Renting apartments in Moscow brings their owners an average of 7-10% per annum. But the amount of profit depends not only on the demand for it, but largely on how competently you approach the rental of housing

“If you are just planning to buy an apartment and start a rental business, then it is better to invest your money in a more profitable business,” was the advice given to me by one of the realtors with whom I spoke. Indeed, it is much easier to deposit money and receive 12-13% per annum than to get involved with the rental business. But perhaps you already own one or more apartments. In this situation, almost everyone wants to turn housing into a source of income - albeit small, but stable. How to ensure maximum profitability of the rental business for yourself and what the level of profit depends on, D’ looked into it.

Not for Sensen's hat

In Moscow today there is practically no housing that cannot be rented out. The only question is the duration of the exposure (time spent searching for a tenant) and the price. Some mistakes of an inexperienced rentier can lead to delays or the apartment being rented at a price other than what he could have expected. “Today, in the economy class segment, an apartment costs 20-25 thousand rubles. it takes a few hours a month. An elite, correctly priced apartment should not stand idle for more than a few weeks,” says Olga Sugonyaeva, head of the rental department of the Polyanka office at DOKI. If the apartment delivery deadline is longer, it means that you or your real estate consultant have miscalculated something.

The most common mistake is an inadequate assessment of the apartment. Often, homeowners do not see a problem in the fact that the apartment remains unrented for several months, and do not even adjust the rate. However, a simple calculation shows that the benefits from such a “business” are doubtful. “The owner of the apartment wants to receive $6.5 thousand per month for its rent (that is, $78 thousand per year). But the tenant asks for a $200 discount. If the owner makes concessions, he will lose $2.4 thousand in a year. However, if he continues to insist on his way, the property may remain undelivered for two to three months. Then the lost profit will be more significant - $13-19 thousand,” says Vadim Lamin, head of the exclusive real estate department at Penny Lane Realty. Often, the location of the house and (or) the quality of the apartment itself does not meet the price requirements of the landlord. Thus, the delivery of apartments in old houses with wooden floors is often delayed. Even if they are in a popular center. “Wealthy clients prefer to live either in reconstructed or newly built houses,” explains Vadim Lamin. This does not mean that it will not be possible to rent out such an apartment, but the owners will have to curb their appetite. The same problem can arise in objects with incorrect distribution of footage or poor layout. “It happens that an apartment has a good square footage - about 200 square meters. m, and it is located in a new house, and there is security, but it only has two, albeit huge, living rooms. The housing is excellent, but from a rental point of view it is practically unrentable. It happens on the contrary, a huge living room and dining room and... three tiny bedrooms of 10-12 m2,” says Olga Sugonyaeva. This problem can be solved through proper redevelopment.

Investment in renovation

Good repairs and redevelopment can significantly increase the value of an apartment on the rental market. But it should be borne in mind that the value of repairs in the rental price differs markedly depending on the class of housing. It plays a lesser role for economy class apartments. “If a one-room apartment with cosmetic renovation costs $900-1000 per month, a similar apartment with major renovations and new furniture can be rented out for $1200-1300, and with European-quality renovation for $1600-1800,” the deputy director of the Miel-Renta company gives an example. Maria Zhukova. And the managing director of the Century 21 West company, Evgeniy Skomorovsky, believes that the condition of economy class real estate affects primarily not the cost, but the speed of exposure. An apartment with poor repairs will remain without a tenant for several days instead of several hours. Business class and luxury housing is another matter. If the apartment is located in good location, a European-quality renovation has been made, it can be rented at 15-30% more expensive, and a designer European-quality renovation in an elite complex will allow you to ask for 50% more. Light cosmetics in the luxury housing and business class segment are an indispensable condition when concluding a new contract. But spending money on an exclusive design project is not practical. Surprisingly, apartments with such renovations are less liquid. It is very important, experts say, that the rental price does not outweigh the market price. “It is not necessary to put Karelian birch parquet throughout the apartment or fill it with antique furniture: it will be very difficult to rent out such an apartment above the market price. By the way, the idea that a jacuzzi adds value to an apartment is also a myth,” says Olga Sugonyaeva. And even more so, you shouldn’t hope to increase the rent due to expensive renovations in an economy-class apartment. The level of finishing and furnishings must correspond to the quality of the house, the prestige of the area and the size of the apartment. Furniture from Bizzarri, Gaggenau household appliances and inlaid parquet are unlikely to significantly increase the cost of renting housing in a panel house near the Moscow Ring Road. Before making repairs, it doesn’t hurt to consult with realtors who know the needs of their clients.

