Rental yield on a new flat in Poland: how to calculate gross and net, with a worked example

Rental yield is the rent a flat earns in a year as a percentage of what it cost you. The headline "gross" yield divides annual rent by the purchase price; a realistic "net" yield takes off empty months, tax and the owner's running costs, and divides by everything you paid, including fit-out and transaction costs. For a new flat in Poland the gap between the two can be two percentage points or more, as the example below shows.

Published figures for large Polish cities in mid-2026 sat at about 4.7–6.4% a year before costs and tax. Below is how to calculate your own figure, with a worked example where every assumption is stated. It is information, not investment advice.

Two formulas

Gross yield = annual rent ÷ purchase price × 100%

Net yield = (rent actually received − tax − owner's costs) ÷ total amount invested × 100%

The total amount invested for a new flat includes:

• the price (VAT is already inside it);
• notary and court fees, including your half of the developer-agreement costs and the transfer deed;
• fit-out, if the flat is sold in shell-and-core condition;
• furniture and appliances, if you let it furnished.

You can run both numbers for your own flat in /en/toolbox/rental-yield.

What the market figures say

Otodom Analytics data for June 2026, published by Bankier.pl in August 2026, gave these yields based on asking prices and asking rents:

City	Flats up to 40 m²	Flats 40–59 m²
Warsaw	5.52%	5.31%
Kraków	4.82%	4.69%
Gdańsk	5.08%	4.80%
Wrocław	5.44%	5.16%
Poznań	5.26%	5.14%
Łódź	6.41%	5.94%
Katowice	5.36%	5.27%
Gdynia	6.04%	5.01%

Two things to keep in mind. First, these are based on asking prices, not transactions, and they do not deduct tax, costs or empty months, so treat them as gross. Second, yields fell year on year in most of these cities. Smaller flats tend to show higher yields in this data.

A worked example

All numbers are assumptions chosen to show the method. Replace them with your own.

Purchase

• Flat: 50 m² at 12,000 zł per m² = 600,000 zł, including VAT.
• Notary, court and filing costs: 4,000 zł (assumption; see the costs of buying for how these are made up).
• Fit-out from shell-and-core: 2,650 zł per m², the middle of a 1,800–3,500 zł range quoted for 2026 = 132,500 zł.
• Total invested: 736,500 zł.

Income

• Rent: 3,000 zł a month = 36,000 zł a year at full occupancy.
• Empty months: 1 a year (assumption), so rent received = 33,000 zł.

Owner's annual costs

Item	zł a year	Basis
Flat-rate tax on rent, 8.5% of 33,000	2,805	Private rental tax rate in 2026
Property tax, 50 m² × 1.25 zł	63	2026 maximum; your municipality may charge less
Building charges not passed to the tenant	1,800	Assumption
Insurance	400	Assumption
Repairs and replacement reserve	1,000	Assumption
Total	6,068

Results

Measure	Calculation	Result
Gross yield on price	36,000 ÷ 600,000	6.00%
Gross yield on total invested	36,000 ÷ 736,500	4.89%
Net yield on total invested	(33,000 − 6,068) ÷ 736,500	3.66%

The same flat shows anything from 6.0% to 3.7% depending on what you count. When someone quotes a yield, ask which version it is.

How sensitive is the result?

Small changes in rent move the net figure quickly. If the rent in the example were 2,700 zł instead of 3,000 zł (10% lower), with everything else unchanged, rent received would be 29,700 zł, tax 2,525 zł, and net yield about 3.25%. Two empty months instead of one would have a similar effect. Run a cautious case alongside your expected one before you decide.

Costs people tend to miss

1. Time before the first rent. With an open escrow you pay in stages during construction, and with a mortgage you pay interest on tranches, but no rent arrives until the building is finished, handed over, fitted out and let.
2. Fit-out and furnishing. On a new flat this can add a fifth or more to the price, as in the example.
3. Tax on revenue, not profit. The private rental flat-rate tax is charged on rent received. Costs do not reduce it, so high costs hurt net yield twice.
4. Empty months and tenant changes. Each change can mean lost rent, cleaning, small repairs and possibly an agent's fee.
5. Repairs after the developer's liability ends. The developer's liability for defects (rękojmia) runs for 5 years under the Civil Code; after that, repairs are yours.
6. Financing. If you borrow, interest is a real cost. A mortgage can raise the return on your own cash if the yield exceeds the interest rate, and lower it if not. Model both cases.
7. Rates and rules can change. The property tax maximum rises to 1.29 zł per m² in 2027, and short-term letting rules are changing.

Watch out: a projected yield is an estimate, not a promise. Rents, empty periods and costs all vary, and a sale price may be higher or lower than what you paid. Model a pessimistic case as well as the expected one.

Gross yield is not total return

Yield measures income only. Your total return also includes any change in the flat's value when you sell, minus selling costs and tax on the gain. A sale within about five years of acquisition can trigger 19% income tax on the gain; see selling a flat: tax and the 5-year rule.

Before you commit

• Use real asking rents for comparable new flats in the same district, not city averages. Our /en/districts pages are a starting point for comparing areas.
• Decide whether you will let long-term or short-term; the rules for the latter are tightening. See renting out a new flat.
• Price the fit-out on the developer's finishing annex: shell-and-core or turnkey.
• If you live abroad, confirm how rent will be taxed before you buy.