►Rent
►Apartment Viewings
►Commission
►Negotations
►Rental Payments for St.Petersburg Apartments
►Security Deposit
►Hot Water
►Utility Charges
►Russian Taxes
►Property Insurance in Russia
►Landlord/Tenant Relations
►Advice
►Real Estate Agencies
Rent
The rental price hinges on location, the type of building, and the level of renovation. For a more detailed picture of how these factors come together in the St. Petersburg market, please read our Russian Real Estate Purchase Guide.
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Apartment Viewings
Your personal real estate manager will take you to several viewings of apartments that fit your criteria. We advise looking at four to five apartments per day, anything more than that can be tiring and you want to make the most informed choice. Your real estate manager will provide transport to and between viewings making the process as convenient as possible. Once inside an apartment, make sure to check the bathrooms, kitchens and storage space in detail. Also, make sure that you know what kind of hot water arrangements the apartment has. A lot of St. Petersburg apartments have an internal gas-powered hot water system because the city centralized hot water is shut off for a month each summer for pipe maintenance. If you plan on being here over the summer, you really want to make sure you have an internal water heater!
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Commission
The agency commission for a successful placement is equal to one months rent. We don’t take fees for transportation or showings – only for success. This is the standard market rate. We have a strict policy of not taking payments from landlords, you have our guarantee that all our negotiations are open and in the interest of the client. The commission can be significantly reduced if we have signed a frame agreement with a corporate client. For more information about the process and benefits of corporate agreements, please contact us.
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Negotiations
Our real estate managers have years of experience in negotiating and understanding the St. Petersburg market. We recommend that you leave the negotiations to us; our agents have shown frequent success in lowering rental prices or achieving better overall contracts for our clients.
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Rental Payments for St. Petersburg Apartments
In Russia, rental payments are generally made in a monthly or quarterly fashion. In very rare cases, rents may be paid six months in advance in order to lower the monthly rental price, but this is risky and shouldn’t be done unless the landlord or agency is on very good terms with the landlord.
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Security Deposit
As in the West, a security or damage deposit is generally required. The amount can be up to one month’s rent, and is returned minus any agreed- upon damage done at the conclusion of the lease.
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Hot Water
As was mentioned before, the majority of St. Petersburg apartments rely on the city for their hot water. This is fine, most of the year, and as long as you don’t mind a month of cold showers, it’s fine all year long. For those of us who don’t want a month of cold showers, it is good to ask the landlord to set up a small electric water boiler or better yet, a gas- powered water furnace! The home unit gas furnaces can be used year round and generally work well. Be sure you get some instructions on how to operate it.
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Utility Charges
Utility payments are generally limited to electricity and long distance phone calls. Water, taxes, State Rental Fees etc. are covered by the landlord. It is also nice if the landlord can help the tenant make electricity and phone payments; please ask your agent or landlord about a possible arrangement. Making payments in Russia can be wearisome.
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Russian Taxes
By law, income earned from rent is subject to personal income tax (currently 13%). Not all landlords do this. If the rental payments must be made through official Russian banks then the landlord will typically ask and expect the tenant to pay the landlord’s income tax. The landlord expects to receive the rental payment in full. An example would look like this: for a $1000 per month rental with the tenant making all payments officially, there is a good chance that they will be asked by the landlord to pay $1150 ($1000 / (1-0.13)). The landlord usually has the position of strength in this arrangement as finding tenants to pay in cash is not hard.
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Property Insurance in Russia
Property insurance in Russia is quite uncommon. There is a very low probability that the landlord will insure the apartment. The only exceptions occur in the elite properties (usually above $3000/month). The cost of insurance is generally between 0.5% and 1% of the replacement cost of the apartment.
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Landlord/Tenant Relations
Obviously, a good relationship with your landlord is ideal, in particular with the longer-term rentals, as there is a greater chance of small failures and things breaking. The friendlier your relationship is with your landlord the easier these little trials will pass. We’re not saying that you need to lavish them with gifts, but try to take the time to get to know them a little bit. In the event that you have problems with your landlord, your real estate manager is available to help you resolve any disputes. Your not alone here and don’t be shy, we are always on hand to help! We pride ourselves on the quality of our service through every part of your stay.
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Advice
By working with us you guarantee yourself a resource that will answer every question you have and help you solve every problem. We can advise you on how best to manage your stay and we can help show you the many options available to people living in St. Petersburg. Whether it’s finding the rignht dance or art class for one of the children, or the best school, or restaurant or even a lawyer! We can help you through it all. We are here to help St. Petersburg be a home rather than just a place to live.
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Real Estate Agencies
St. Petersburg has a few good real estate agencies that specialize in helping foreigners. One that our team knows well is City Realty. City Realty has lots of experience and can handle any request of any size or budget.. They have the largest rental database in the city and a multi-lingual and friendly staff.
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