In 2026, the government will allocate more than PLN 4 billion for the development of social housing in Poland, which will allow the construction of thousands of affordable housing units. TBS and SIM companies are slowly becoming more important players in the housing market, and the housing estates they build are also getting better. Will social housing become a viable alternative to developer housing? Przemek Ciępka talks to Janusz Olesinski, former president of Katowice TBS, about who can apply for social housing, the advantages of architectural competitions over tenders, and apt answers to the needs of Katowice residents.
Janusz OLESIÑSKI - Manager with many years of experience in strategic investment projects and housing development. A graduate of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, with a master's degree in mine construction and design. He began his career in the industrial sector, serving as a director at Katowicki Holding Węglowy from 1993 to 1998. In the following years, he was involved in the implementation of strategic investment projects in Katowice. As a member of the board of directors of Nowe Centrum, he implemented the Silesia City Center project, one of the largest commercial investments in Poland, which became a symbol of the transformation of post-industrial areas. He then took part in the development of the Oak Terraces residential complex (840 apartments) as a member of the management board of the development companies. From 2014 to 2026, as president of the Katowicki Towarzystwo Budownictwa Społecznego, he was responsible for the development of this construction segment and the implementation of housing projects in Katowice. He has experience spanning both the public and private sectors, with a particular focus on revitalization projects and investments on post-industrial sites.
Przemek Ciępka: Who are the apartments built by Social Housing Associations and Social Housing Initiatives aimed at?
Janusz Olesinski: Housing in TBS or SIMs is for those residents who, due to their income, cannot "get" municipal housing, and at the same time do not have the means to take out a mortgage to buy an apartment on the commercial market. Living with parents after marriage is not conducive to self-reliance and is not always beneficial for young families, who at the same time cannot afford developer housing.
The idea of TBS originated in France and from the beginning was to serve those who do not yet earn enough to afford a proprietary apartment, do not have the creditworthiness to take out a loan. Thanks to social housing, such people have the opportunity to rent an apartment at a price far below market rates. In the case of TBS Katowice, this is roughly a third of the rent in the commercial market. Later, these people continue their careers, start earning more and more, and at some point become creditworthy. Then they can release the TBS unit and buy their own private apartment or build a house. The vacated apartment will be rented by the next people entering the job market, and so on.
Przemek Ciępka: Are social housing recipients a homogeneous group?
Janusz Olesinski: As a Social Housing Association, we are one of the tools through which the city implements its housing policy, so we have to listen to its needs in this regard. Hence, for example, ideas for building large apartments for families with many children, which they would not be able to afford at market rent, or for senior housing, or pro-environmental housing to reduce heating costs, the amount of which is, after all, independent of our company. At the same time, these apartments are for a wide range of consumers - on St. Mary's Street seniors integrate with the younger generation, and the "green" housing estate on Kosmiczna Street is not only for supporters of ecological solutions. We are currently considering building apartments for graduates - this is a large group of potential residents whom we would like to keep in Katowice, enabling them to buy or rent apartments at a fair price.
KTBS housing estate on Kosmiczna Street in Giszowiec district
design: k3xmore
Przemek Ciępka: Is there a way to fairly profile the people who get the opportunity to rent a TBS apartment in buildings with a specific purpose?
Janusz Olesinski: For each of our newly built apartments, the City conducts a recruitment. Intakes are conducted according to the rules set by the City Council - it is a point system, which allows us to formulate the rules so as to promote certain groups of residents. If the City wants to give preference to families with children in a particular location, it can award additional points for each child. After the call closes, a list is created ranked according to the applications that scored the highest number of points, then the highest-scoring people are invited to choose a location in the order specified on the list. Of course, the selection is based on both the preferences and abilities of the applicants - in order to get a rental opportunity, one must meet the minimum income condition, i.e. five times the rent rate multiplied by the area of the apartment, and not exceed the maximum income specified in the law.
Przemek Ciępka: Katowice TBS at this point does not offer apartments with the possibility of coming to ownership. How does the turnover of residents in the units occur?
