How to rent an apartment without intermediaries + 10 expert tips

A rental agreement is a document, the presence of which will help insure both the landlord and the tenant against unexpected situations..ru Oleg Feofanov

First of all, you need to pay attention to the very name of this agreement. This must be a rental agreement

, and not rent, as often happens. The fact is that, in accordance with Russian legislation, a citizen can rent residential premises only on the basis of a rental agreement. This is not a fatal mistake and it will not affect anything, but to some extent it will be an indicator of how competent the party you are dealing with is, especially if such an agreement is concluded through any company.

Be sure to check who is in front of you

. If the property is rented out by the owner, then look at his documents, make sure that this is the “Ivan Ivanovich” that he claims to be.

Then find out what right he owns the residential premises. You can conclude a rental agreement ONLY in relation to an apartment owned by a person, nothing else. Such ownership is confirmed by a certificate of ownership. Be sure to check what is indicated in the “type of ownership” section.

If the type of right is “individual”, there will be no problems. If the type of right is “common share” and the share in the right is indicated, then this should alert you. This means that in addition to the person who rents the apartment to you, someone else is its owner. And this someone (or these someones, if there are many of them) in the future will be able, if they really want to, to declare the rental agreement invalid in court and demand your eviction if their consent to rent out the apartment is not received. Therefore, in this case, it would be optimal to conclude an agreement where all owners act on the lessor’s side, or one of them has powers of attorney to conclude an agreement on behalf of the others. In general, there are many options, but the important thing is that you need to pay special attention to this circumstance.

If the residential premises are not rented by the owner

, then check with the person who offers you to enter into an agreement the authority to conclude it. They can be confirmed by a power of attorney, agency agreement, or other agreement. Unfortunately, it is impossible to consider all the subtleties and features of this side of the problem that interests us within the framework of this article, but what needs to be clearly understood is that you must be sure who is in front of you: the owner or a person entrusted to him. In the latter case, you need to check his credentials.

Please also pay attention to what is included in the rental fee.

. If a fixed amount is indicated there, then you should not pay more than it (for example, utilities), since all these expenses must be borne by the owner by law.

If you are moving into a living space with family members, then indicate them in the rental agreement. If they are not indicated, the landlord may demand their eviction, since he did not give consent to their occupancy. This rule does not apply to minors. They may not be specified in the contract. But moving in other family members (spouses, brothers, sisters, parents, etc.) will have to be with the consent of the landlord.

Experts strongly recommend that when concluding a rental agreement for residential premises, the agreement itself stipulates the procedure for payment of rent

and stick to it. It often happens that money is transferred from hand to hand without receipts, and if the landlord is dishonest, it will be quite difficult to prove later that you paid for the rent in good faith.

It seems that one of the desirable options would be to credit the amounts to the card account of the renter specified in the text of the agreement. In this case, it will not be possible to verify the fact of payment.

It is also necessary to mention the early termination of the contract

. In accordance with the law, the employer cannot demand termination of the rental agreement without giving reasons. This is only possible in the case of an unscrupulous tenant, that is, in the event of a long-term failure to pay rent or destruction or damage to the residential premises by the tenant or members of his family. Unlike the landlord, the tenant has the right to terminate the rental agreement at any time, but he must notify the tenant in WRITTEN at least 3 months before such termination.

Thus, even when concluding such a not very complex and common agreement as a residential lease agreement, you should be careful.

We continue the conversation about how to rent out an apartment correctly and what a homeowner should pay attention to. You can read the beginning of the article.

How to choose a tenant

First of all, you should decide to whom you are ready to rent the apartment. This could be a married couple, a single man, a girl or a group of people, regardless of gender. Will you consider tenants with children or pets? Does nationality play a role for you? Do you have any requirements for future residents? This may include mandatory permanent registration in a given city, having a permanent place of work, and so on. All these wishes should be indicated in the advertisement for housing rental to avoid unnecessary calls. During the telephone conversation, ask all your questions. From the conversation it will become clear how adequate this or that potential tenant is.

Telephone conversation with the tenant. What questions should I ask?

Already during a telephone conversation you can weed out unwanted tenants. When renting out housing yourself, this is a definite plus, because realtors are not so interested in carefully selecting future residents. As a rule, they strive to rent out an apartment as quickly as possible and bring more and more suitable candidates for viewing. What questions should I ask the tenant over the phone? Who plans to live (how many people), where the tenant came from, whether he has a permanent residence permit in this city, whether he works or studies, where and by whom he works, whether he has already rented housing and for what reason he moved out. Be sure to ask if you are satisfied with everything that is written in the ad, and list your conditions again. If you don’t like the person who called, then it’s better not to schedule a viewing of the apartment, because it will be more difficult to refuse in person than over the phone, and the tenant will waste his time. You can say that the apartment is already secured and you will call back if the situation changes.