Safety precautions

The rental business involves various risks. One of the most likely ones involves tenants causing damage to your property or the apartment itself. For example, I remember the experience of parents who, having moved out of town, rented out their three-ruble ruble to a young family. In two years, the cozy, clean apartment turned into something like a barn. And when the parents decided to sell it, they also had to do repairs at their own expense in order to restore the marketable appearance of the home. Tenants can also cause damage to your neighbors, such as flooding them. If this happens, a claim for damages will be brought against you as the owner of the apartment. “Once the claim is successful, you, of course, have the right to demand compensation from the tenants (if a lease agreement was concluded). But is there a guarantee that you will technically be able to get this claim satisfied? Residents can move out and disappear in an unknown direction. Most likely, even if there is an appropriate court decision, it will not be possible to return the money for repairs,” says Irina Perevoznikova, chief specialist of the liability insurance department of the Soglasie company. There are also risks such as late payment, use of your apartment for any illegal activity, etc.

Such risks should be foreseen. The main thing is to enter into an agreement with your tenants. Oddly enough, many landlords do not do this, believing that the agreement limits their rights as apartment owners. This is partly true. If the contract specifies a minimum rental period, the owner will not be able to get rid of the tenants immediately. But he can stipulate in advance the conditions under which early termination of the contract is possible. For example, late payment, damage to property, etc. The agreement can also stipulate the degree of responsibility of the tenants for the apartment, furniture and equipment.

Many owners do not worry about their property because they take a deposit from tenants in the amount of a month’s rent. But the damage caused may exceed this amount. If tenants pay 20-25 thousand rubles for an apartment. per month, and after they move in you will have to make repairs for a couple of thousand dollars, then the rentier will be a loser. Of course, the practice of collateral as a security tool is widespread throughout the world, and this should not be neglected.

It makes sense for the landlord to consider insurance options - property and civil liability to third parties (neighbors). Property insurance protects against a standard set of risks that may arise, including due to the negligence of tenants: fire, domestic gas explosion, natural disasters, flooding, accidents of engineering equipment, theft, robbery, etc. Third party liability insurance implies that if your tenants cause any damage to their neighbors (for example, flood them), then it will not be you who will pay for the repairs, but the insurance company. “The landlord needs both types of insurance, especially if the owner’s property remains in the rented apartment. After all, the fee for the policy is not comparable with the cost of possible losses,” says the deputy director of the property and personal insurance department individuals"Rosgosstrakh" Tatyana Moiseeva. Tariffs are really low: about 0.5-1% of the insured amount. But keep in mind that insuring rental property usually costs the client 5-10% more.

Unfortunately, insurance is also not a universal protection tool for the landlord. Since damage caused to housing is often not covered by any insurance event. “Landlord clients often ask whether it will be considered an insured event if the tenant causes any damage to the decoration or steals home contents. We do not insure against such a risk, since the landlord himself allows the tenant into his apartment,” explains Lyudmila Karpova, head of the property insurance department for individuals at AlfaStrakhovanie. By the way, some landlords shift the responsibility for insurance to the tenants, but the latter agree to this if these costs are included rent.

Using someone else's hands is more reliable, but more expensive

Experience shows that finding tenants on your own is not a problem. Firstly, there are a lot of sites on the Internet that provide a direct connection between those who rent out housing and those who want to rent it. Secondly, it is usually enough to spread the information among your circle of friends and colleagues so that applicants for the apartment will immediately be found. On the other hand, both resources and word-of-mouth advertising are suitable mainly for economy class. Tenants of more expensive housing prefer to entrust the hassle of finding an apartment to realtors. Therefore, it makes sense for owners of business-class and “elite” apartments to go to a real estate agency (NA). Some agencies are ready to take responsibility for the reliability of the referred tenants. “The realtor takes all the blows from the client. If the tenant does not pay, then the agency is responsible to the landlord, that is, it is involved in the investigation of the situation that has arisen. If it is not possible to collect money from the tenant, then the commission is returned to the owner. Or the subsequent search for a client is carried out at a discount,” says Tatyana Vakulenko, head of the city real estate department at HomeHunter. Large NAs also offer a wider range of services for the landlord. At the request of the owners, realtors can almost completely take over the management of the apartment - until the end of the contract with the tenants. “In this case, you will be deprived of the need to communicate with tenants, and you will not have to solve everyday problems related to your housing,” explains Vadim Lamin. Realtors can provide legal support, technical support throughout the entire rental period (a special team carries out minor repairs), and assistance in negotiations with potential tenants. It is also important that large agencies contracts have been concluded for corporate services with many foreign companies that rent housing for employees. Since the company pays for the tenant, the apartment owner will receive payments guaranteed and on time. True, this approach is practiced only by those companies that work with the elite sector. For many small NAs, the landlord/tenant relationship ends immediately upon receipt of the commission. If you are counting on some further assistance from the realtor, it is worthwhile to write this issue down in the contract in advance: in what cases will the agent intervene in the situation and what responsibility does he bear for the clients he finds?

The cost of real estate services differs both by package and by company. Most agencies charge the landlord a fee equal to the monthly cost of renting an apartment for finding a client. If we are talking about the possibility of trust management and attracting large NAs, then such services will cost from 8 to 50% of the monthly rental payment(depending on the number of options).

Tricky way

If the indicated level of profitability from renting out an apartment does not suit you, you can try to increase profits in two ways: rent out the apartment daily or transfer it to non-residential use and rent it out as an office.

