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What you need to do to rent a home directly from the owner: three proven methods

Photo: imagebroker / Giuseppe Graziano / Global Look Press

Renting an apartment without a realtor is a pipe dream for many people who want to rent a home in Moscow. In the capital's economy-class housing market, there are many real estate agents who negotiate on behalf of the owners and take a commission from the tenant for this. This system is convenient for owners of inexpensive housing: they do not spend money on the services of a realtor, who independently brings potential tenants to them. At the same time, for tenants the situation seems unfair: they did not hire a realtor and did not want to pay him, but are often forced to do so, since the agent leaves them no choice.

Now, on average, 90% of ads on various specialized real estate websites are placed by realtors, Pavel Lutsenko, general director of the World of Apartments online service, told RBC Real Estate. Currently, the share of advertisements from agents on the World of Apartments website is 84%, on Cyana - 90%, on Yandex.Real Estate - 89%, representatives of these companies told RBC-Real Estate. The Avito press service was unable to answer the editor’s question about the share of advertisements from owners and from intermediaries.

Those who don’t want to pay a realtor just for posting an ad on a free website and being present at the conclusion of the deal can only look for rare offers from homeowners or use not very popular services where agents are not allowed, for example, The Locals or "33 elephants" This method is time-consuming and does not guarantee results: the most suitable option can be rented through a realtor, who will require the tenant to pay 100% of the monthly rate as his own remuneration. “In Germany there is a very good law: whoever hires a realtor pays for him,” said Evgeniy Luchinin, co-founder of The Locals service. “I believe that the realtor’s services should be paid for by the owner, since the realtor helps him.”

The editors of RBC Real Estate have found three working and absolutely legal ways to exclude a realtor from a rental transaction - even if the agent is present in the apartment and insists on his own remuneration.

How does rental housing work in Moscow?

Photo: Britta Pedersen / DPA / TASS

Many owners of Moscow apartments turn to realtors, who promise the owners to find tenants free of charge and quickly. The owners agree, since they themselves do not bear the costs. The realtor advertises on his own behalf, and then arranges viewings with those who call. At this stage, the interested tenant cannot contact the owner directly: all communication takes place exclusively through the agent.

Three parties usually come to view an apartment: a potential tenant, a realtor and the owner of the apartment (or a relative of the owner authorized to enter into an agreement). If the tenant likes the apartment and is satisfied with the price, then the parties agree on a deal. At this point, the realtor hands the owner and tenant a lease agreement - usually this is a standard agreement template, a sample of which can be easily found on the Internet. In most cases, there are two parties to the agreement - the tenant and the landlord. The realtor is not mentioned in such a document. “In many cases, the payment of a commission to a realtor is not documented at all,” said Ksenia Kazakova, a partner at the law firm Orient Partners. “In such a situation, it is almost impossible to prove any violation.”

In the presence of an agent, the landlord and his tenant sign an agreement, after which the tenant gives the owner the first month's rent along with a deposit, and the realtor an agent's commission, usually equal to the monthly rental rate (in some cases, half the rate). After this, the realtor disappears, and the owner and tenant are left to resolve everyday issues - handing over the keys, the possibility of replacing furniture, and so on. All further communication between the apartment owner and the tenant takes place without anyone’s mediation - in other words, if disagreements arise, the parties clarify everything with each other without the involvement of a realtor, who is not responsible for either the decency of the tenant or the decency of the owner.

In isolated cases, a realtor accompanies the apartment throughout the entire rental period, but for economy class housing this situation is an exception to the rule. The system with the payment of a commission by the tenant usually works for apartments in the mass segment (costing up to 50 thousand rubles per month); in the business and elite categories, the agent's remuneration is often paid by the owner.

Method number 1: bring a friend and pass him off as a realtor

The first method will require the help of a friend who agrees to play the role of realtor on the tenant’s side. The fact is that you can look for a rented apartment not only through the Internet, but also through real estate agencies. In this case, the future tenant comes to the agency’s office, where employees tell him about the available options. This is the only case in which the tenant actually contacts the agent and pays a commission to him of his own free will - only we are talking about his own agent, and not the one who represents the owner of the property.