Showing the apartment to tenants

The apartment should be shown in the form in which it will be rented, that is, clean and free from extraneous things. You should not impose your option on the tenant, but you can mention the advantages of the rental housing. If the show takes place in the dark, it would not be amiss to say that during the daytime the apartment is bright and sunny. You can also say about the repairs made, new furniture purchased, and so on. The main thing, of course, is that this corresponds to reality. Let the tenant look at the furniture, household appliances, and check the plumbing. Discuss all your conditions on the spot, ask questions to the potential tenant. He may want to see the original certificate of ownership of the apartment. When showing realtors, realtors like to say that they already have people interested in the apartment and are ready to rent today. This is a kind of psychological pressure on the tenant. Whether these tricks are worth it is up to you to decide. But our opinion is that a person should make a decision himself, without outside pressure. And finally, if the tenant agrees to rent an apartment, but the signing of the contract is postponed for several days, you can ask for a small deposit as confirmation of intentions. As a rule, this amount does not exceed 1-2 thousand rubles.

Rent. Is it worth taking a deposit?

The tenant makes the first rent payment immediately after signing the contract. As a rule, this is payment for one month of apartment rent in advance and a security deposit (security deposit) in the amount of one rent. Thus, before moving into a rental property, the tenant transfers to the owner an amount equal to two rents. By agreement, the deposit can be divided into two or more parts, which the tenant can pay later. The amount handed over when signing the contract, as well as how the deposit will be returned, is specified in the lease agreement. The amount of the deposit can be returned upon the end of the rental period and the tenant vacates the rented property, or can be offset against the last month's rent. Why do you need a deposit? In case of damage to furniture, household appliances, etc., the owner has the right to deduct the amount of damage from the deposit and not even return it to the tenant if the damage exceeds the amount of the deposit. In some cases, the owner of the property enters into an 11-month contract and stipulates penalties in the contract if the tenant wants to terminate the rental agreement early.

Payments for utilities and other services

First of all, the owner must decide what is included in the rent and what is paid additionally. The general principle should be this: it is better to include fixed values ​​(monthly payments for parking, concierge, landline telephone, Internet, etc.) in the rent, and charge the tenant separately for variable amounts (electricity, long-distance calls, and so on). If utility bills must be paid by the tenant, then their payment should be monitored. There are times when a tenant moves out and leaves behind a large debt. Alternatively, the owner can collect utility and electricity bills once a month, pay them themselves, and upon receipt of the next month’s rent, receive the amount spent back from the tenant.

Signing an agreement with the tenant

The signing of the contract with the tenant is usually postponed to the next day. During this time, you need to agree on the lease agreement itself.

If you have prepared your version of the lease agreement in advance, you can give a copy to the tenant for review when showing the apartment. In this case, it remains to ask whether everything suits the tenant and whether there will be any additions on his part. Otherwise, you can use email to agree on all points of the contract. Be prepared to show the original homeownership certificate and your passport when signing the contract. If there is more than one owner of the apartment, then all co-owners must be present when signing the contract, or there must be a notarized consent to rent out housing for absent people. The future tenant must also show his passport. You can also ask him for a copy of your passport. After signing the contract, the tenant must hand over the first rent and receive the keys to the apartment.

The AiF correspondent contacted several metropolitan real estate agencies with the goal of renting a one-room apartment near the Maryino and Lyublino metro stations. And I found out what you need to pay attention to when renting an apartment.

Does the key fit the lock?

The first thing you need to do is study the prices and not buy into too tempting offers - otherwise there is a high probability of being scammed. The second step is choosing an agency. It’s worth starting with a survey of friends who have experience in renting housing. For example, I heard the following story from friends. They rented their two-room apartment for 25 thousand rubles. per month, the price seemed very attractive, so we agreed to the first apartment that the agency offered. But after some time, realtors raised the rent to 28 thousand - supposedly they had to pay extra for utilities. Then this figure grew to 30 thousand, and then to 34! The owner of the property, as it turned out, generally received disproportionately less money from the agents than what was written in the contract.

As a rule, realtors do not take part in the transfer of money. This is only possible if the owner of the apartment has given it to the agency for trust management. In other cases, all agencies in Moscow value their work at 100% of the monthly cost of renting an apartment - and that’s all you owe them. Therefore, by the way, there is no point in calling everyone and comparing prices, they are the same everywhere. And if they offer help in finding an apartment for $200-300, don’t agree—they’ll probably deceive you.