Given the Moscow shortage and high cost of hotels, daily apartment rentals are in great demand.

Especially among those who come to the capital not for a day or two, but for a month or two. In addition, according to realtors, this market is poorly developed and supply is severely limited. But by renting out his apartment as an alternative to a hotel room, the owner takes upon himself the responsibility of maintaining it in proper order. After each tenant, the apartment must be put in order and thoroughly cleaned. The costs of preparing housing for delivery will also be higher than in the case of long-term rent. After all, such apartments cannot be rented without furniture, dishes and bed linen. A separate issue is finding clients. This requires a certain debugged service. Unless, of course, you plan to stand on the station square every day with a sign in your hands. In addition, when renting out apartments on a daily basis, their owner a priori bears greater risks than with long-term rentals. In the event of a conflict, the owner of a daily rental apartment has much fewer ways to influence the guest. Therefore, the rental of housing, even for a short period of time, must be confirmed by an agreement drawn up in writing, and monetary payments must be confirmed by receipts. You can make your life easier by contacting a specialized NA, which has a solid client flow and the necessary human resources to maintain your apartments in a suitable condition. However, such an agency still needs to be found. None of the seven major NAs that I applied to do

daily rental th housing. are one- and two-room business class apartments located within the Circle Line of the Moscow Metro. They are most in demand by business tourists from foreign countries. The average daily rental price for one-room business class apartments is $80-150, two- and three-room apartments - $120-250. Daily rental yield including payments management company is 15-20% per annum, but provided that the apartment does not stand idle for a long time.

The second option is to transfer the apartment to non-residential use and rent it out as an office or store. “The need for such facilities is very great, and the amount of rental payments compared to renting out housing is two to three times higher,” says Evgeniy Skomorovsky. The main problem with this method is that it only makes sense to use it with a certain type of housing. First of all, the object should be located on the ground floor or above non-residential premises, be able to arrange a separate entrance. It is advisable that the house has a good transport accessibility, and there was a parking lot nearby that could be used by office employees. Official costs for the procedure for transferring housing stock to non-residential are small: state duty in the amount of 500 rubles. for an individual and 7.5 thousand rubles. for legal entities. However, experts warn that this is a rather complicated legal procedure, which almost never takes place without the participation of realtors. In this case, the apartment owner's expenses can reach up to $500 per square meter. m. Separately, it is worth taking into account the costs of repairs and losses due to downtime of the apartment. The fact is that the translation process can take many months. A stumbling block could be, for example, the disagreement of one of the neighbors. Until all your neighbors unanimously vote in favor, you will not receive permission to transfer. And the consent of your neighbors sometimes becomes another, and very large, expense item in your budget.

Before answering the question “How to officially rent out an apartment,” we suggest you first answer another one.

Why should I officially rent out my apartment?

We will not appeal to your conscience and tell you that breaking the law is not good. Instead, let’s outline the main risks faced by a person who illegally rents out his property:

1. Scam. If you rent out housing illegally, you may end up with people in your apartment that are completely different from the ones you originally rented out the apartment to. Or, worse, you may even lose your home;
2. Unexpected expenses. If you do not determine in advance the procedure for paying all expenses (utilities, telephone, etc.), then it will not be easy, for example, to get money from the employer to pay for his telephone conversations with relatives from a distant but native city;
3. Damage to property. Without a contract, how can you then prove that before the tenant arrived, there was another TV in the apartment, there were not 4, but 5 shades on the chandelier, and there were no stains on the carpet?
4. Problems with law. The current legislation does not provide for liability for “renting an apartment without a contract,” however, there are rules providing for liability for failure to submit a tax return ( Art. 119 Tax Code of the Russian Federation) and non-payment of taxes. Moreover, we draw your attention to the fact that for non-payment of taxes there is a fine ( Art. 119 Tax Code of the Russian Federation), and criminal liability (Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

We hope that you are now inclined to rent out apartments legally.

But before you start offering your apartment to your friends or posting ads on the Internet, we advise you to familiarize yourself with some regulatory documents and make certain calculations.

Analysis of income, expenses and taxes

Income

Everyone wants to earn income from their activities, rent is no exception. In order to determine potential income, you can look at similar rental offers: apartments in your area are in approximately the same condition, for example, using our .

Taxes

So, the amount of income is approximately clear, now let’s decide on expenses: , and property (if you see fit), and of course, . As for taxes, to get a complete picture we can suggest you read the articles on this topic on our portal. Here we simply note that when renting an apartment there is several tax options, so it’s quite possible to choose the best option for yourself:

1. Individual paying;
2. Individual entrepreneur under the general taxation regime (payment of personal income tax);
3. - Ch. 26.2 Tax Code of the Russian Federation;
4. Individual entrepreneur using - Ch. 26.5 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

For simplicity and clarity, you can use the one we prepared by entering the data that is relevant to you.

As you can see, in terms of taxation, more choice is provided to individual entrepreneurs. More detailed information You can find out about the features of renting an apartment for individuals and individual entrepreneurs in our article .