Janusz Olesinski: The apartments become vacant for natural reasons - their residents leave for other cities or acquire their own apartments on the commercial market. In addition, we have new apartments with a participation fee, the amount of which varies depending on the location - in our apartments for large families it was 500 per square meter, in the KTBS tenement on St. Mary's Street the amount was twice as high, with seniors having the fee covered by the city. For the new housing development on Kosmiczna Street, it will be as low as 1,500 zlotys. On top of that, there is a deposit of one year's rent.
KTBS at Mariacka Street in Katowice.
Photo: Michal Kolonko © OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci
Przemek Ciępka: Isn't that too much for social housing?
Janusz Olesinski: This is a matter that should be regulated by law, because due to the revaluation of the participation, we will soon reach skyrocketing sums that have to be paid in order to live in a social housing unit. The new tenant must pay the partition in the amount that was paid to the previous tenant because the partition is refundable when the tenant vacates the premises. These revalued and paid partitions in our country already reach amounts of 2,500 zloty per square meter. State policy is moving in the direction of forcing TBS to lower the participation fee, making social housing more accessible. Today the participation fee may be 30% of the replacement cost of the apartment, in the future it may be as low as 10%. I think this is the right direction, because the high cost of participation fees in many cases prevented those who were fairly entitled to housing from obtaining it.
An estate of apartments for rent on Korczaka Street in Katowice
proj.: Kurylowicz + Architects photo: PFR Real Estate
Nevertheless, for the past four or five years there has been a high demand for such apartments - each time we organize a call for applications, where we collect applications for 7 to 10 days. Without exception, we receive dozens of applicants for one apartment, and the record was 112 applications. The units in new buildings are less popular, but we still get two to six applicants for each one.
Przemek Ciępka: The growing demand for social housing is also reflected in the debate over the future of housing policy in our country. Are you able to indicate what percentage of all housing should be social housing, such as those built by TBS and SIM?
Janusz Olesinski: There is no single optimal solution for all cities. The demand for social housing is completely different in small towns and large metropolises. I think that in Katowice we need between 5,000 and 10,000 social housing units. Observing the high demand for our TBS units and the rising prices of commercial housing, I am concerned that apartments are starting to become an asset, not a living space. I come across information about units that are not even finished, being only a long-term capital investment. I don't know how true are the data that say there are up to 50,000 such vacant apartments in Krakow. The possibility of coming to ownership also requires a different approach. While this may work in small cities, I believe that in Katowice we should only build apartments for rent.
An estate of apartments for rent on Korczaka Street in Katowice
proj.: Kuryłowicz + Architekci photo: PFR Nieruchomości
Przemek Ciępka: Do you think that housing is a right or a commodity?
Janusz Olesinski: My heart tells me that an apartment is a right.
Przemek Ciępka: By August of this year, all municipalities in Poland are required to adopt a General Plan. Do the planning processes affect the operation of TBS?
Janusz Olesinski: General Plans determine the saturation of buildings with a residential function for each area. I am concerned about the lack of distinction between social and commercial housing. I'm concerned that there may be plans for areas where the saturation level has already been reached, but only with commercial developments.
Przemek Ciępka: On the map of social housing in Poland, Katowice TBS stands out not only for its momentum and the number of investments, but also for their quality. What is behind such great success of KTBS?
Janusz Olesinski: You can have the best plans and a great team, but in social construction in the end it's money that decides everything, and you have to follow the money, colloquially speaking. Social housing being built under SIM and TBS relies on two main sources of funding. The first pillar is the subsidy fund, where it is currently possible to obtain 45% of the so-called eligible costs of the investment. In the past, there was the Government Housing Development Fund, which no longer exists today, subsidizing 10% of investment costs. The total of all subsidies obtained in this way by KTBS in recent years amounted to PLN 130 million. The second source of financing is preferential loans, the so-called SBC [Social Rent Building - ed.] loans, which are currently granted for 5 years at an interest rate of 2%. In the past, the cost of SBC loans was determined by the interest rate, but now there is increasing talk of converting this loan into a one-percent loan, granted for 50 years. The support of our city's mayor and vice mayors is not insignificant.
A development of apartments for rent on Korczaka Street in Katowice
proj.: Kuryłowicz + Architekci photo: PFR Nieruchomości
Przemek Ciępka: What is the current housing stock of KTBS?
