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Foster family or adoption and a mortgage in Poland: what the bank counts

Can a foster family get a mortgage in Poland? How banks treat the pay of a professional foster family, the child allowance and the 800 zł supplement, how a child affects capacity and what adoption changes in the RKM programme.

Piotr Sułkowski · mortgage expert, KNF RHA0013513
Updated:

In short

Foster and adoptive families get a mortgage on the usual terms. In a professional foster family (rodzina zastępcza zawodowa) and a family children’s home, the income is the pay from the county (powiat): at least 4,100 zł gross a month under a contract of at least 4 years, which banks usually assess like a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia). The allowance for the child’s upkeep (from 1 June 2026 at least 1,075 zł or 1,628 zł) and the 800 zł supplement are meant for the child, so banks usually do not count them. An adopted child is treated like any other child, and in the Family Housing Loan (RKM) adopting a second child gives the family repayment just like a birth.

Money in a foster family and how the bank sees it

  • Pay of a professional foster family or family children’s home: at least 4,100 zł gross a month, 5,084 zł in an emergency foster family (pogotowie rodzinne); counted as income by many banks, like a contract of mandate.
  • Allowance for the child’s upkeep: from 1 June 2026 at least 1,075 zł in a kinship family and 1,628 zł in other foster families; usually not counted.
  • Upbringing supplement (dodatek wychowawczy): 800 zł, treated like 800 plus and often ignored.

The contract with the county head (starosta) lasts at least 4 years. The bank checks how long you have received the pay and when the contract ends. Bring a certificate from the county family support centre (PCPR) and bank statements. A government draft (UD354) would raise the minimum pay and introduce open-ended contracts, but it is not law yet.

The child and living costs

The bank usually adds a child who lives with you to the household, including a child in foster care, and assigns living costs to them. Good news: with one child capacity often does not change, because the payment-to-income limit decides. In our example a couple with 8,000 zł net can borrow about 497,000 zł both without children and with one child; with two children about 410,000 zł.

Adoption

After adoption (przysposobienie) the child is legally the same as a child born in the family, and the bank treats them the same way. An employee who takes a child into care and applies to court for adoption has the right to leave on maternity leave terms, and many banks count the ZUS benefit. In the RKM programme the law counts an adopted child, so adopting a second child after the loan is granted means BGK repays 20,000 zł of the loan, and 60,000 zł for the third and each next child. A child in foster care is not covered.

The full description in Polish: Rodzina zastępcza albo adopcja a kredyt hipoteczny.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foster family get a mortgage in Poland?

Yes. The bank assesses it like any family: income, living costs and credit history. In a professional foster family the pay from the county can be income; in kinship and non-professional families the bank relies on the carers’ salary or pension.

Do banks count the pay of a professional foster family?

Some do, and assess it like a contract of mandate. The contract lasts at least 4 years and the pay is at least 4,100 zł gross a month.

Does adoption give the family repayment in the RKM programme?

Yes. The law counts an adopted child, so adopting a second child after the loan gives 20,000 zł and a third or next child 60,000 zł. A child in foster care is not covered.

Sources

  1. Act on family support and the foster care system, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 980 (ISAP, Polish)
  2. Infor: higher foster family allowances from June 2026 (M.P. 2026 item 341, Polish)
  3. Act on the Family Housing Loan, Dz.U. 2024 item 1724 (ISAP, Polish)
This guide describes general rules and typical bank practice as of October 2026. Details

It is not legal or tax advice and not a bank offer. Each bank sets its own criteria, and the lending decision is always made by the bank.

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