If there is also an agent on the owner’s side, then the transaction is carried out through the mediation of two realtors at once, who divide the commission in half - these are the unspoken rules of work for realtors in Moscow. A savvy tenant can use these rules to their advantage, especially since real estate agents often use the same free online services as regular tenants. A person who wants to save money can ask a friend to make a call, and then, together with the future tenant, go to view the apartment under the guise of a private realtor. In this case, at the conclusion of the transaction, the tenant’s friend will calmly take half of the commission - and then simply return this money to the tenant.

This method is not a deception: in the All-Russian Classifier of Professions there is no specialty “realtor”, which means that anyone can call themselves a realtor. “The concept of “realtor” in the market is quite vague,” confirmed Orient Partners lawyer Ksenia Kazakova. — Representatives of well-known well-known companies, employees of small companies, individual entrepreneurs, and simply individuals who are not registered as individual entrepreneurs act as realtors. In such a situation, it is quite difficult to check whether the person who came with the tenant is a “real realtor”. However, this also works in the opposite direction: the realtor representing the interests of the landlord, as a rule, also does not have any supporting documents.”

Method number 2: wait until the realtor leaves

Photo: Vadim Nekrasov / Russian Look

The second method is popular both in the rental market and in the segment of purchase and sale of apartments in major cities Russia. A person interested in a transaction agrees with a realtor to view the apartment in the presence of the owner, but during the viewing, he refuses the deal under any pretext. After this, the potential tenant says goodbye and leaves - but not for long. During the visit, the future tenant will find out the exact address home and remembers the name of the owner (this information is usually not indicated in advertisements).

If the tenant liked the apartment, then a couple of hours after viewing it you can return there and find the owner inside without a realtor. “I really liked your apartment, but I don’t want to pay a commission to a stranger. Let’s conclude an agreement with you without intermediaries,” such a tenant says to the property owner. If the tenant is still not found, this strategy ends successfully for all parties: the tenant receives housing without a commission, and the owner receives a persistent tenant who is ready to immediately pay the money and move into the apartment. It is simply unprofitable for the owner to refuse such a deal: extra days of downtime will lead to lost profits.

“A person will have to make a choice: either I don’t conflict, leave everything as is and overpay the realtor, or I go into an open conflict and try to save money,” said psychologist and gestalt therapist Yulia Smelyanets. - Both have their pros and cons. I need to ask myself if the money I don’t want to spend is worth the possible consequences (this could be a conflict, tension in the transaction, or a possible negative attitude from the landlord).”

Method number 3: negotiate with the owner openly

Photo: Andrew Olney / moodboard / Global Look Press

The third method is the fastest and toughest of all. When viewing an apartment with an agent, you need to openly contact the apartment owner with a proposal to conclude an agreement without an intermediary. To do this, the potential tenant must quickly and correctly convince the property owner that renting without a realtor is best choice for the owner. It is better to ignore the realtor at this moment so that he cannot interfere in the conversation. The difficulty is that the negotiations will have to be conducted in the presence of the opposing party, so this method will require composure and the ability to maintain a friendly attitude even in a conflict situation.

“If the landlord works through a realtor, and the tenant wants to squeeze out the realtor right in front of him, then the reaction of all participants is unpredictable,” said psychologist Evgenia Bulyubash. “I think the realtor will resist, because his profession itself requires certain personal characteristics - perseverance, aggressiveness, speed. In addition, he expects to receive a fee. This is an equation with two unknowns: it is unclear how the homeowner will feel about the process and whether he will want to work directly.”

“In any conflict, one’s own clear position gives stability. If you formulate your position and constantly remember it, it gives you peace of mind,” Bulyubash added. “Not taking your opponent’s words personally will help—this is ensured by self-respect. It is useful to be able to notice various manipulative techniques in relation to yourself and others, as well as the ability to make choices without falling into passion - that is, wild rage or fear. Obviously, such a conflict is not for everyone. Sometimes it’s not worth going the hard way and getting into a fight with a realtor, wasting effort and energy on it. You can always choose a simpler option and conclude a contract without a feat. This is also a choice."

“Much of the focus in a perceived conflict may be that the landlord or realtor might think something bad about us if we take the risk of acting more boldly. This is what often stops people from clarifying relationships,” Yulia Smelyanets pointed out. — It is important to understand that people who engage in real estate transactions have, by definition, strong nerves - otherwise they would not be able to remain in a market full of uncertainty, risk and unpredictability. Realtors are people with certain personal characteristics. [For them] you are just another client in the track record; they are unlikely to remember you in two days. Maybe if you keep this in mind, it will be easier to defend the requirements on which you yourself want to rent the property.”

