Renting an apartment in Russia: making a contract.

If you want to rent an apartment in Russia you should insist on making a contract with an owner. Making a contract with a renting or touring company will not cause any problems; for it is obligatory. But if you want to rent an apartment from a private owner, you may deal with misunderstanding here: very often private hosts do not even think of a contract. Reasons here may be different: extreme confidence to words (mostly) and - in some cases - an effort to make profit.

Confidence is still spread widely. An owner and a tenant in Russia most commonly don’t sign any papers, making a word agreement about dates, price, keys and any other conditions. Of course both understand the risk but it is still so. Some of the owners can even be surprised when you ask about a contract - especially women. Even if people sign a contract it is still considered quite a formal thing.

Also, most people think that a common paper with signatures is not a real contract and doesn’t have any legal effect. It is considered that only an agency can help with it, including things like official seals, letterheads on a beautiful paper and things alike. It is not true.

Seldom, but you can get across a rascal who would like to make profit of your accomodation. Most commonly it’s not theft but you suddenly get a message that some valuable object vanished, and it is you to blame and to pay for it. Besides, an owner can “forget” that it was you who rented a room or an apartment and just drive you out. So, here are some hints of how to make a right contract.

So, making a contract, keep an eye to the following:

The subject of a contract.

Address of a room or flat, its size and a number of rooms.

Names, real addresses, passport data (its number; when and where it was received) of the contracting parties. For Russians, official papers require name, surname and patronymic name. Real address is stamped in a passport.

A document that gives property rights for a room/apartment must be mentioned.

Data about persons who have the right to live in the rented apartment: the owner, his/her family members or other persons.

Size of fee and when it should be given.

Responsibility of parties

Terms of rent and order of prolongation, the date when contract is signed.

Besides, it is necessary to make an act of inventory of property. An owner receives a guarantee that his property is not spoiled and if so, he’d be payed for it. A tenant is assured from groundless claims. Rent rate is better to indicate in $ or euro, with a mark “by the rate of Central Bank of Russia at the day of payment”.

One of the sufficient points is who can get money from a tenant. Usually it’s the owner, but if an apartment is owned by several persons it may be possible to pay them. Also it makes sense to leave a phone deposit for owner (and mention it in contract!) - there are cases when people leave enormous bills behind and it is very hard to find them and get the money back. When an owner sees that there are no debts he would return your money.

Pay extra attention for the “Responsibility” point. Here you and an owner mention anything they consider of great importance. A tenant must leave the flat when the terms of rent are out and return all the property unspoiled. An owner must grant an apartment suitable to live in terms. If an eviction occurs not in terms an owner must pay for it, usually it’s a one or two-month fee.

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