Just a few years ago, conversations about institutional residential rental in Poland were largely educational in nature. Investors were asking how the model worked, what its limitations were and whether it could be scaled. Today, they are asking a different question: how to enter the market and build a strong position in it. This is one of the most important structural shifts to have taken place in the Polish real estate market in recent years.

At the end of 2025, Poland had close to 30,000 PRS units owned by 33 institutional investors. That may sound substantial, but only until it is compared with the broader rental housing market. With the total rental stock estimated at 1.68 million units, the institutional sector still accounts for less than 2 percent of the market. By comparison, in Denmark living already represents nearly half of total real estate investment transaction volume. Against that backdrop, Poland’s growth potential remains clear.

The residential market provides a strong foundation

The strength of this trend is also supported by the condition of the broader housing market. At the end of 2025, developers in Poland’s seven largest cities were offering nearly 62,000 units, while annual sales exceeded 40,000 apartments, up 9 percent year on year. Over the same period, the number of building permits issued surpassed 170,000 units, and the number of completed homes rose to 134,149. The primary residential market therefore remains active and continues to provide fuel for further living projects.

As Emil Domeracki, Partner and Head of Land Development Advisory at Walter Herz, points out, the strength of the primary market remains one of the key arguments supporting the further growth of the living sector in Poland. In practice, this means the market continues to provide both land for new developments and the demand needed to support their lease-up.

The transaction that changed market perception

The most important event for the PRS sector last year was the sale of 18 projects from the Resi4Rent platform to Vantage Development for PLN 2.405 billion. The portfolio comprised 5,322 units across Poland’s six largest cities. It was the first transaction of this scale involving a portfolio of income-producing rental assets with a documented rental track record.

The significance of this deal goes far beyond its volume. First, it confirmed that the PRS model in Poland can generate satisfactory returns for institutional investors. Second, it showed that Polish living portfolios have genuine buyers among other institutional players. Third, and perhaps most importantly from the perspective of international capital, it proved that scale can be built in Poland and then successfully monetised.

Emil Domeracki describes this moment as a breakthrough for the entire sector. In his view, the Resi4Rent–Vantage Rent transaction opened a new chapter for the Polish living market, demonstrating that Poland offers not only the opportunity to build scale, but also to realise value effectively. For international investors, it is a clear signal that Poland is no longer a pilot market for PRS, but a market offering depth and real exit opportunities.

Once the transaction closes, which is planned for May 2026, Vantage Rent, the platform owned by Germany’s TAG Immobilien, will move close to the 10,000-unit mark, becoming the largest PRS operator in Poland.

What is driving such high occupancy?

Occupancy levels in PRS portfolios, reaching 98–99 percent, are no coincidence. They are the result of several overlapping factors. On the one hand, persistently high mortgage financing costs continue to limit the affordability of home ownership. On the other, migration inflows remain strong, with foreign nationals accounting for as much as 55 percent of tenants in some operators’ portfolios. Added to this are urbanisation and a changing lifestyle model in which renting is increasingly becoming a conscious choice rather than a necessity driven by a lack of mortgage capacity.

This combination of factors means that living is no longer seen as a short-lived trend, but as a stable and expanding asset class.

Poland remains a growth market

PwC forecasts indicate that by 2028 the PRS stock in Poland could exceed 80,000 units. Even then, the institutional sector’s share of the total rental market would remain below 5 percent. This means that despite rapid growth, the market will still be far from saturation.

For investors looking for a segment with strong growth potential, clear demand fundamentals and relatively low operational risk, Poland is becoming one of the most compelling markets in the region. And it is precisely in this context, as Emil Domeracki stresses, that the most important shift today is that living in Poland has ceased to be an experiment and has begun to function as a fully-fledged asset class, with its own scale, liquidity and an increasingly visible institutional capital base.