What do lawyers think?

Photo: Andrew Olney / moodboard / Global Look Press

“None of these methods contradict Russian law,” says Ksenia Kazakova from Orient Partners. — In fact, the payment of a commission to the owner’s realtor by the tenant is an imposed service. Strictly speaking, a realtor’s commission is payment for his services in finding tenants provided to landlords. The ban on imposing services is established in Art. 16 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”. Part 2 of this article provides the following: “It is prohibited to condition the acquisition of some goods (works, services) on the mandatory acquisition of other goods (works, services). Losses caused to the consumer as a result of violation of his right to free choice of goods (work, services) are compensated by the seller (performer) in full.”

However, if an individual acts as a landlord, then his relationship with the tenant is not regulated by the law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights,” the lawyer added. “The question of the possibility of applying this law to the actions of a landlord renting out an apartment remains open,” Kazakova clarified. — There is no clear answer to the question of whether a realtor is the subject of imposing services in accordance with Art. 16 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”.

“The actions of a realtor who offers his services to a tenant of an apartment and assures that renting out an apartment is impossible without the consent of the realtor and without paying a commission to the realtor cannot be called legal,” noted Maria Ponamoreva, senior lawyer at the A2 law office. — It happens that in the agreement that is proposed to be concluded, neither the name of the realtor nor the name of his company are mentioned, but only the owner of the apartment and the tenant appear. This indicates that this is a private broker or a real estate agency, where services are not officially carried out according to financial statements.” In this case, the realtor can be intimidated by a complaint to the tax service - it is unlikely that “gray” employees will want to frame their employer. If successful, the agent can leave the apartment himself.

It happens that while discussing a deal, the realtor tells the owner that he does not have the right to rent out the apartment without the participation of an agent. “The answer to this is that there are no mandatory norms of law prohibiting renting out an apartment with or without a commission,” Ponamoreva pointed out. If the realtor begins to appeal to oral agreements with the landlord, then the potential tenant may ask the agent to show the agreement with the landlord.

“If a realtor has provided the owner of the premises with a service in the form of searching for a tenant, then these relations must be recorded in a service agreement, which will clearly indicate the conditions under which the realtor or agency provides the service of finding a tenant for the property. The amount of remuneration is also indicated there,” said the head of the project department for commercial real estate legal company Heads Consulting Olesya Shilova. Without such an agreement, the apartment owner can legally kick the realtor out of the apartment and conclude a deal without an intermediary.

If legal arguments do not help, then the tenant can turn to the common sense of the apartment owner. For example, a tenant may offer to raise the monthly rent by 1-2 thousand rubles. in case of refusal from the realtor. In this case, the owner’s income will increase (by 12-24 thousand rubles when concluding an annual contract), and the deal will immediately become more attractive. It is important that the proposed increase still turns out to be more profitable than a one-time payment to the realtor - it is enough to calculate in advance how much you can raise the rate.

Many tenants think that searching for housing on their own is preferable to using intermediaries who need to pay a percentage of the transaction. In fact, it is possible to find a living space yourself, but this requires caution and attentiveness. In this article, we will tell you in detail about methods of searching for rental housing, ways to reduce the risk of meeting an unscrupulous counterparty, and the specifics of the procedure.

○ Advantages and disadvantages of renting an apartment without intermediaries.

Renting a home without involving intermediaries has both pros and cons. To make a final decision, you need to study all aspects of the issue in detail and weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of this method.

So, the positive aspects of renting housing on your own are the opportunity to:

Savings due to absence additional expenses for intermediary services.
Joint hiring with friends and splitting the amount of payment.
Bargaining with the owner and reducing payment.

All of the above points allow you to save a significant amount on rented housing.

However, the main disadvantage of this type of hiring is the risk of becoming a victim of fraud. Other cons:

Difficulty finding suitable housing.
The possibility of conflicts with the landlord regarding things provided for temporary use.
Risk of sudden eviction.
Lack of guarantee of respect for the rights of the tenant.

○ How to find an apartment that is rented without intermediaries.

