Food / Pastel de nata in Krakow [5]

I'm pretty sure I've seen them here - either at Słodka Manufaktura, Słodki Kącik or Chocola. I'm sure that if you emailed them to ask, they'd make you some!

Real Estate / Inheritance & House Valuation - how does it work in Poland? [8]

Even in the UK, a mortgage company will do their own valuation at your cost - it's no different here.

UK, Ireland / Who can transport my car by trailer from UK to Poland? [22]

There are plenty of Polish trucks that deliver food to the UK that go back empty and are looking for stuff to take back, and I've seen cars in the back of the truck when I've picked up my stuff that I sent over to Poland. They advertise in Polish magazines in the UK (e.g. Cooltura).

Law / What documents do I need to register a car in my name in Poland? [18]

You need to get it from your gmina. If you rent, your landlord needs to sign it.

Law / My wife's signature has been forged relating to a Polish will, is it worth hiring a lawyer? [16]

It's probably winnable but only you can decide whether it's worthwhile pursuing. It can take years (I'm involved in a similar case - 7.5 years and counting...).

Law / My Father passed away june 29 and I need advice ( I was gifted his Property 9 years ago ) [5]

My condolences.
If there's anything in his estate that is in Poland or is subject to Polish law (other property, powers of attorney etc) then get yourself a Polish lawyer to handle this. UK wills are recognised in Poland so there shouldn't be any problems, but the process is more complicated than in the UK and you don't stand a chance of navigating it on your own, let alone with shaky Polish. In the UK it's much simpler.

Life / Where can I buy and have Plexiglass cut in Krakow? [3]

Try also Workshop Laser & Fab on pl. Szczepanski - they might be able to help.

Work / PHP Web Developer needing to move to Poland, chances of finding work in this field? [5]

You'll be welcomed with open arms, especially in places like Krakow. Have you tried googling 'PHP Krakow'?

Law / How to sell a ready made 'shelf' company in Poland (Gdynia) [5]


Yes you can, but you may need to pay 23% VAT. You need to check with an accountant.


If the company just uses the flat as its registered address but isn't the owner, just move the company's registered address somewhere else. There are plenty of virtual offices around that will provide this service for a small monthly fee. Selling a Polish company that has had a trading history is a complicated business, especially if it's had employees in the past - you have to keep their records for years. If it's not trading, it's much easier to close it down. Again, talk to an accountant.

Work / Employment in Poland for an English engineer [16]

Try the BPO companies here - they're always looking for people.
Also, learn to code. There's heaps of work for software developers in Krakow.

Real Estate / Preliminary Contract - Purchase of Apartment [26]

The amount a property was sold for is not public in Poland.

Real Estate / Preliminary Contract - Purchase of Apartment [26]

Check whether the spółdzielnia will allow you to create a land registry entry (kśięga wieczysta) for the property, but the major issue is that by buying this share, you agree to pay the service charges that the spółdzielnia sets.

The notary will request the seller to submit the documents needed to ensure that they have the right to sell their share in the cooperative - you're paying for this.

Life / Getting kaucja back - dealing with landlords [20]

It's a bit suspicious - whenever one of my tenants moves out I always take the final meter reading to the electricity company and get the meter signed over back to me from that moment. They then send a final bill (or refund) to the tenant. It's very straightforward.

Real Estate / What are the legal rights of a majority owner of Polish real estate property? [11]

Sorry - I misunderstood. You should be able to take back control of the building from the minority owner, but from what I know (I'm not a lawyer but am involved in a few administrator/co-owner disputes over property) there are a few factors that determine how you need to go about it, e.g.

- if the property has been divided between the owners (i.e. owner A owns this part, owner B owns that part)
- if there are any other owners and the proportions of ownership (if one owner has the majority and could in theory force anything through a different arrangement applies)

- if a homeowner association has been set up (wspólnota mieszkaniowa) or not
- the terms of the original agreement between whoever originally gave the management to the minority owner and the person from who the majority owner inherited their share.

If the minority owner is carrying out work that exceeds the normal scope of responsibility of an administrator (minor or emergency repairs) without authorization, you don't have to pay for it.

Talk to a lawyer - they will ask you all the right questions and tell you what you need to do. In my case, the process of getting a court-appointed administrator took about 6 months, but she turned out to be useless and it took about 2 years to get another one appointed and he has turned out to be great.

Real Estate / What are the legal rights of a majority owner of Polish real estate property? [11]

If there's a dispute about who should be the manager and you apply to court to appoint one, the court has no option but to appoint a third party - it can't favor one side over another.

To remove a manager, you need to have a majority vote of the owners or demonstrate that the majority is harming the minority. It's not an easy process.

Real Estate / "Zachowek" means that even if the dead bequeathed his/her property in Poland.. [6]

It's called 'legitime' and comes from Roman law, which is what Polish law is based on. It's a way of ensuring that people aren't disinherited unfairly in a will - it doesn't exist in the US or UK. There are a number of factors that come into the calculation, but in the most straightforward case your cousin will have to pay everyone who qualifies (next of kin) a cash sum equivalent to half of what that person would have received if the will had treated all of you equally. If any of the next of kin are disabled or under age, they get a bigger share than half. I think that everyone has to be offered zachowek but most people decline it. Whether you decide to take it up or not doesn't make any difference to the relative who wants it.

