	without the deposit / with the deposit	2 372,55 zł / 4 429,11 zł

Without a mortgage you do not pay for registering a mortgage, the fee for the statement establishing it or bank costs. You will find the full list of purchase costs, including for a flat under construction, in the article Costs of buying an apartment in Poland. There is no shortage of completed units in our catalogue: according to TM Invest offer data, as of 27.09.2026, in Warsaw 37 of 73 developments are buildings put into use (673 available flats), and in Wrocław 24 of 45 (428 flats). See the offer in Targówek and in the whole Wrocław catalogue or compare prices in the article Flats ready for handover or under construction.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

Buying a flat with cash from a developer is quicker and cheaper than buying with a mortgage, but it requires order in your money. Pay by transfers from your own account, accept gifts from family into your account and report them on the SD-Z2, and have the documents on the source of funds ready before the deed. For a flat under construction you are protected by the escrow account, for a completed one – a well-planned moment of payment, for example a notarial deposit.

Have the funds and looking for a flat you can move into quickly? Use our help in buying a flat from a developer – usually with no commission, the fee is typically paid by the developer. We will select completed units in Warsaw and Wrocław and guide you up to the deed.

Legal status as of September 2026. The calculations are indicative and based on maximum rates; the schedule is an example. The article is for information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice.

Sources

• Act on the protection of the rights of a purchaser of a residential unit or a single-family house and on the Developer Guarantee Fund, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 880 (in Polish) – Art. 2, 3, 8, 32, 34, 41
• Act – Entrepreneurs' Law, consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 1480 (in Polish) – Art. 19
• Act on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 644 (in Polish) – Art. 2(1)(1) and (13), Art. 34, 35, 72
• Act – Notary Law, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 614 (in Polish) – Art. 79, 108
• Inheritance and Gift Tax Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 478 (in Polish) – Art. 4a, 9
• Personal Income Tax Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 592 (in Polish) – Art. 20(1b), Art. 25b–25e
• Regulation of the Minister of Justice on the maximum rates of the notary fee, consolidated text Dz.U. 2024 item 1566 (in Polish) – § 3, § 6
• Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases, consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 1228 (in Polish) – Art. 42, 44
• gov.pl – Report receipt of property from an inheritance or gift (SD-Z2) (in Polish)
• Flat prices: TM Invest developments catalogue, as of 27.09.2026