You can find an apartment yourself through:

Acquaintances.
The Internet, the most popular sites for searching in this direction are www.avito.ru, www.irr.ru, as well as various social networks.
Newspapers and magazines, in special sections.

You can also independently post rental advertisements within the area of interest and wait for a call from landlords. In this case, it is advisable to place advertisements on the walls of houses or special stands.

○ How to check the apartment and the owner.

Before concluding a transaction, it is important to conduct a thorough inspection of the apartment for technical condition. Particular attention should be paid to the condition of pipes and wiring.

You also need to check whether the landlord has the rights to conclude the transaction:

Is he the owner (providing a certificate of title, extracts from Rosreestr).
If not, does he have title documents: primary lease agreement, purchase and sale agreement, certificate of inheritance.

In addition, you need to check the following documents:

Passport (if the renter is an individual).
Constituent documents (if the housing is rented out by a legal entity).

Also, regardless of the status of the landlord, you need to check the apartment for the presence of debts to pay for utilities (extract from Rosreestr or the management company).

○ Fraud with apartments.

Renting a home is one of the most popular areas of work for scammers. Therefore, when embarking on an independent search, you should minimize the risk of meeting them.

The most common fraud schemes:

Re-letting of rented housing. The fraudster rents an apartment, then rents it out, posing as the owner using forged title documents. When renting out, they take a deposit for a few months and disappear.
The same type of fraud can be carried out by the owner of the apartment. Upon agreement, he shows a copy of the certificate of title, citing the fact that the original is in some authority. Here he also requires a deposit, after receiving which he disappears.
A real estate agency can also commit fraud. For example, you may be offered to buy a database with phone numbers of potential tenants, specifying that they will not charge you a percentage for the transaction. As a result, the list turns out to be invalid, and the payment for it is quite high.

To protect yourself from such cases, you should choose housing as carefully as possible, observing the following rules:

Do not trust options with too attractive prices.
Check the authenticity of the documents provided (for this you can ask for an extract from Rosreestr).
Pay money for the arena only on receipt.
Draw up a lease agreement with an attached acceptance certificate for the premises and an inventory of the property.

○ How to draw up an agreement?

An agreement concluded in accordance with all the rules guarantees the observance of the rights of each participant in the transaction. Therefore, it is worth compiling it even if the property is rented without the involvement of a realtor.

Despite the fact that the legislation does not provide for an established template for such an agreement, the agreement must indicate:

Personal data of the parties to the transaction.
Subject of the agreement (features of real estate that make it possible to determine that it is being rented out).
Rent amount.
Rights and obligations of the parties to the agreement.
Responsibility of the parties.
Duration of the agreement (if this clause is not specified, a maximum five-year validity period will be assigned, in accordance with Article 683 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
Details of the parties to the transaction, their signatures and the date of conclusion of the agreement.

It is also necessary to draw up the following annexes to the agreement:

An act of acceptance and transfer of property that records the technical condition of the property at the time of conclusion of the agreement.
An inventory of property, which indicates things transferred for temporary use, indicating their exact quantity.

Hiring in the second way implies participation in the business of any persons, facilitating the conclusion of a deal. They may be:

Thus, there may be several options.

However, if you wish, you can enter into a rental agreement yourself.

So, if you decide to rent a living space yourself, you should know important points, risks and possible difficulties.

You can learn about the concept, its rights and responsibilities from our article.

How to find?

To rent a living space on your own, without overpaying for realtor services or other intermediaries, several sources can be used:

information from relatives and friends. Perhaps some of them themselves want to rent out the property or there is information about such options;
ad sites. Modern and effective method exchange of information and search for housing;
newspapers and other printed publications. The advertisements in them have not yet lost their relevance;
self-submission of advertisements about the desire to rent housing. Perhaps the landlord will call himself.

You can learn about how to live in an apartment, as well as how to do it, from our articles.

Obviously, there are a lot of options where to look for an apartment for rent without intermediaries. To do this, it is not at all necessary to contact a real estate agency.

If, when trying to rent a living space, it turns out that a realtor is involved in the matter, you can try to conclude a deal without his participation. To do this, by agreeing to inspect the option you like, you need to come there prepared.

You can write in advance on a piece of paper your phone number and an offer to negotiate without a realtor. Upon examination quietly transfer it to the owner.