Real Estate / Renting in Poland - tenants' rights? [51]

You need a court order to evict anyone who resides on the territory of Poland (a baliff won't just act your say so) and it can specify whether the local authority has the obligation to find them housing, or not. If the local authority has to take them on, you will likely have a problem on your hands as generally they don't have a lot of free habitable property. In practice, some landlords (in Warsaw, or so I've heard) do a deal whereby they renovate an uninhabitable place belonging to the local authority (e.g. structurally sound but with no water, electricity or gas etc), in return for the LA accepting the tenant. AFAIK, the need for the LA to house someone is for the specific cases you mention as well as if they're old or there are young children etc. Otherwise, the law changed a year or so ago and you can evict people to temporary accommodation (e.g. a labourer's hostel) where you pay the first month's rent and then they're on their own.

And of course, this being Poland where the tenants hold all the cards, it can take months to get a court order to evict someone...

Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]


I agree. I also resent paying my accountant every month, but do it simply for the peace of mind. If you decide to go it alone, do let us know how it goes.

Real Estate / What's with the commitment for rents in Poland? [9]


You can also be charged for the remainder of the year, or at least until the landlord finds another tenant to take your place. This can take a while...

Life / Want to watch BBC iplayer in Poland? [59]

Try PrivacyProtector.eu - a free, ad-free, browser plug-in that creates a P2P VPN, so there's no central server that allows them to track you. They're a small startup from Krakow :)

Food / Polish "kremowka" dessert question [29]

Can't help you with the American versions, but I can translate into British English for you. Good luck!


- sour cream


- homogenised vanilla cream cheese (eg like vanilla Philadelphia)


- mid-fat white farmers'/curd cheese (i.e. not full fat or non-fat)


- cream custard (budyn is a custard)


- cream cheese


- double cream (min. 30% fat)


- cream and curd cheese

Real Estate / English speaking Estate Agents In Poland? [18]

Try airbnb.com, Gumtree or one of the vacation rentals companies - they're much more likely to find you something for just a couple of months. A typical tenancy agreement is 12 months and you're liable to pay all of it if you move out early.

Work / Polish Born-Native English Speaker Chances of Finding a Job [10]


Not according to the guys who head up recruitment that I was speaking to the other week...

Law / Testaments (Wills) in Poland - leave people specific things or only percentages/fractions? [6]

I can't answer the question about how you leave what to who but I know you can draft it yourself. However, as anywhere, if you don't know what you're doing it can cause problems down the line so people often go to a notary for this reason. The notary also has to register the notary act in his/her own records so it's "stored" for you automatically.

Work / Polish Born-Native English Speaker Chances of Finding a Job [10]

The BPO industry will snap you up - they're desperate for good English speakers with international experience. Expect to start at around 4000PLN/month + medical insurance, bonuses etc, but this could go up quite quickly.

Food / Canned pumpkin in Warsaw? [9]

Try Kuchnie Swiata for canned pumpkin - I'm pretty sure I've seen it in the branch in Zlote Tarasy.

Real Estate / Chimney Sweeps in Krakow - experiences of flat owners in central Krakow? [4]

Yes - I had one chimneysweep who did a survey of the chimneys in a flat I was renovating and certified that there was nothing connected to one stack. However when we demolished it (it was in the middle of what would otherwise be a lovely open plan living room), it turned out that there was in fact, a boiler connected to it on the ground floor. As a result we had to relocate the boiler and run a new flue up through 2 floors and the attic to above roof level. What I then found out was that they don't have the power to order that something has to be done - all they do is issue a piece of paper that says whether it complies or not. It's then up to the building owners to do something about it (or take the consequences of not doing it).

UK, Ireland / Where to request Polish Birth Certificate / change of name from the UK? [15]

It's very easy - just go to the USC and ask for a copy. Take your parent's and your birth certificates with you to prove you're related as these documents aren't available to everyone.

Real Estate / Księga Wieczysta (no entry) [16]


If she's entered into the Rejestr Gruntow that doesn't mean she owns the house on the land. We had the same issue in my family where the land was registered to my grandfather (from before WW2 - he died in the 1970s) but the house was owned by by grandmother (who died in 2001) so my Mum had a bit of paperwork to do in order to tidy everything up. In our case it was pretty simple, but it could clearly get much more complicated. Personally, if the price was right I'd sign a pre-agreement and make it a condition of completion that your vendor completes the KW process.

Also, I also bought a cooperative property in a block at a very low price and haven't bothered getting a KW for it - it would require a visit to a notary and a wait of about 3-6 months for them to write it in. As part of the sale I got written in to the register of members of the cooperative which is proof of ownership.

Food / Pinto beans in Poland [17]

I'm pretty sure I've seen them in Kuchnie Swiata in Galeria Krakowska. Try also the two health food shops on ul. Krupnicza.