Relations with tax authorities

After receiving payment under the rental/lease agreement, you become obligated to pay tax. It is necessary not only to pay the amount itself, but also to submit it to the tax authorities documentation, confirming that this amount has been calculated correctly.

Tax return forms are approved Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Tax authorities may also require you to provide the agreement itself and documents confirming receipt of payment.

Neither an individual nor, in some cases, even an individual entrepreneur is required to keep “full” accounting records like legal entities. But there are still accounting requirements. For example, individual entrepreneurs using the Simplified Taxation System are required to keep a book of income and expenses ( 346.24 Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In any case, the fact of receipt of payment must be recorded with a receipt or statement bank account, if payment is made by bank transfer.

To avoid this being a problem, you can always use our services:

• for individuals and

Not only harm, but also benefit

By renting out real estate legally and paying taxes on it, you not only incur the costs of the taxes themselves, but also... get the opportunity to get out of a completely different zone of risks that arise with “black rent”, when in a conflict situation you cannot go to the police or court. Appeal to laws and their violation.

By renting legally, you are not afraid of threats from the tenant that he will report to the Federal Tax Service that responsibility for the fact that 40 illegal immigrants live in the apartment will be placed on you, and not on the responsible tenant, that in the event of damage to your property or belongings your neighbors, you will be able to resolve this issue through the courts, etc.

In addition to indirect situations, there are also direct benefits from the formalization of rental relations. So, for example, in certain situations you can apply for or tax breaks on real estate used in commercial activities.

other expenses

Now that we have dealt with taxes, these are not the only costs. Which is worth evaluating, direct swarming about renting out real estate. When you decide to rent out real estate, you become an entrepreneur, and therefore you need to treat it like a business.

You need to minimize the risks of damage to the condition of the apartment, property, as well as possible damage to third parties. You can manage this risk either by contacting an insurance company (only when purchasing an insurance policy, be sure to make sure that the rented apartment is covered by the insured event) or by independently creating a reserve for unforeseen events. You can read more about this in a separate article.

And also, when renting out your property, you should keep in mind that tenants, while living in the apartment, subject it to natural wear and tear and, no matter how neat and decent they are, and after several years of renting out the property, the apartment will require cosmetic repairs. It’s up to you to decide whether to create a reserve for these purposes, but keep in mind that such a need will arise, in any case, it is necessary.

Rental approval

We hope that as a result of the calculations made above, you are in profit and we can move on to the next point. Decide what needs to be agreed upon and with whom in order to obtain the right to rent out housing. We discussed this topic in articles and . But in order not to burden you with a lot of links, below is a table that clearly demonstrates what kind of consent is required in which case.

	Agreement all owners	Lessor's consent	Everyone's consent members of your families, living together with you	Consent of roommates
Own apartment	Yes	–	–	–
Municipal apartment	–	Yes	Yes	–
Privatized room in communal apartment	Yes	–	–	Yes
Non-privatized room in communal apartment	–	Yes	Yes	Yes
Room in a non-privatized apartment	–	Yes	Yes	–
Room in privatized apartment	Yes	–	–	–

More details about the agreement

Which contract should you choose?

You have determined whose consent is needed and, probably, already know how to get it. Now it’s time to move on to perhaps the most important part of the lease registration - the agreement.

Of course, you will agree and sign the contract itself with the employer/tenant. But it will be useful to determine in advance what kind of agreement will need to be concluded.

Summary

In order to legally rent out your home, you will undoubtedly need to study some legal norms, in particular the Civil and Tax Codes. Perhaps look for answers to your questions on specialized forums.

But on the other hand, the legislation is written to protect our legal rights and interests, and by applying it correctly, we can benefit ourselves and reduce risks.

In this article, we tried to tell you how to properly rent out an apartment from making the decision to do so until the time of paying taxes. Unfortunately, it is impossible to present all the nuances of all private rental cases in one article; the amount of information is too significant. But more detailed information can be obtained on the relevant sections of our portal.

The dream of many is to own several residential premises, rent them out and live happily ever after. Outwardly, it might look attractive, but in reality, renting is a huge headache for the landlord. We need to constantly solve a bunch of problems: tax, finding bona fide tenants, repairs, etc. Let’s try to figure out this difficult issue.

A step-by-step plan on how to rent out an apartment correctly

If you have a free apartment, it can be turned into a good additional income. Of course, you will encounter many difficulties, but they will mainly be at the initial stage.

Step one

The first stage is the preparatory stage; all that is required of you here is to research the market.

• Before posting an ad online or contacting an agency, you need to study what offers are already available, what landlords indicate in the ad, and review the offers of potential competitors.
• Explore well-known ad sites. Study their structure, text presentation, and what prices exist. It is worth paying attention to what the price tag depends on (area, availability of furniture, repairs, etc.).
• It is worth paying attention to the fact that the rental price will depend not only on the beautiful renovation. The cost is also influenced by such factors as: the area (the closer to the center, the more expensive it is), the presence of various infrastructure nearby ( entertainment centers, shops, kindergartens, etc.), transport accessibility, neighbors, condition of the apartment, area and many others.
• After conducting this research, you can already roughly estimate the cost of your premises.