However, you should first establish personal contact with him, as invisible as possible to the realtor.

You can stay in the apartment after the realtor leaves under any pretext.

This is quite difficult to do.

That is why it is important to find an approach to the property owner.

Risks

Of course, there are certain risks when independent search housing available:

incorrect preparation of papers. with all the key points included in the text, otherwise, quiet living is at risk;
scammers. There is a great risk of “running into” scammers who rent out the same other people’s apartments to several clients and then disappear;
increase in accommodation fees. Again, if the contract is drawn up incorrectly, there may be a disproportionate increase after a couple of months of residence;
prepayment. It is important about transferring money. If the landlord asks for an advance payment many months in advance, this is a reason to think about the honesty of his intentions;
unjustifiably private visits from the owner. Rarely is this point spelled out in the agreement, considering it unimportant. This results in a misunderstanding between the parties regarding the frequency of the landlord’s visits.

Any risks can be minimized by correctly concluding documents and considering possible scenarios.

In addition, it can tell a lot owner behavior. However, even reputable agencies do not guarantee an absolute absence of risk.

What needs to be checked?

When communicating directly with the landlord should be checked:

owner documents, identification documents;
documents for living space. This is necessary so that it does not later become clear that the person who rented out the living space does not have any rights to it;
presence of other owners. If the living space is owned by several persons, their consent is required to rent it out. You should make sure in advance that there is only one owner. This will protect you from further problems and premature eviction;
condition of the premises. Everything is important: the condition of the plumbing, the interior, the details. If something doesn’t suit you, you need to solve this problem “on shore” or look for another option;
neighbours. It is better to inquire in advance about which neighbors live nearby. If they are too noisy or dysfunctional, you should think about the feasibility of removal;
property location. Ask the owner about the nearest metro stations, stops, shops, etc.

Thus, it is better to immediately verify the legality of providing housing for rent, assess its condition, as well as the situation in general.

Making a deal

To do it correctly and with minimal risks record the fact of a transaction To rent a living space with all the important conditions, it is necessary to draw up a number of documents:

rental agreement. in writing, registered in case of employment period of more than 1 year. It contains all the rights and obligations of the parties, the essential aspects of the transaction, the payment procedure, etc.;
. Attached to the contract and indicates that the premises have been transferred for temporary use;
indoors. Signed by both parties and protects them from misunderstandings in case of damage or loss of property;
receipt confirming receipt of money for rent.

In order to draw up and correctly conclude documents Intermediaries may not be needed.

Thus, renting a living space on your own is quite possible.

The main thing is to conclude an agreement correctly and competently, get acquainted with the situation, communicate with the owner of the property, paying attention to his behavior. Risks cannot be eliminated, but they can be minimized.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Nowadays there are many agencies offering to rent and rent housing. Intermediaries work with property owners, as well as those wishing to rent it. However, not everyone knows how to rent an apartment correctly. This is exactly what is discussed in the article.

Through an agency

When faced with obtaining real estate for rent for the first time, people usually turn to special companies. It is best to choose an organization based on the recommendation of family or friends. How to rent an apartment through an agency? Professionals must find suitable accommodation, so it is important to set out your requirements.

Then suitable options are selected and appointments are made to view the property. Agency specialists must accompany the client in these cases. And when drawing up an agreement, they conduct all the negotiations. Agency employees provide advice on issues of interest.

A specialist checks property documents. If everything is correct, then a lease agreement is concluded and a transfer and acceptance certificate is drawn up, which contains an inventory of the housing property. Specialist services usually cost 50-100% of the monthly housing price.

Types of fraud

How to rent an apartment correctly so that the transaction is completed according to the law? Here are some common scams to avoid:

Photos are not real. Particular attention should be paid to cases of discrepancies between the rental price of housing and its repair. If the pictures show luxury interiors, but the price is average or below market value, then these are probably scammers. They may say that this apartment is rented out and recommend another one. To check whether photos are taken from other sites, matches can be determined using the Google Images service. False advertisements are created to create a customer base.
The apartment is fictitious. Care must be taken when filling out contracts. It is important to check all information, even if the transaction is made with the help of a realtor. There are often cases when the addresses recorded in the contract do not exist, and people have to pay rent without housing. In this case, you have the right to terminate the lease agreement unilaterally by sending a letter to the landlord. There are also cases where clients are provided with landlord numbers for a fee, but they do not negotiate or accompany them.
Paid inspection. No one can demand money for viewing a property. If this is offered by a realtor, then that is how he earns money, and he is not interested in transactions. Travelers from small towns and villages often fall for these tricks.
Secondary housing rental. Tenants may not move or temporarily occupy other persons, nor may they take a deposit, fee, or commission. How to rent an apartment from the owner? You need to check your housing rights documents.
Offer to purchase a customer base. Those wishing to rent a property are offered access to an online database of owners. A realtor can convince you that the database is updated every day, but after gaining access to it, it will be discovered that the information is outdated.

On one's own

How to rent an apartment without intermediaries? To do this, you need to look for advertisements from owners, and not from real estate companies. If you like the proposal, you need to make an appointment and inspect the property.

You can search for advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet. They are also posted at bus stops. Although in this case there are also many dangers, many people still do not want to contact realtors.

Pros and cons of hiring without intermediaries

Renting real estate without involving intermediaries has advantages and disadvantages. To determine how to proceed, you need to study all sides of the issue. Self-removal has the following advantages:

Savings due to the absence of additional costs for mediation.
Joint hiring with friends and splitting the amount of payment.
Bargaining with the owner and reducing payment.

All of these points will help you save a large amount of money on getting a rented apartment. But the downside is the risk of fraud. Other disadvantages include:

Difficulty finding a suitable apartment.
Possibility of conflicts with the landlord.
Risk of eviction.
Lack of guarantees of rights.

Where to look?

How to rent an apartment correctly, choosing the most suitable one from a variety of options? There are several services that will make your search much easier:

Avito and Domofond. This is a rich database of real estate of different types and categories. To get acquainted with the proposed apartments, you need to select the “private” section of the advertisements. You can specify the number of rooms and the desired metro stations. You can set up alerts about new listings.
"Yandex.Real Estate". The service allows you to set the maximum number of search terms. There are few advertisements, but they are often found interesting offers.
The Locals, “I’ll rent” and other communities on social networks. This great option for those who wish to rent a room. Often such sites charge a fee for access to the database. You can search for advertisements in thematic groups by interest.
CYANOGEN. This large housing database includes many apartment offers. Intermediaries do not charge a fee for this.

Owner verification

How to rent an apartment yourself and for the first time? To do this, you need to check the legal purity of the property. The owner should request the following documentation:

Certificate of ownership.
Property rights agreement.
Passport.
Notarized power of attorney if the transaction is carried out through the owner’s representative.

It is important to check that there are no debts on utility bills. Checking payment receipts and electricity and water meters is carried out before concluding a contract.

Owner's permission

If the property has several owners, then the consent of all is required (upon reaching 14 years of age). The rental agreement must contain the signatures of the owners or the signature of an authorized person who has a special power of attorney.

When renting a room in a communal apartment, you need permission from your neighbors. This is the landlord's concern. He must provide a document confirming the right to use this apartment. This will eliminate potential conflicts.

Agreement

How to rent an apartment without getting scammed? You must check the documentation carefully. The lease agreement must include the following information:

Full name and passport details of the owner, tenant.
Rent payment.
Conditions for changing fees.
Number of visits to the owner for inspection.
Persons who may live with the tenant.
Deadline.
Conditions for termination of the contract.
Description of housing: address, area, number of rooms.

In each case, the contract is individual; there is no standard form. It is important that it contains the rights and obligations of the parties.

Inventory of property

It indicates the property transferred to the tenant for temporary use. The inventory is an appendix to the contract. It should include furniture, appliances, linen, kitchen utensils, dishes, carpets, etc. If items are lost or damaged that are not listed in the inventory, the owner will not be able to return them.

Meeting your neighbors

How to rent an apartment correctly so that no unforeseen situations arise in the future? You should get to know your neighbors. This way it will be possible to establish whether the housing actually belongs to a specific person. Neighbors can tell you who lived before and how often residents change. If the house is new, you can visit the local housing office and find out the name of the owner, as well as other information of interest.

Rights and obligations of the parties

According to Russian laws, ongoing repairs to the premises, for example, leaking taps, peeling wallpaper or cracked plumbing, are repaired at the expense of the landlord. Therefore, it must be indicated that the elimination of defects in the premises should be carried out at the expense of the owner of the property, for example, through a monthly payment.