Janusz Olesinski: As of today, including the newly built housing estate on Kosmiczna Street, Katowice TBS has more than 2,800 apartments. The market is evolving in this direction - the time when we were greedy about ownership is slowly going away, and this process is further accelerated by the rising prices of apartments in Katowice, where the average cost of a square meter is already oscillating around PLN 10,000. Renting also allows you to remain more flexible in your life or career choices.
In recent years, we have also participated in two de facto commercial housing programs, which have not been successful nationally, but in our country, I believe, they have. As part of the Housing Plus program, we participated in the New Nikiszowiec development, which has 513 apartments. The program was transformed into the Housing for Development program, where we participated in the Korczaka Street development, offering another 524 apartments. Although these were not strictly TBS developments, their implementation after the sale of our shares in these developments allowed us to raise additional funds for our continued operations.
KTBS estate built with prefabricated elements at 177 Korfantego Avenue in Katowice.
Przemek Ciępka: Unlike many Social Housing Associations, KTBS continues to develop its offer dynamically. What investments has KTBS completed in Katowice recently?
Janusz Olesinski: In recent years we have handed over four investments, each with a slightly different profile. Last year we completed the construction of a housing estate at 177 Korfantego Avenue in Wełnowiec, which was carried out by Pekabex of Poznań, Poland's largest prefabricated construction company. We wanted to see if prefabrication works in the context of our needs. The result was positive, as the use of prefabricated products accelerated construction by more than a year. Although such construction is not possible everywhere, we will certainly still use prefabrication at some point in our future developments. The type of housing itself, which I would describe as quasi-communal, is also non-standard. The subsidy for this investment from the Subsidy Fund was 80%, on top of which we obtained 10% from the Government Housing Development Fund. We leased all these apartments to the city, which in turn subleases the units to residents on the terms applicable to municipal housing with a rent of about PLN 14 per square meter.
KTBS block at 7 Stanislaw Kossuth Street in Katowice.
In 2024, we also handed over a block of flats at 7 Kossutha Street, which was built on the site of a 1970s "Leipzig" type office building that we demolished. Meeting the expectations of households with four or five children in our earlier investments, we have set our sights on large families. So there are 75 apartments in the building, their average size is 78 square meters, but there are apartments as large as 125 square meters. In addition, on the first floor there is a large three-branch nursery with space for 90 children, while on the second floor we have set aside space for the Directorate of the Municipal Public Library of Katowice, which moved from its previous premises to free up space for our next investments.
A development of apartments for rent on Korczaka Street in Katowice
Photo: Kamil Kajdas © OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci
Przemek Ciępka: Your most talked-about project recently was the revitalization of a tenement house on Mariacka Street in Katowice. TBS is rather associated with buildings built after 89 - where did you get the idea to create social housing in a historic building?
Janusz Olesinski: Katowice is a beautiful city - although we associate it primarily with industry, when it was founded, a lot of really valuable tenements were built here. Many of them were later demolished, as happened in Giszowiec in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, however, we want to preserve as much as possible of this historic development. So we treated St. Mary's as a laboratory to answer the question of the cost of revitalizing a tenement in the city center. At the same time we assumed that it would be a real revitalization, not a simple facelift - we decided that we would replace ceilings, introduce elevators or central heating. To this we added a social program - out of 41 apartments, 20 are for the elderly, for whom we also provided an integration day care center and a seniors' club run by the Patroni Foundation, which specializes in this field, and created conditions conducive to integration with other residents. We wanted to gain experience and see what it's like to create senior housing, because the demand for such units will grow. Today we already know that TBS on Mariacka Street was a piece of really good work.
KTBS on Mariacka Street in Katowice.
Photo: Michal Kolonko © OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci
Przemek Ciępka: Wouldn't it have been cheaper to build the same or even more apartments in another location?
Janusz Olesinski: Previously, it seemed to me that it would be best to demolish an old tenement house and erect a new building in its place. In the case of Mariacka Street, construction of a square meter cost 12,500 zlotys, which is not small money, especially for Katowice. In retrospect, however, I think that leaving the historic building was the right move - I'm glad that we made something new out of the old fabric, it was incredible fun to introduce modern solutions to the old spaces. I dream that all historic tenements on the main streets of Katowice will be restored to such a state.
KTBS on Mariacka Street in Katowice.