Step two

The essence of this stage is preparing the apartment for rent. In any case, you will have to do at least minor cosmetic repairs to give the apartment a presentable look.

• Initially, you need to get rid of all the junk in the apartment, which is clearly not useful to future tenants. Different bedside tables in the style of the “Soviet Union” obviously will not give the apartment an attractive look. It is advisable to make the interior as modern as possible; “grandmother’s options” are not quoted today.
• The apartment must be equipped with all necessary small appliances and furniture. Of course, some landlords also offer unfurnished options, but such premises are unlikely to be in great demand, and their rent is much lower.
• Before renting out an apartment, you need to pay all existing (if any) debts for utility bills and remove personal belongings.
• Be sure to check the condition of the wiring, plumbing, household appliances, etc. If any emergency situation related to the malfunction of one or another device that was already in the apartment, you will have to deal with the consequences. It will be especially unpleasant if the tenant’s expensive equipment is damaged due to faulty wiring, the cost of which you will have to reimburse.

Before renting out an apartment, it is advisable to insure it (whether you are planning to rent legally or not), this way you will protect yourself from possible risks and costs in the future. When insuring property, you need to take into account any possible troubles: fire, flood, explosion, etc. If the rental is formalized, insurance is a mandatory item, but in this case the insurance premium will be slightly higher.

Which apartment will be in demand?

Of course, not every room will be of interest to potential residents. In order for an apartment to be in great demand and begin to generate income, it must meet certain requirements:

1. One of the main factors is the location of the apartment. Naturally, premises located closer to the center are in great demand and have a much higher cost. The location factor includes not only the city area, but also the general location of the living space. This includes the following points: sunny side, floor, corner apartment or not, etc.
2. Of course, tenants pay attention to beautiful and modern renovations. Even if the apartment is very clean and tidy, a room with European-quality renovation will be in much greater demand, and the rent in this case will be much higher.
3. Mobilization. Apartments with furniture and household appliances are more interesting to potential tenants. At a minimum, the apartment should have: a refrigerator, a gas stove, a TV, a sofa, a bed, a table, etc.

Step three

The next stage is already related to submitting an advertisement, but so far indirect. The task at this stage is to photograph the apartment correctly.

• A potential tenant will pay attention first of all to photographs of the premises. Therefore, they must be made with high quality, using a good camera.
• When photographing your premises, you need to show all its most advantageous aspects. Often, professional photographers are hired for this task, but you can handle this task yourself.
• Before you start taking photos, you need to take a close look at your apartment. Look from what angle this or that room will look more advantageous.
• Before the photo shoot, you must do a wet cleaning. Dust and dirt will be very noticeable in the photo, which will greatly spoil the view.
• It is advisable to make the photo look cozy; you can add a couple of accessories that will make the atmosphere more “homey”. Soft toys, pillows, flowers, etc. will help you cope with this task. If you feel sorry for leaving these things, you don’t have to leave them, but just capture them in a photo. After all, a potential tenant will not pay attention to these little things when inspecting the apartment live, but in the photo they create a nice, warm “picture”.
• It is better to conduct a photo session during daylight hours and preferably on a sunny day. In daylight, natural light, the room will seem more comfortable than in the artificial light of a chandelier.
• You need to take a lot of pictures, people are attracted by the abundance of pictures. The more high-quality photos you take, the higher your chances of renting out your premises.

Step four

This is one of the most important stages - writing an ad. It should have as much information as possible, but at the same time not be overloaded and difficult to understand.

• The ad must contain a description of the apartment, availability of a balcony, renovation, area, infrastructure, etc.
• It is necessary to indicate the features of the layout and the apartment itself (glazed balcony or not, combined or separate bathroom, sunny side or not, corner apartment, etc.).
• The text of the advertisement may also contain requirements for potential tenants, for example, someone rents out housing only to married couples, or exclusively to students. Each landlord has individual requirements, but you shouldn’t go to extremes and make inflated demands, especially if your apartment is in economy class.
• Before posting an ad on the site, you must check the text for errors, both spelling and punctuation, as well as speech and grammar. Be sure to read the text before sending to remove unnecessary repetitions and typos.

Step five

There will be no difficulties at this stage, because the main task here is to place an ad.

• You should choose the most popular sites with advertisements; this is easy to do; they are all well known. You should not place ads on little-known sites; people rarely visit them, but scammers often operate.
• You can advertise in the newspaper; this is one of the most reliable ways to protect yourself from scammers. But newspaper ads have disadvantages: you can't place photos, and often the size of the text in the column is limited.

Step six

Once the ad starts working, you will receive a lot of calls from potential clients. The very first telephone conversation is very important; the landlord must inspire confidence and clearly answer all the interlocutor’s questions.