If this is not fixed in the contract, then the employer will have to eliminate the shortcomings on his own. The owner can check the condition of the house, but this does not mean that he can come at any time - you need to agree when and how contact will take place.

Rental rules

How to rent an apartment if several suitable options are found? It is important to check the documents and the availability of contact information. The apartment must have an Internet connection: you should find out the rules for paying for this service.

During the inspection of the premises, you need to check the condition of the plumbing and electrical wiring. The main thing is that the plugs are not knocked out with the connection of a minimum set of devices. There should be no cockroaches, bedbugs or other insects in the room.

How to rent an apartment on long term? When planning a long stay, you need to clarify all the details. There's no need to rush. If any deficiencies have been identified, you should find out at whose expense the repairs and elimination will be carried out. It is important to write down emergency numbers for various problems. The furniture issue needs to be resolved. Since rental prices on the market are unstable, it is undesirable to sign contracts for a long period at a fixed price.

When signing the document, the owner of the premises hands over a set of keys that need to be checked. Typically the contract period is 1 year minus 1 day. This is a short-term rental and reduces the likelihood of co-tenants moving in. To renew the contract, you must sign the agreement one month before the expiration date.

The housing issue for Russian citizens is particularly acute. Real estate is expensive. Not everyone is able to purchase a home, even with a mortgage. An alternative is to rent real estate daily or for a long term. However, not all premises owners and organizations acting as intermediaries conscientiously fulfill their obligations.

Understanding how to rent an apartment without getting scammed, a person must take into account a whole list of different factors. Experts advise studying the types of fraud. This will help a person find out in advance that a dishonest act is planned against him. Then you need to familiarize yourself with a competent scheme for renting residential premises. Especially in order to help tenants prevent violation of their rights, we have prepared a list of tips that will allow you to avoid fraud when drawing up a rental agreement. We’ll talk further about what types of fraud exist, how to properly search through a real estate agency, and what to do to competently rent a room on your own.

Faced with the need to rent housing for a day or for a long period, people usually look for advertisements on Avito or contact a real estate agency. Experts advise using the services of only trusted organizations. Ideally, you should be guided by the advice of friends.

Having drawn up an agreement with a client, a representative of the organization usually performs the following actions:

Finds an apartment that meets the client's requirements.
Coordinates with the owner of the premises the time and date of inspection of the property, as well as other nuances.
Visits the apartment with the client.
Conducts all negotiations if the parties decide to enter into a rental agreement.
Checks the documents provided by the owner of the property confirming the existence of ownership rights.
Concludes the rental agreement and prepares the transfer and acceptance certificate of the property.

The services of agency employees are paid. The citizen will have to pay the specialist 100% of the rent.

What scams can you encounter when renting a home?

When figuring out how to properly rent an apartment for a long period of time, a person must take into account the fact that in the process of performing the action one may encounter fraud. So, the photo of the room may not correspond to reality. If an apartment in good repair is offered at a low cost, this should alert you.

Photos that show an elite interior, but the apartment is rented at a price below the market price, are usually taken from the Internet. Having seen such an advertisement, a person should understand that he has encountered scammers. When meeting with the client, the landlord may say that the apartment has already been rented. As an alternative, a citizen may be offered other real estate, the quality of which is significantly lower.

However, the above rule is not always followed. So as not to really give up advantageous offer Because of doubts, experts advise finding out where the pictures were taken from. To do this, you can use the Google Images service.

The apartment can be rented several times. It must be taken into account that persons who rent premises cannot accommodate other people and charge them rent. When concluding an agreement with the owner of the premises, it is imperative to ask him to provide documents confirming the existence of ownership rights. There is a fee for inspection. It must be taken into account that no one has the right to demand provision Money only so that the client could view the premises.

The apartment doesn't exist. Experts advise carefully checking the data contained in the contract, even if the realtor himself is involved in its preparation. There are cases when the address specified in the contract does not exist. In this case, the client is forced to pay rent without receiving housing.

Such actions are illegal. Finding himself in such a situation, a person has the right to terminate the contract unilaterally. If the acceptance certificate has not been drawn up, the person does not have to worry about paying for the apartment.