Step three - filling out an application. The first person who will talk to you when you call the agency is the dispatcher. He is interested in the most general information: the size of the apartment you are looking for, the area, the price, how many people will live in it, your age, type of activity. He will pass on the answers to the agent, who will contact you after a while and continue the “interrogation.” You will tell him about everything in more detail. When you meet, be sure to take a standard contract from the realtor and show it to independent lawyers.

When an apartment is found and the contract is signed, you will only have to pay three monthly rental costs at a time. One - to the owner, the second - to the agency, the third - also to the owner as a deposit for damage to property (it will be returned to you upon termination of the contract). You pay the money strictly after signing the contract and moving into your new home. And don’t forget to check beforehand that the keys fit the door!

How to protect yourself when renting out an apartment

Step two: finding a landlord After preparing your home for rent, you can begin searching for a tenant. You can do this yourself or seek help from city real estate agencies (for a fee or even free, they can take on the responsibility of finding clients). Place an ad on specialized websites on the Internet, and also place it in newspapers.

• Evidence of ownership;
• An agreement confirming ownership of an apartment (for example, a purchase and sale agreement);
• Passport.
• In the case where the lessor is a representative of the owner, he must provide a notarized power of attorney confirming the right to manage.

“You need it - you call!”

The AiF correspondent selected five real estate offices for inspection. The BEST Real Estate agent was only interested in the area in which I want to live and the distance from the metro. He immediately began listing options, without even asking if I needed renovations, furniture, or a balcony. But this information would immediately help cut off unnecessary addresses. Nevertheless, we agreed to go look at the apartments the next morning. I waited half a day for a call, and, as it turned out, it was in vain: the realtor was unable to come to an agreement with the owners. But the next day the agent was ready to show me just one apartment. While we were walking from the metro, he enthusiastically told us how good it was - we had to take it, nothing else was worth looking at. A one-room apartment 7 minutes from the metro cost 27 thousand rubles per month. When parting, the realtor asked me for 200 rubles. — it turns out that I forgot to warn that I only show apartments for money. After I rent an apartment, they will definitely return them to me. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to pay for a show at any other agency.

The Stolitsa-M agency asked a lot of questions, trying to determine as fully as possible what I was looking for. Within a few hours, the realtor called back: there is an excellent option 5 minutes from the metro with European-quality renovation, Italian furniture, household appliances - for only 25 thousand. You can see it today. But early on I was happy. There was no European-quality renovation, no trace of Italian furniture - an ordinary one-room apartment below the average level. And at the same time, the owner asked for it not 25, but 30 thousand.

“How do you imagine your future apartment?” - my communication with the MIEL-Arenda agency began with this very correct question.

When we met, the realtor said that we would look at the first apartment to understand what exactly I was looking for. It turned out that the clearly undemonstrated old-fashioned one-room apartment 10 minutes from the metro on the outskirts of Moscow, for which the owner hoped to receive 34 thousand.

The realtor of the Akrus agency answered the phone only on the second day and said that at the moment there were no options. “When can we expect your call?” - I ask. The lady was extremely indignant: “If you have money, call yourself.” But I still managed to ask a few questions. It turned out that agency employees write down the rules for paying for utility services in their contract by hand. And if the owner decides to terminate the contract early, I could be evicted without warning on the same day. "MIEL-Arenda", for example, in such a situation guarantees free relocation or even monetary compensation.

How to protect yourself when renting out an apartment yourself

According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the legal right to rent out an apartment has, first of all, the owner. In the same case, when the apartment is owned by several owners, and one of them wants to rent it out, he will have to take care of a notarized power of attorney from all co-owners of the apartment or their personal presence when concluding the rental agreement and signing this document. The first question that most often worries a landlord is preparing the premises for rent.

Take care of the serviceability of communications, the availability of basic household appliances and the cleanliness of the rooms and balconies. Throw away trash without regret: housing with a neat cosmetic renovation (both with new furniture and empty) is in greater demand than stuffed with mountains of unnecessary and old belongings, with dilapidated walls, dented sofas and broken cabinets. Investments in repairs and improvements will pay off.

What does a contract look like?