• During the conversation you need to be polite, but do not try to impose your apartment on the client. It is enough to say a few words of praise and answer questions.
• When you first communicate with a potential tenant, you need to find out whether he agrees to your terms and meets the requirements (i.e., if you are looking for a non-smoking tenant, you must clarify this detail during the very first conversation so as not to waste time).
• If, based on the results of the telephone conversation, both of you are satisfied with everything, you need to arrange a meeting. If you have several tenants, it is advisable to schedule time for everyone on the same day, 20 minutes apart. This is done so as not to have to go to the apartment every time, and sometimes people don’t come to the meeting at all, so why bother yourself once again. There is nothing wrong with this; people looking for an apartment also consider several options.

Step seven

This stage is one of the most important – showing the apartment. At this moment you need to be as confident as possible in order to inspire confidence in the client.

• Before showing the apartment, you need to arrive before the tenant in order to have time to tidy up and make it beautiful. And it’s just not nice to be late; the impression of you will be formed from the very first seconds.
• You need to show every room, including the kitchen, bathroom, etc. Be sure to tell how long ago the renovation was done, how nice the neighbors are, etc.
• When showing the premises, the landlord should also take a closer look at his future tenant. It is necessary to clarify once again who he is going to live with, whether there are bad habits, small children, etc. (if this is fundamentally important, of course).
• If the client has doubts, do not put pressure on him. If you don’t like your premises, no amount of persuasion will help, but if a person is seriously interested, he will definitely return to you.
• Clients are not always familiar with the area in which the apartment is located; it is necessary to tell them what shops, infrastructure, etc. are nearby.
• It is not necessary to wait for every question; tell us about all the features of the apartment yourself (is there hot water, do you leave a washing machine, is there Internet and cable TV, etc.). But don’t be too intrusive in your story and don’t embellish the reality.

Step eight

This stage is purely formal - drawing up an agreement. The document must indicate the requirements for the tenant, failure to comply with which may result in the contract being terminated.

• The agreement must be drawn up in two copies: one remains with the landlord, and the second with the tenant.
• The document, in addition to the requirements for residents and the condition of the apartment, must indicate the amount of the monthly rent and the approximate length of stay of the residents, which can be specified specifically. Be sure to specify the conditions under which a tenant can be evicted from your home.
• Before drawing up an agreement, you need to record meter readings and photograph the passport of the future tenant in order to avoid unpleasant situations, or to avoid becoming a victim of a fraudster.

Mandatory clauses of the contract

1. The full names of both parties entering into the agreement, the passport details of the tenant and the landlord must be indicated.
2. The amount of rent, the terms within which the tenant is obliged to pay the rent. Additionally, the conditions for changing the cost should be indicated (if this clause is not present, the tenant does not have the right to increase the monthly payment);
3. How often can a tenant check the apartment? If you want to occasionally visit the tenants without warning, include a clause in the contract that allows you to do this. Without this instruction, the landlord can visit the tenants only after warning, but in this case he will not be able to protect himself from some of the risks described below.
4. The contract must indicate who pays for utilities. If the landlord agrees to bear these expenses (which is extremely rare), he also states this in the document.
5. If the owner of the apartment wants to impose any restrictions on the use of the apartment, he must indicate this in the contract.
6. The document should indicate a list of persons who will live in the apartment. The tenant must notify the landlord that additional people will live in the apartment and agree with him on the possibility of their accommodation. If necessary, additional persons can be included in the agreement.
7. Naturally, there must be conditions for terminating the contract; here you can indicate under what circumstances the tenant can be evicted.
8. Other conditions at the request of the apartment owner.

Sometimes clients are very meticulous people and may require some documents from you to ensure the purity of the transaction, here are the documents you should have with you in such a case:

1. passport (a copy is possible);
2. certificate of ownership of housing;
3. receipts that confirm the absence of debts for utilities.

This is a package of mandatory documents, the client can demand anything, but it is worth paying attention, if the requests of the future tenant seem quite strange to you, you should think about whether you need such a tenant.

Step nine

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.

Main risks for the lessor

If you are going to rent out your apartment, be prepared for the fact that certain difficulties and unpleasant situations may arise. The landlord must always be mentally and physically prepared for all sorts of unpleasant situations.

Damage to property

Of course, the tenant will treat your property differently from their own. Be prepared that after each tenant you will have to make cosmetic repairs, especially if these are people with small children and animals. It is imperative to include a clause in the contract, by signing which the tenant undertakes to restore all property damaged by him.

Sublease

Recently, a very common type of fraud, especially in big cities. The scheme of this type of fraud is extremely simple: they rent an apartment from you, and then rent it out to other tenants, increasing the cost several times. Very often, rented apartments are rented out to guest workers using this scheme, since they live in groups of several people and a huge amount can be taken from them. It is very easy to uncover such a deception: most often, neighbors report that there are a lot of tenants in your apartment and they are noisy. You can also sometimes visit tenants without warning.

