Polish Land Register (Księga Wieczysta): How to Check a Property Before You Buy

This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. How the rules apply depends on your individual circumstances — the matter should be assessed by a qualified Polish lawyer. Twoja Sprawa helps you organise the documents for that assessment.

Before you pay an earnest-money deposit (zadatek) on a Polish property, and before you sign a preliminary contract, you should check its legal status in the księga wieczysta (land and mortgage register, "KW" for short). This is a public register, free to search online, that shows who owns the property, what mortgages sit against it, and whether there are any restrictions on the owner's right to sell it.

This article explains how to read a KW entry, what each section means, and what to watch for before you commit to a purchase.

Public faith of the land register (rękojmia wiary publicznej ksiąg wieczystych): if you buy a property in good faith relying on what the register shows, and it later turns out the register was wrong — for example it failed to disclose an existing mortgage — the law protects you. You cannot lose ownership because of an error in the register. This is a fundamental protection for buyers.

Where to find the land register

The portal ekw.ms.gov.pl (Electronic Land and Mortgage Registers) is free and available around the clock. To pull up a KW entry:

1. Go to www.ekw.ms.gov.pl,
2. Click "Wyszukaj KW" (Search KW),
3. Enter the plot number (you'll find this in the preliminary contract or on the online cadastral map), or
4. Enter the address (street, house number, postcode),
5. The system will show you the KW number — click it to download the document as a PDF.

Note: if you can't find any mention of a mortgage, that doesn't automatically mean there isn't one. Older records haven't always been fully migrated to the electronic system — it's worth asking the notary (see below) or the local council office about older entries that may not appear online.

The four sections of the land register (I–IV)

Every KW entry is divided into four sections:

Section I — Description of the property

Contains: - Address (street, house/flat number), - Plot number and cadastral precinct (obręb ewidencyjny), - Area (m² for buildings, hectares for land), - Type of property (flat, house, commercial unit, building land, etc.), - Share (if you're only buying a share in a shared property).

What to check: does the address and plot number match the property you want to buy? Does the area match what the seller is claiming?

Section II — Ownership

Contains: - Owner's full name (or the name of the company/institution), - Owner's PESEL (Polish national ID number) or REGON (business registry number), - Date of acquisition, - Owner's share (if there are co-owners), - History of ownership changes.

What to check: - Does the name on the register exactly match the person you're dealing with as the seller? - If there are several owners, do they all agree to sell? Under Article 158 of the Polish Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny, "KC"), the consent of every co-owner is required. - Ownership history — if the seller only recently acquired the property, that's not illegal, but it's worth knowing, as it can signal a quick flip.

Section III — Charges and restrictions

Contains: - Mortgages — charges in favour of banks or other lenders, - Easements (służebności) — rights held by third parties over the property (for example, a neighbour's right of way across your land), - Restrictions on the right to dispose of the property — e.g. a requirement for someone else's consent before it can be sold, - Claims (roszczenia) — for example a creditor's right to a monetary claim against the property, - Statutory liens (zastawy rejestrowe) — charges in favour of courts or public authorities, e.g. for unpaid tax.

What to check (IMPORTANT): - Are there any mortgages? If so, who holds them (which bank) and for how much? - Has the bank agreed to release the mortgage on completion? The notary (a civil-law notary, ≠ a UK notary public — in Poland the notary drafts and executes the deed, similar to a UK conveyancing solicitor's role) should check this before drawing up the deed. - Are there easements that could affect you? For example, a neighbour's right of way across your land can be a real nuisance. - Are there statutory liens or claims registered? These can pass to the new owner — a genuine risk.

Section IV — Mortgages

Detailed mortgage data: - Mortgage amount, - Bank/lender, - Date the mortgage was registered, - Loan agreement reference and the term of the underlying loan.

What to check: - Which bank holds the mortgage? - What's the outstanding amount? - Has the bank confirmed it will release the mortgage once the seller repays it?

What "public faith of the land register" means

Article 17 of the Polish Act on Land and Mortgage Registers (ustawa o księgach wieczystych) provides that a person who acquires rights to a property in good faith, relying on an entry in the KW, is protected even where that entry later turns out to be incorrect.

In practice: if the register shows the seller as owner with no mortgage, and you buy on that basis, and it later emerges (say, in court proceedings) that a mortgage did in fact exist — the law protects you. The bank cannot pursue you for a mortgage debt that wasn't visible on the register at the time of purchase.

This is a fundamental protection for buyers — but it only applies if you acted in good faith (i.e. you had no actual knowledge of the error in the register).

Defects in the register — what to do

Sometimes the KW turns out to be wrong or out of step with reality:

Scenario 1: the register shows the property as unencumbered, but there is in fact a mortgage

• The problem: the bank that lent to a previous owner never registered the charge.
• The fix: ask the notary to check directly with the bank. If the bank doesn't respond, the notary can still complete the deed, but with a condition precedent (ownership transfers only once the mortgage is released).

Scenario 2: the register shows the wrong address or plot number

• The problem: this can suggest you're not actually looking at the right property.
• The fix: ask the notary or the local council office to apply for a correction of the register (sprostowanie KW) — the formal legal procedure for fixing errors in the record.

Scenario 3: the register has gaps (older entries are missing)

• The problem: older records can be incomplete, particularly for anything predating the electronic system.
• The fix: ask the notary whether an archival copy of the KW can be obtained from the local district court (sąd rejonowy).

How to protect yourself against legal defects

1. Always check the KW before signing the preliminary contract — don't wait until the notarial deed stage.

2. Ask the notary to re-check the KW a few days before completion — this is standard practice; the notary pulls an up-to-date extract to confirm nothing has changed since you first checked it.

3. Make sure any mortgage will actually be released — if the property is mortgaged, the bank must give written consent to release the charge once the loan is repaid. Without that, the transaction shouldn't proceed.

4. Read Section III carefully — charges and restrictions are the things that can cost you after completion (for example, a neighbour's easement giving them a right of way across your land).

5. If anything looks off, ask — the notary, the local council office, or ideally a lawyer. It's far better to spend a modest consultation fee than to end up buying a property with a hidden legal problem.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to pull a KW extract from ekw.ms.gov.pl? A few seconds — the portal is fast. You can download the PDF immediately.

Can I look up the land register for properties other than the one I want to buy? Yes — the KW is a public register. Anyone can look up any property on ekw.ms.gov.pl.

Does a mortgage showing on the KW mean I'm buying a property with a mortgage attached? Not necessarily. If the contract includes a condition precedent (for example, "ownership transfers only once the bank releases the mortgage"), the bank must release the charge before you're registered as the new owner. The notary oversees this.

If the register shows two people as owners, do both have to sign the contract? Yes — where there are co-owners, all of them must consent to the sale and sign the notarial deed. If one pulls out, the deal falls through.

Can I ask the seller to show me the KW before I sign a preliminary contract? Absolutely — that's a perfectly reasonable request. Any serious seller will be happy to show it to you. If they hesitate, treat that as a red flag.