Housing experiences of Ukrainian migrants and refugees in Polish cities – a case study of Łódź, Poland

The unprecedented scale of emigration of Ukrainian citizens, dramatically intensified after the Russian attacks on their country in 2022, has aroused great interest among scholars. This article is dedicated to the housing experiences of Ukrainians who arrived in Łódź, one of the largest Polish cities facing rapid population decline. The study was conducted using a qualitative methodology, specifically through monographic analysis, in order to provide a detailed and contextualized understanding of the case under investigation. The data were collected in 2024 through interviews conducted with two groups of Ukrainians: those who arrived prior to 2022, mainly for work and educational purposes (migrants), and those who found refuge there after Russia’s attack (refugees). The aim of the research was to make a comparison between the residential experiences of these two groups and to understand the specificity of their housing strategies in a city characterized by affordable rents and house prices. The results showed that there was little difference between refugees and immigrants in terms of their situation on the housing market, and that this difference persisted in their socio-economic profile. The most vulnerable benefited from specific subsidies and programs implemented by the state, the local authorities and NGOs. The others have undergone increasing difficulties in finding accommodation in the private market. It seems that the ongoing depopulation of Łódź has no significant impact on the inflow of migrants or the availability of housing but mainly results in lower rents and a lower cost of living compared to other large Polish cities.