Huge number of residents

This problem is similar to the previous one, but in this situation the tenant allows guests in free of charge. Some landlords are not embarrassed by the residence of numerous friends and lovers, especially if they do not cause much inconvenience (which is extremely rare). Sometimes tenants set up brothels or drug dens; be careful, because in such a situation the owner of the apartment will be held accountable to the law, even if he had no idea what was happening in it. You can also control this situation with the help of neighbors or personal visits.

Illegal actions of tenants

Sometimes there are cases when tenants steal, set fire, or sell property from the apartment. It is to prevent such situations that you need to photograph the passport of the person you are going to let into your home. This problem needs to be solved with the help of the police, since this is already a criminal offense. If a person refuses to show his passport, think a thousand times whether you should trust him and for what purposes he needs your apartment.

You can avoid such unpleasant situations by renting out your apartment officially, but in this case you will lose a little in income, but you will completely protect yourself from fraud. You just need to choose a real estate agency with a good reputation (look at the recommendations of famous realtors, reviews on the Internet, etc.), and the company’s employees will help you find responsible tenants, conduct an inventory of the property, draw up and execute an agreement, etc.

Fines

In law Russian Federation Income from apartment rentals is subject to taxes. If you want to rent out an apartment unofficially, you risk running into a huge fine. In addition, a person who avoids filing a tax return risks being imprisoned for six months (if the amount of unpaid taxes is more than one hundred thousand rubles).

Tax system

If you want to do everything according to the law and formalize the lease, you will be required to pay taxes on your income. There is a standard procedure for paying personal income tax for individuals. An individual entrepreneur can choose from several offers:

• General taxation regime. In this case, the lessor is obliged to pay 13% of his income and collect certificates confirming that the calculations were carried out correctly.
• Simplified taxation system. Here the tax contribution is calculated based on income, but on average it is about 6% of total income.
• Patent taxation system. In this case, there is no specific interest rate. There is no need to pay taxes at all, but you will need to buy a patent, which is quite expensive. The cost of a patent is different in each region. Additionally, with such a system it is necessary to make contributions to tax funds.

Trying to reduce the percentage of tax deductions, some tenants specify in the contract a rental amount lower than the real one, but this method is illegal. The agency will tell the owner in more detail about all possible taxation systems, and they will definitely help you choose the most profitable option.

Daily apartment rental

You can rent out an apartment not only for long term, but also daily and even hourly. This type of business is much riskier. The most the best option for daily rent is a one-room apartment, since utility bills will be much lower; in a one-room apartment it is much easier to make modern renovations, as a result of which the rent can be made much higher.

The ideal location for an apartment for daily rent is an area near the station or city center. Why these particular areas? Because mainly business travelers are interested in such apartments.

Pros of daily rental

• If necessary, you can always use the apartment (if at that moment there are no residents there);
• Good income. Such apartments are in great demand, especially during the holidays (but in this case there is a risk of property damage, do not forget to take all the precautions described above);
• With this type of lease, registration of an individual entrepreneur is not required;
• If the apartment is initially in good condition, this is a good source of income from scratch, requiring only advertising and a little preparation of the premises.

Disadvantages of daily rental

• Neighbors' complaints. Sometimes tenants are very loud, but this problem can be easily solved by choosing clients responsibly. Some neighbors are concerned about the constant flow of strangers.
• Some clients do not behave entirely responsibly and can damage your property. To protect yourself from these types of problems and the financial costs associated with them, always take a photograph of each client's passport.

When renting out an apartment on a daily basis, there is a certain list of expenses, which includes items such as:

1. Tax contributions (if you are going to register as an individual entrepreneur);
2. Advertising materials (you can use free sites with advertisements, but this method is less effective, since advertisements are posted on such “boards” every minute and yours will go down to the very bottom very quickly. And in order for the advertisement to be pinned at the top, you will have to pay for it );
3. Cleaning the home and washing bed linen. You can avoid these expenses and do the steps yourself, but then you will spend most of your life tidying up your apartment. It is much easier to contact a cleaning company.
4. The cost of consumables (usually very small), such as toilet paper, soap, sugar, tea, etc.
5. Payment of utility services. With daily rent, it will no longer be possible to “hang” this expense item on the residents.

Renting out an apartment is a good way to earn extra money. But, like any business, it has its pitfalls and certain risks. At first, not everything may work out, and at first the income will only cover the initial expenses, but after a certain amount of time, the apartment will become an excellent source of income. Renting an apartment is not difficult either on your own or with the help of an agency, but it is worth remembering that tax evasion in the Russian Federation is a criminal offense.

I periodically see posts about renting/renting apartments and always read them with interest, but... to my regret, I didn’t get anything right (I emphasize, right for me). But under each text on this topic, a serious holivar of white and black roses unfolds, in which both parties to the transaction, the landlord and the employer, participate. True, there is also a third party who does not rent or rent apartments, but knows better than anyone how this is done. But there is a third party in any issue discussed, so we will not pay attention to it.

In fact, realtors also participate in disputes, but for some reason neither side likes them. Realtors are evil! – I read this somewhere in the comments. Although it is not clear why.

