Poland’s Supreme Audit Office (NIK) has found that the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) failed to charge Karol Nawrocki for occupying a guest room at the institution while he served as its chairman.
The audit concerns a 71-square-metre room. Unpaid rent and utility costs totalled 55,200 zlotys — roughly €13,000–14,000 at current rates. Auditors said the arrangement breached the principles of proper management of state property.
IPN officials countered that the practice was long-standing for institute directors. They said the room was provided because of the demands of the post: a heavy official workload, irregular hours and frequent representational duties. Previous chairmen, they added, had also used the facility free of charge.
The revelations have drawn sharp criticism in Polish media and political circles. Opponents of Nawrocki, who took office as president in August 2025, argue the case highlights wider problems with official housing for public figures. His supporters and the IPN itself maintain that no rules were broken and that the arrangement was justified by the nature of the job.
This is not Nawrocki’s first housing controversy. During the 2025 presidential campaign he faced accusations of free use of luxury apartments at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, where he was director from 2017 to 2021, as well as questions over the circumstances in which he acquired a flat from an elderly neighbour.
The NIK report for 2025 has added a fresh chapter to the story and is expected to fuel further political and legal debate.