Revolution in Housing Accounts. Lower contributions, higher bonuses and the elimination of the age limit

• The Housing Account is one of the instruments of the "First Apartment" program.
• They were introduced by the Act of May 2023 on state aid for saving for housing purposes.
• The interest in Housing Accounts is small. So far, only about 6.7 thousand Polish women and men have set them up.
• In order to increase demand for this form of saving for your own apartment or house, the Ministry of Development proposes, among other things, reducing the minimum monthly payment to the Housing Account from PLN 500 to PLN 300.
• The age limit for those interested will also be abolished, and the annual housing premium rate will increase from 0.01 to 0.04.

On Monday, July 7, Minister of Development and Technology Krzysztof Paszyk presented a long list of changes as part of the government's proposed amendment to the Act on Social Forms of Housing Development and Certain Other Acts.

One of the planned modifications is a major adjustment to the way Housing Accounts operate.

This includes, among other things, reducing the minimum amount of monthly payment to the account required by law , as well as increasing the minimum annual housing premium rate and abolishing the age limit for those starting to save in this form.

- Minister Paszyk enumerated during Monday's joint session of the Sejm's Infrastructure and Local Government Committees.

- I believe that the Housing Account is a very interesting solution, which will become even more accessible thanks to the amended provisions - said the head of the Ministry of Development and Technology in the Sejm.

Much more detail on the principles of operation of Housing Accounts was provided by Minister Krzysztof Paszyk in response to questions from the Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Stanisław Trociuk regarding legislative work to introduce changes to this form of saving for one’s own home.

The low interest in this offer indicates the need to correct the regulations and make it more attractive to citizens by taking appropriate legislative actions.

- replied Minister Krzysztof Paszyk.

Let us recall that the Housing Account is one of the instruments of the "First Apartment" program. It was introduced by the Act of May 26, 2023 on state aid in saving for housing purposes.

In order to increase the interest of Polish women and men in this tool, the Ministry of Development proposes, among others:

• reduction of the minimum monthly payment to the Housing Account from PLN 500 to PLN 300 ,
• abolition of the age limit,
• increasing the minimum annual housing premium rate from 0.01 to 0.04 .

- The basic purpose of the accounts is to support households in their long-term efforts to systematically save for housing purposes related to acquiring their first own apartment or a single-family house - reminds Paszyk.

He adds: - This instrument is addressed to people who are currently unable to purchase their first apartment, but are planning to do so in the coming years.

The Housing Account is a special savings account operated by commercial banks, combined with solutions supporting systematic saving for your own apartment, which are non-refundable support in the form of a so-called housing premium and exemption from taxation of interest accrued during the saving period on funds in the Housing Account.

The Ministry of Development and Technology is constantly monitoring and analyzing the operation of this instrument in market conditions. According to information provided by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, as of March 31, 2025, 6,745 Housing Accounts have been opened so far. That's not much.

In order to increase interest in opening Housing Accounts, the Ministry of Development proposes:

• a change according to which after 24 months from the closure of the Housing Account and the non-payment of the housing bonus it will be possible to reopen it . Currently, as a rule, an individual can open a Housing Account only once. The exception is a situation in which the maintenance of the previous Account ended before the age of 18 and the housing bonus was not paid, then it is possible to reopen the Account in adulthood;
• a reduction in the statutory minimum monthly payment amount for the Housing Account from PLN 500 to PLN 300, which will make the rules for systematic saving more flexible and ensure better adjustment of the conditions for saving on Housing Accounts to the different levels of wealth of households joining this system;
• abolition of the age limit for starting to save using Housing Accounts, which will enable people over 45 to use the instrument;
• benefiting from the housing premium also in the event of renovation or reconstruction of a single-family house or a residential premises obtained through inheritance or donation;
• increasing the minimum annual housing premium indicator determining the level of support for those who systematically save on the Housing Account from 0.01 to 0.04 .

- Such an increase in the indicator will provide real support to savers in the form of a housing premium also in those years in which both inflation and the annual change in the level of construction costs of apartments put into use in multi-family housing, determined on the basis of GUS data, do not exceed 4 percent - explains Minister Krzysztof Paszyk.

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According to current regulations, a Housing Account may be opened by a person who does not have and has not had a flat, a single-family house or a cooperative right to a flat or a single-family house.

The program can also be used by a person who lives in one of their own premises with at least two of their own or adopted children, the Ministry of Development explains on its website. The apartment cannot be larger than:

• 50 ^m2 for 2 children;
• 75m ² for 3 children;
• 90 ^m2 for 4 children;
• no limit for 5 or more children.

The program can also be used by a person entitled to housing that :

• acquired through inheritance after starting to save;
• it relates or referred to the joint ownership of no more than one apartment or a single-family house with a share of no more than 50 percent, acquired by inheritance before the start of saving;
• concerns or concerned a flat or single-family house excluded from use due to a construction disaster or as a result of the action of the elements;
• was established as a result of the claim referred to in Article 15 section 2 of the Act of 15 December 2000 on housing cooperatives (concerning the cooperative right to a premises).

- Currently, the minimum monthly payment for the Housing Account is PLN 500 (PLN 6,000 per year), and the maximum is PLN 2,000 (PLN 24,000 per year). Each year, there is a 1-month holiday from saving without consequences. Payments of various amounts are possible, but the minimum is 11 payments during the year in the amount of at least PLN 500. This is a guarantee of an additional Housing Premium from the state - we read on the website of the Ministry of Development and Technology.

The Ministry provides an example of a savings plan for the Housing Account: Mr. Jan regularly put aside PLN 1,000 per month. During the year, he put aside PLN 12,000. Inflation in a given year, for example, amounted to 9.6 percent. The accrued housing premium will amount to PLN 624. In the following year, Mr. Jan continued to pay in PLN 1,000. He saved another PLN 12,000, and his paid-in capital is PLN 24,000.

Assuming that inflation remains at the same level, his housing premium will increase by PLN 1,776 and amount to PLN 2,400. In the following year, with the same payments and inflation, the capital will amount to PLN 36,000 and the housing premium will increase to PLN 5,328.