Photo: Michal Kolonko © OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci
Przemek Ciępka: How did KTBS get the funds for such an expensive investment?
Janusz Olesinski: One of my friends says: any wind will be against you if you don't know the destination port. We knew where our destination was, so the winds favored us. We benefited from subsidies and a preferential loan, and we also got permission to build a small developer's estate in Giszowiec. The money we earned thanks to it was used to realize the building on St. Mary's Street. The City also helped by increasing the share capital of KTBS.
Przemek Ciępka: The KTBS building on Mariacka Street is "branded" as aimed at seniors. Why was it decided to create housing for the elderly in this very place?
Janusz Olesinski: Most tenements in the center of Katowice are heated with coal, and there are no elevators, which exacerbates the phenomenon of "fourth floor prisoners."Before we started the investment, within 3 kilometers of our tenement on Mariacka Street, we surveyed people over 65 years old, asking them if they would like to live in a modern rental apartment, with heating or an elevator, but with less space. Most of the answers were positive, on one condition - the new apartments will be in the center. Older people know how to get around in their current surroundings, they were born in the center and want to die there too.
KTBS on Mariacka Street in Katowice.
Photo: Michal Kolonko © OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci
Przemek Ciępka: Mariacka Street is located in the very center of Katowice - many people associate this place with the urban "rush", loud parties and even an increased incidence of crime. Are you sure it's a good location for senior housing?
Janusz Olesinski: As soon as we announced that we wanted to build on Mariacka Street, panic began to spread in the press that it was an entertainment street. Yes, but only in the section between Dworcowa and Francuska Streets. Farther east, towards the Church of the Immaculate Conception, it is much quieter, and the vicinity of the temple is also a major advantage for seniors. There is also a large park right next door where they can enjoy the greenery. It's been eight months since the new tenants moved in - we haven't had a single complaint since then.
Przemek Ciępka: The TBS building on St. Mary's Street is no ordinary tenement house. How does it meet the needs of seniors?
Janusz Olesinski: I think that the things that bother the elderly the most are loneliness and insecurity. There are people living on St. Mary's who had their own houses, but preferred to sell them because they were on the sidelines, far from the center. In our building they have less space, but all the comforts and close contact with the city community. That's why we are currently working on integrating residents using the experience of the Patrons Foundation. The community center for residents is used by seniors as well as other residents, and the Senior Club can be used by everyone, not just the residents of the tenement, which promotes the education of the elderly, who also need to feel comfortable in this modern reality of ours. We also try to respond to their needs on an ongoing basis, investigating whether they need catering, laundry or help with cleaning.
KTBS on Mariacka Street in Katowice, Poland.
Photo: Michal Kolonko © OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci
Przemek Ciępka: Have the apartments themselves also been equipped with solutions aimed at this social group?
Janusz Olesinski: In the apartments for seniors, in each room there is a "life button" connected to a switchboard directing the signal all the way to Lodz, where there is an association of paramedics with whom we have signed a contract. They, in turn, have direct contact with hospitals and emergency departments. When any resident feels worse, they can press a button and an ambulance will automatically be directed to their address. Eager residents can also use a wristband that also has a connection to the headquarters in case of a fall, for example. The wristbands work in the immediate vicinity of the tenement.
Przemek Ciępka: How does the "life button" work in practice?
Janusz Olesinski: Some time ago, one of the seniors living in our apartment building on Mariacka Street fainted. His wife pressed the "life button," but since she was not sure about its operation, she decided to dial the emergency number as well, just to be sure. After presenting the situation that had happened to her husband, she gave the address, to which the ambulance dispatcher asked with surprise if she had misplaced the apartment number? It turned out that she had, and the ambulance was already on its way before she even managed to call 112.
KTBS housing development on Kosmiczna Street in Giszowiec, Poland
proj.: k3xmore
Przemek Ciępka: KTBS's latest investment, the estate on Kosmiczna Street in Katowice, will be one of the most environmentally friendly estates in Poland. Where did this ambition come from?
