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Most of our case studies show situations where everything goes well. An apartment bought at a good price, adapted, rented out, generating stable income. That is the majority of our work – in 95% of cases the rental runs smoothly.
But there is that 5%. Situations where the tenant’s life gets complicated – and suddenly they stop paying rent. For the owner this is often the most stressful part of renting an apartment: what now? Will I lose money? Will I have to talk to the tenant personally? Will the apartment come back to me in a condition that allows me to rent it again?
This article is about what we specifically do in such a situation – based on a real case from an apartment on Pomorska Street in Lodz. We show the procedure step by step, the tools that work, and what a specific management package gives the owner when the situation gets difficult.
The apartment on Pomorska, divided into four rooms, had been rented to students for years. One of the tenants was a young man – working and studying, non-confrontational, paying rent regularly. Nothing foreshadowed problems. A classic good tenant, the kind we look for during verification.
The situation changed when the tenant lost his job.
The first late payment appeared three weeks after the event. The tenant contacted us, explained the situation, asked for time. At Golden Square we always see a human being in the tenant – that is why, in agreement with the owner, we agreed to a temporary rent deferral with a repayment plan spread over several months.
Initially the plan worked. The tenant regularly paid part of the arrears and the current rent. Everything indicated that the situation would normalize.
After two months, however, warning signals appeared that we know from experience:
These are signs every owner should know. Individually they don’t mean much, but in combination they indicate that an amicable solution is becoming less and less likely. That is when we start formalizing the process.
At Golden Square we have a standard procedure for non-payment situations. We don’t improvise – every step is documented, legally compliant, and leads to a concrete result.
The first formal step is a written payment demand sent by our lawyer. This is not a friendly message – it is a legal document that:
In most cases the legal demand alone is enough – the tenant understands the gravity of the situation and either pays or enters into real dialogue. This is the first line of defense built into the Gold package.
If the tenant responds to the demand, we try to lead to a written settlement. This is a document that formalizes the repayment plan – with specific deadlines, amounts, and a clause for terminating the agreement in case of non-compliance. The settlement protects both sides and often leads to a real solution to the problem.
When the arrears grow despite the demands, we initiate the formal lease termination procedure. Everything is led by our lawyer – in accordance with Polish law, respecting deadlines and the rights of both parties. The owner only receives information from us about what stage we are at and when the apartment will be returned.
In this specific case from Pomorska, the tenant – after receiving all formal documents – voluntarily returned the keys and vacated the room. We accompanied him during the handover process, drew up a handover protocol, and documented the condition of the apartment.
A short recording from the room handover right after the keys were returned – the baseline documentation on which we planned the scope of renovation work:
What the owner received at the end of this story:
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Outstanding rent | Recovered (from the deposit + additional payment from the tenant) |
| Damages in the room | Covered by the tenant’s liability insurance (which we require before move-in) |
| Room renovation | Organized by us (cleaning, painting, repairs) |
| New furniture | Purchased with recovered funds |
| Owner’s time | Zero hours – we ran the entire process |
| Communication | One email with the message: “room ready for further rental, settled” |
The whole procedure – from the first legal demand to handing over the keys to the new tenant – took several weeks. After the renovation, the apartment was rented again within 10 days from posting the listing.
The owner did not have to participate personally in any stage of this procedure.
This is the moment when the management package shows its real value. Let’s see how each of our packages would protect the owner in such a situation:
Everything from Silver, plus:
Everything from Gold, plus:
In the Pomorska case all elements of the Gold package proved key: the first lawyer’s demand, mediation, formal lease termination, the tenant’s liability insurance covering the damage. Without them the process would have been longer, more expensive, and would have required the owner’s personal involvement.
Four practical conclusions for every owner of a rental apartment:
1. The best defense is good verification at the start. 95% of tenant problems can be predicted at the verification stage – if you know what to look for. Checking BIK, KRD, BIG and Erif (Gold package) catches most people whose risk of non-payment is elevated.
2. The reaction in the first days of delay is crucial. Every day of delay means a lower chance of recovering the money. Payment monitoring + automatic reaction on the day of delay is the foundation of every Golden Square management package.
3. The formal procedure works – but it requires a lawyer. Written demands, settlements, lease terminations – all of this must be prepared properly, otherwise it loses its legal force. This is not a place for templates from the internet. In the Gold and Platinum packages, legal handling is built into the price.
4. Tenant liability insurance is not a luxury – it is the standard. We require it before every tenant moves in. It covers damages that the deposit will not cover – as in the case study described.
Many people manage their apartment themselves because “it’s simple after all”. And indeed – when everything goes well, it is simple. Rent comes in. You reply to the occasional email. Once a year you file your taxes.
The problem starts when something goes wrong. Then it turns out that this is not a job for the owner – it is a job for a professional. Legal demands, mediation, documentation, renovation coordination, verification of the new tenant – all of this takes weeks and requires experience that most people simply don’t have.
The owner of the Pomorska apartment received the final email from us: “Room ready for further rental, settled, new tenant positively verified, contract signed from March 1.”
This is the definition of professional rental management: a result, without involving the owner in difficult situations.
If you manage an apartment yourself and wonder how to protect yourself against this type of situation – book a free consultation. We will show you how our packages work in practice, what procedures we use, and what it specifically costs.
If you want to compare protection levels – check our management packages. Silver, Gold and Platinum differ in the scope of legal protection, financial guarantees and level of service – tailored to different owner needs.
The Pomorska apartment is one of hundreds of examples. In 95% of cases our work is supporting a peaceful rental. But in those 5%, when the situation gets complicated, a professional procedure is what divides losses from recovered money.
Author: Monika Graczyk
The above description is a case study of a specific situation and does not constitute legal advice. Every case of a tenant not paying rent requires individual analysis of the factual situation, the content of the lease agreement and the provisions of applicable law. Lease termination procedures, payment cases and possible eviction are regulated by the Civil Code, the Tenant Protection Act and the Code of Civil Procedure. Before taking formal action, consult a lawyer.