The document must be stamped, indicate passport data - yours and the owner's, the address of the apartment, its area, the amount that you will pay monthly. Be sure to include that the rent will not increase before the expiration of the contract and that you cannot be suddenly evicted without warning at least a month in advance. Please note: the contract is concluded directly with the owner of the apartment. The rights and obligations of the parties are also stated - you have the right, by mutual agreement with the owner, to add your own terms and conditions. Additionally, any deficiencies identified during the inspection of the apartment (torn wallpaper, torn doors, etc.) must be listed. It is necessary to find out what condition the water pipes and electrical networks are in, include gas, water, and electricity meter readings in the contract, and list the valuable property located in the apartment.

When signing the contract, the owner of the apartment must be present, having with him a certificate of ownership, an extract from the Unified State Register of Rights to Real Estate.

Main risks

In order not to fall for the tricks of scammers, it is important to take precautions in time.

Main risks:

1. Renting an apartment to several clients at once - to insure yourself against unexpected guests, persuade the apartment owner to change the lock on the front door before moving in. Changing the lock must occur while both parties are present.
2. Renting someone else's apartment - sometimes scammers rent an apartment for one day, and then rent it out for several months. To prevent this from happening, always ask for documents for the apartment and talk to your neighbors before drawing up an agreement.
3. Advance payment for inspection of the apartment - you find a suitable advertisement, and the owner invites you to the office by phone, where a small amount is required for a preliminary inspection of the apartment. The person does not arrive at the specified time, and the office moves to another location.
4. Claims for the right to rent from relatives - after renting an apartment, other owners (grandmothers, children, grandchildren) may visit and oppose the right to stay. When preparing documents, ask for a complete list of residents registered in the apartment and their permission to rent the property.
5. Creating conditions after which the tenant himself decides to move out of the apartment - carefully inspect the apartment and negotiate living conditions with the owner in advance.

To avoid various scam schemes, follow these rules:

1. Always get to know your neighbors and the local police officer.
2. Don't give money upfront.
3. Record and verify the owner's address and home phone number.
4. Ask a lot of questions about the apartment and about the previous residents - the swindler will be nervous and lie.
5. Request documents from the owner.

Advice! Insist on inspecting the apartment in the evening - scammers work mainly during the day.

How to rent out an apartment correctly, the main nuances of registration

Renting an apartment yourself will allow you to avoid the costs of real estate services and give the tenant the opportunity to control the entire process independently. In addition, when completing a transaction on your own, there is no risk of encountering fraud on the part of unscrupulous real estate agencies.

Depending on whether the apartment being rented is the property of the lessor, you must enter into either a property lease or a sublease agreement. A sublease agreement is concluded when the apartment owner himself is considered a tenant (if the apartment is municipal or service).

How to protect yourself when renting out an apartment yourself

After preparing your home for rent, you can begin searching for a tenant. You can do this yourself or seek help from city real estate agencies (for a fee or even free, they can take on the responsibility of finding clients). Place an ad on specialized websites on the Internet, and also place it in newspapers. As soon as you find a potential tenant, discuss all the nuances with him and come to a consensus, you can begin to prepare the necessary documents.

The victim in this case is the gullible landlord, who, instead of receiving rent, loses his living space. This version of the scam has a more global scale than making a profit from rent and is classified as an act committed by an organized group of persons.

How to protect yourself when renting out an apartment yourself

By renting out an apartment to honest people, you also take a risk. At the end of the lease period, you run the risk of getting an apartment in a completely different condition: with damaged plumbing, stripped floors and wallpaper, broken furniture. If you do not keep animals, and your tenant had a cat or dog, you will immediately understand this by the smell that permeates the apartment and is difficult to get rid of.

This is the most pleasant moment for the owner and the most unpleasant for the tenant - prepayment. Everything is simple here: the amount is discussed in advance, so no difficulties should occur. It is advisable to record all financial transactions and sign both parties to avoid misunderstandings in the future. Keep a special notebook for these purposes, where you will write the amount and sign that you received it, and the tenant will sign for giving it to you. Don't forget to indicate the number. Having such a notebook, you and your tenant will be confident that no financial questions will arise; every time you can look at the records and check for payment.

Interesting: How much does a single mother receive for her first child 2019

How to protect yourself when renting an apartment

If you are the owner of a vacant home and you have a desire to rent it out, then you will be faced with the problem of finding honest and decent people. How can you make sure that they won't actually pay and that the apartment will remain in decent condition after they move out? This is a real problem.

Regarding the drawing up of a rental agreement: if the lease term is up to 3 years, then a notarized form of the agreement is not required, but it is better to contact a lawyer so that the agreement is drawn up correctly, but if you decide to make a notarized form of the agreement, then the notary himself will offer a ready-made one There is no need to draw up an agreement yourself.

26 Apr 2020 glavurist 310

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