Although NBP interest rates are falling and loan installments are decreasing, for many people the biggest obstacle when buying a flat is not the installment amount, but the own contribution. Given the current real estate prices, taking out a loan means having really significant savings to pay some of the funds out of your own pocket.
How much is 20% of the own contribution for an apartment of 50 m2?
As experts from the GetHome.pl website emphasize, to better understand the amounts we are dealing with today, it is worth looking at a simple example. Let's assume that we want to buy a new apartment with an area of 50 m2 and we have the standard requirement of 20% own contribution. For calculations, we use average prices of apartments on the primary market, published by the RynekPierwotny.pl portal.
With these assumptions, it looks like this:
| City |
Average price PLN/m2 |
Price of the apartment 50m2 |
20% own contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warsaw | 18,396 | PLN 919,800 | approx. PLN 184,000 |
| Cracow | 16,577 | PLN 828,850 | approx. PLN 166,000 |
| Gdańsk | 17,812 | PLN 890,600 | approx. PLN 178,000 |
| Wrocław | 15,282 | PLN 764,100 | approx. PLN 153,000 |
| Poznań | 13,453 | PLN 672,650 | approx. PLN 135,000 |
| Łódź | 11,239 | PLN 561,950 | approx. PLN 112,000 |
This simple example clearly shows why, for many people, an own contribution is the biggest barrier to purchasing a flat today, even if they have creditworthiness and stable income.
Still, people who don't have that kind of cash aren't necessarily at a disadvantage. Your own contribution does not always have to be cash, and in some cases you may not have it at all. One of such solutions is the Family Housing Loan, which allows you to finance the purchase of an apartment without “startup” money.
What is a Family Home Loan?
Family Housing Loan is a program in which the lack of own contribution is replaced by a guarantee from Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. For the bank, this means additional loan security, and for the buyer, the possibility of obtaining financing for the entire value of the property.
The guarantee may replace your own contribution up to 20% of the loan amountand its maximum value is PLN 200,000. zloty. GetHome.pl experts emphasize that this is not money paid to the buyer. The guarantee does not reduce the installment or loan amount – its only role is to meet the own contribution requirement that the bank normally sets.
The program also does not eliminate creditworthiness assessment. The bank continues to carefully check the borrower's income, liabilities and financial stability.
Who can benefit from the program and what does it look like for families with children?
The rule is that the program can be used by people who do not own any other residential property. However, the legislator provided exceptions for families with children who already live “on their own”, but in too small a flat.
The following square footage limits apply to such families:
- with 2 children – up to 50 m2,
- with 3 children – up to 75 m2,
- for 4 children – up to 90 m2,
- for 5 or more children – no size limit.
Thanks to this, the program does not exclude families who want to improve their housing conditions and are not speculating on another property. Owning an undeveloped plot or non-residential property does not prevent you from obtaining a loan.
Price limits and differences between the primary and secondary markets – data from BGK
The Family Housing Loan program applies price limits per 1 m2, which BGK updates every quarter. Two coefficients are used to calculate them: 1.4 for the primary market and 1.3 for the secondary market. In practice, this means that the maximum allowable price of an apartment from a developer is higher than that of a premises from the secondary market in the same location.
| Price limits per 1 m2 for cities provincial | ||
|---|---|---|
| City | Primary market | Secondary market |
| Warsaw | PLN 15,496.32/m2 | PLN 14,389.44/m2 |
| Cracow | PLN 13,124.30/m2 | PLN 12,186.85/m2 |
| Wrocław | PLN 14,467.60/m2 | PLN 13,434.20/m2 |
| Gdańsk | PLN 13,255.20/m2 | PLN 12,308.40/m2 |
| Poznań | PLN 13,478.50/m2 | PLN 12,515.75/m2 |
| Łódź | PLN 9,676.10/m2 | PLN 8,984.95/m2 |
| Data fromconsistent with the official BGK statement for the first quarter of 2026. | ||
Lower limits apply for neighboring communes and other towns in voivodeships. Crucially, exceeding the limit – even by a few zlotys per meter – excludes the possibility of using the BGK guarantee, so it is always worth checking the current values before signing a reservation or preliminary agreement.
Family repayment – real support during the loan
The program also provides for the so-called family repayment, i.e. a one-off repayment of part of the loan by the state in the event of family enlargement:
- after the birth of the second child – 20 thousand zloty,
- after the birth of the third and subsequent children – 60 thousand zloty.
These funds do not go to the borrower, but directly to the loan account. This means a real reduction in debt and a lower total cost of the loan.
What can replace own contribution instead of cash?
If you do not want to use the government program or do not meet its conditions, the bank may accept other forms of own contribution than cash. The most common are:
- building plot with regulated legal status,
- another property on which the bank will establish additional security,
- construction works carried out on the construction of the house,
- purchased building materials, confirmed by invoices.
Each bank evaluates such forms individually, but in practice they are often used, especially when building a house.
Is a loan without own contribution a good solution?
According to GetHome.pl experts, the lack of own contribution means a higher loan amount, and therefore higher interest and greater sensitivity of the household budget to changes in interest rates. On the other hand, for many people it is the only real way to get their own apartment without saving money for many years.
If you have a stable income, a well-calculated installment and awareness of all the conditions of the program, a Family Housing Loan or an own contribution in another form may allow you to obtain financing from the bank and buy an apartment.
Marcin Moneta, expert of the GetHome.pl portal
