Housing affordability in Poland

The affordability of housing in Poland has been declining in recent years. According to data from the National Census, the population of Poland in 2021 was more than 38.036 million, while the number of housing units was more than 15.227 million. Using the indicator of the number of housing units per 1,000 residents, it can be calculated that the numerical dimension of housing availability is 400.35, of which 12.1% are unoccupied. The average size of housing stock for EU countries is 501.95 housing units per 1,000 citizens. Which means that Poland does not compare well in this comparison. There are many reasons contributing to this situation, such as the rising cost of housing, the increase in mortgage interest rates, and the country's housing policy. In Poland, the insufficient number of dwellings is a serious social, economic and political problem. Also under discussion is how to measure housing affordability. Previous methods were based mainly on the economic aspect, while as described above in this also represents a social and political problem. The main reason for addressing this topic is the ever-increasing problem of housing affordability and the ongoing debate in the scientific and political community over the shape of Polish housing policy. The main problems of Polish housing policy are the lack of a coherent housing policy, lack of stability and long-term action. The main objective is to identify recommendations and courses of action for Polish housing policy that could help improve the housing situation of Polish society.