Janusz Olesinski: Some time ago we got in touch with an organization that awards the Green House certificate. Its members convinced us to try, as part of TBS Katowice's activities, to realize the first multi-family housing estate that would manage to obtain such a certificate. Hence the competition and the selected design by the K3xmore studio, which involves providing energy using air and deep-sea heat pumps. We have a similar solution, although only using air heat pumps, in our new housing development on Korfantego Street in Katowice. Our energy supplier was unable to secure heat supply in the project area, so we had no choice but to build Poland's first such large estate heated exclusively with heat pumps. We hope that the construction of ecological estates will become a new trend.
KTBS housing estate on Kosmiczna Street in Giszowiec district
design: k3xmore
Przemek Ciępka: Will all these green solutions introduced on Kosmiczna have a real impact on the lives and household budgets of the residents?
Janusz Olesinski: After a year of operation we will be able to say more about the effects of the adopted solutions, but we assume that heating bills will be 15-20% lower compared to the cost of central heating.
Przemek Ciępka: More and more TBS estates are being built according to projects selected in competitions - in recent years competitions for concepts of such buildings in Gliwice, Bielsko-Biała or Szczecin have been settled. KTBS also uses this formula. What experience do you have with architectural competitions in the context of such a specific activity as social housing?
Janusz Olesinski: Of the four investments we have completed in recent years, we have held two competitions. In the case of estates consisting of repetitive elements, we usually choose from among several designs, or we create a concept ourselves, which we then implement. However, when we are faced with an unusual project, challenges that we encounter for the first time, we decide to hold a competition. This was the case, for example, in the case of the Kosmiczna Street housing development - the introduction of so many pro-environmental solutions to achieve the Green House certificate was something completely new for us. We wanted to have a range of solutions from which we could choose the best concept.
KTBS housing estate on Kosmiczna Street in Giszowiec - axonometric view
proj.: k3xmore
Przemek Ciępka: Wouldn't it be cheaper to organize a tender, though?
Janusz Olesinski: Of course, the organization of an architectural competition is an additional cost - but it is not significant in the perspective of the value of the entire investment. If something nice is to be created in the end result, you have to pay the right price for it, right?
In a tender, usually the cheapest project wins, but this does not at all mean that it will be the best, or even optimal. Contrary to appearances, constructing a tender in which the scoring rules also promote other design values is not so simple. Therefore, we believe that if a really good design is needed, only an architectural competition is the right way to get it. Such a formula also has additional advantages - we establish a relationship with SARP and many great architects, who in the future may be the authors of the designs of our buildings.
KTBS housing estate on Kosmiczna Street in Giszowiec district
proj.: k3xmore
Przemek Ciępka: Does the construction of new social housing estates always meet with the enthusiasm of residents?
Janusz Olesinski: Each of our investments involves many people. A lot of associations of residents have been formed, and they raise their strength, opposing the cutting down of trees and the erection of buildings, postulating, for example, the creation of new parks. They ask the question: I already live here, so why do I need another neighbor?
Currently, we start all investment processes with meetings with residents. We explain that our investments are no longer giant apartment blocks, but small buildings whose designs maintain appropriate distances from existing buildings or the level of sunlight in the surrounding area. We inform about work schedules and ask about the needs of the communities among which the residents of our new buildings are expected to be in the future. We try to reach a community consensus.
KTBS housing estate on Kosmiczna Street in Giszowiec - implementation
design: k3xmore photo: PROLOG
Przemek Ciępka: What plans does KTBS have for the coming years?
Janusz Olesinski: In the coming years we want to build about 400 new apartments. We are currently working on two investments. The first one will be located on Andersa Street in Borki in Katowice, and the second one we are planning in Kokocińc, where urban activist groups are intensively active. In addition to the housing development, we want to create a park there - we have already organized one series of meetings on this issue, and in March we are planning a workshop, during which residents will be able to decide what this green space would look like.
We also have further plans, concerning the old substance, even the historic one. They are still a long way off, but we are already fighting for the consensus I mentioned, later we will try to get a building permit. We want to have these projects "in the drawer" and wait for the moment when the money appears and we can start construction.
Przemek Ciępka: Thank you for the interview!
The above interview is a transcript of a conversation conducted in February 2026. On March 16, 2026, the Supervisory Board dismissed the existing Board of Directors of Katowice TBS, including the CEO, Janusz Olesinski. The city did not provide official information about the reasons for the change, and Bronislawa Kieczka took over the role of President on the new Board. We keep our fingers crossed for the continued success of KTBS!