Fraudulent realtors who have entered into an agreement with a citizen can charge a fee and then simply provide him with several landlord numbers without intending to accompany the transaction themselves. The citizen who signed the agreement is invited to purchase a customer base. The fraud method is quite new, so the risk increases. It consists in the fact that a person wishing to rent an apartment is offered to buy a database of premises owners. Access to it is provided online.

The realtor usually states that it will be updated daily. However, after the fee is paid, the client will only see a site with outdated information. The client can try to protect himself from unscrupulous realtors. To do this, you must first study reviews about the selected agency. The actions can be performed via the Internet. If an organization has been involved in some kind of fraud for a long time, information about it will most likely be contained on the World Wide Web.

Self-rental apartment

If a person wants to rent a room on his own, he must figure out in advance what he needs to know when renting an apartment from the owner. First of all, you need to carefully study the ad. Then you will have to independently visit all the rooms you like. This method will allow you to save on realtor fees. However, it is necessary to find out in advance what a number of pitfalls are associated with.

How to check an apartment before signing a contract?

Before renting a premises, you need to make sure that it is legally clear.

To do this, you need to ask the owner of the premises for the following documents:

passport;
certificate confirming ownership;
papers on the basis of which ownership rights were transferred to the owner of the premises (for example, a purchase and sale agreement).

If the rental of premises is carried out through a representative of the owner, in addition to the standard list of papers, a power of attorney must be attached. It is certified by a notary. Additionally, you need to make sure that there are no debts for utility services. To do this, you need to check your payment receipts. Actions must be taken before the contract is concluded.

Consent of other apartment owners

If several citizens own the premises, all of them must agree to rent out the apartment. The rule also applies to minors if they are already 14 years old.

The lease agreement must also contain the signatures of all owners of the premises and their representatives.

If a room is rented in a communal apartment, all neighbors must consent to the action. The lessor is responsible for preparing the relevant documentation. It is his responsibility to prepare and provide the citizen with a document regulating the rules for using the apartment. The contract reflects which room is assigned to which owner. All this will allow the tenant to avoid possible conflicts.

Apartment rental agreement: how to draw it up correctly?

When figuring out what to pay attention to when renting an apartment, you first need to correctly draw up a contract. It must be legally correct. All features of the interaction between the landlord and the tenant depend on the provisions of the document. For a document to be considered valid, it must contain a number of mandatory information.

The document must include:

terms of the contract;
the amount of the monthly rent for the apartment;
the period for which the housing is rented;
conditions under which housing fees may be revised;
persons who may live in the apartment together with the tenant;
terms of termination of the contract;
conditions for inspections by the owner of the rented premises.

The contract must indicate the date of execution. The parties to the transaction sign the completed paper.

There is no standard form of agreement. It is compiled individually in each specific case.

To make it easier to draw up an agreement, parties to the transaction can use a ready-made document form. It is recommended to fill out the paper based on the sample.

Carrying out an inventory

An inventory of the property should be included as an annex to the rental agreement for an apartment in Moscow or another city. The document records all the things that are transferred to the citizen for temporary use.

The owner of the home has the right to indicate the following property in the inventory:

household appliances;
furniture;
kitchen utensils;
underwear;
carpets;
other things that are provided to tenants.

If the above items are damaged or lost, the citizen renting the apartment will have to restore their value. If this happens to property that was not indicated in the inventory, the owner of the apartment does not have the right to make claims against the citizen.

How to rent an apartment correctly?

To protect yourself as much as possible from possible fraud, you need to rent the premises correctly. It is imperative to check whether the owner has the right to rent out the property. Then you need to familiarize yourself with the documents for the apartment. You need to find out for yourself where you can find the owner in case of unforeseen circumstances. It is imperative to write down his phone number.

If there is no Internet in the apartment, and a citizen wants to connect it, it is imperative to discuss the conditions under which the action will be carried out.

When inspecting the apartment, you need to pay attention to the condition of the plumbing and electrical wiring. You need to make sure that the plugs are not knocked out when turning on the devices. Additionally, you should make sure that there are no insects in the apartment. If a person discovers any problems, but he likes the housing, it is necessary to immediately clarify at whose expense the elimination of existing problems will be carried out. A citizen should not be afraid to ask questions and ask for information of interest. This will allow you to rent an apartment safely and avoid most pitfalls.