Here I want to talk about personal experience like I do. I don’t pretend to be the truth, I don’t plan to argue, I don’t insist that “this is the only right thing,” I’m just sharing my experience of renting out apartments in Moscow and the Moscow region.

How do I look for clients

Everything is simple and banal, a realtor helps me. I don’t have the time or desire to look for tenants myself, talk to them on the phone, answer questions, travel and show the apartment. All this is done by the realtor, to whom I voiced the requirements for tenants. And although he is not responsible for the selected residents, he filters them at the selection stage, according to my requirements.

Requirements for tenants

They are simple and uncomplicated. Family (desirable), with a child (desirable), permanent registration in the Russian Federation (required). Possibly with animals.

Why is continuous registration necessary? These are purely my internal cockroaches, but this seems more reliable to me than it would be a foreign migrant.

Why a family with a child? It's very simple - I don't rent out housing for a month or two. It is more convenient and profitable for me to rent at the lower price limit, but for many years, so if it is a family with a child, then the chance that they will not move out of the apartment in a year is very high. This is why I always give them temporary registration for kindergarten/school (they won’t take it without it) if they ask for it.

Housing cost

As written above, it is at the lower price limit on the market and never increases, except in cases of a sharp increase in tariffs for housing and communal services (which has not happened yet), or in the situation described below.

There are people who spend several months looking for tenants because the price of an apartment is so high. And, of course, sooner or later they find it. But there is a considerable risk that very soon the residents will find other housing of similar quality, but much lower in price. And there is one more thing - for example, renting an apartment costs 50 rubles per month. This is the maximum price for such apartments. The owner has been looking for clients for a month, two, three, but does not reduce the price. As a result, he finds, but for three months the apartment did not bring profit, in the end he will receive 450 rubles in 9 months, although if he had reduced the price, even to 40 rubles/month, he would have rented it out right away and had would be 480 rubles per year. As you understand, this example is greatly exaggerated, but I think it is correct. Because residents of an expensive apartment will find more cheap option and they will move out, and the owner will again waste several months looking for tenants.

Deposit

I didn’t invent this, but I use it. Upon arrival at the apartment, payment for the first month of residence and a deposit in the amount of the monthly payment are taken. You must return this deposit to the tenants upon their departure. Moreover, you should not agree to the tenants’ proposal to count this deposit as payment for the last month. This deposit is your guarantee that if the keys are returned to you and property damage is discovered due to the fault of the tenants, you will not have to pay out of your own pocket to fix the damage.

Emergency situations

The cost of an apartment is determined, among other things, by the availability of various amenities. And therefore, if anything in the apartment breaks down from equipment, furniture, a leaked pipe, a broken toilet, etc., then it is all restored at my expense, of course, if the breakdown (leakage) did not occur through the fault of the residents. But for me this is such a rare case that I don’t even remember that the tenants themselves broke something and asked me to restore it at my own expense.

Relationship

Sometimes it happens that residents want to buy some equipment or furniture for their apartment. We negotiate it, and they buy against future housing payments. After which, the purchased item becomes my property. And it’s good for them, they bought what they wanted, but the money would still be given to me as payment, and I feel good, since additional furniture (appliances) increases the attractiveness of housing for future tenants. I must say that for the first time I rented out one apartment completely empty, but now it is almost completely furnished.

There is no need to call residents by phone. At all. Only one call is allowed, on the eve of the payment day, to agree on a meeting time (if payment is made in cash) and that’s it. The more you call, the more often you remind them that the apartment is not theirs, but temporary housing. And coming with an inspection, entering the apartment, inspecting the rooms is almost a guarantee that the residents will treat the apartment as if it were a rental. And such behavior will not add respect to you. Residents should feel like full owners of your apartment, only then will they treat it as their own.

If you and the residents agree in advance on a troubleshooting system, as I wrote above about emergency situations, then they themselves will call you and tell you where, what, went wrong in the apartment. It will not be profitable for them to hide the shortcomings that have arisen, since eliminating them will still be at your expense.

I don’t have much experience in renting out housing, only ten years, but never once has a single apartment waited for tenants for more than two weeks. And they always moved out with regret and not at all because I provided them with substandard services. One family went abroad, the second (a girl with a child) got married and moved to her husband, another gave birth to a third child and moved to a more spacious apartment.

Some tenants have moved out, while others have not yet been found.

During this time, I put the apartment in perfect order, including washing windows, behind/under furniture, etc. I check all the plumbing, furniture doors, handles (sore spots) and everything else that affects comfortable living. If necessary, I repaint the walls (one apartment has paintable wallpaper, which is very convenient) or re-glue it if they require it. Yes, these are additional costs, but they were planned initially. No matter how carefully people live, it doesn’t matter that something will fall off, come off or unscrew, especially if there is a child in the family. And the next residents should see a clean and beautiful apartment.

Residents who are moving out should not make claims for torn wallpaper or scratches on the laminate; these are all natural wear and tear. Of course, if the TV is broken or the refrigerator is dented, then everything is deducted from the deposit.

Rent

Electricity and metered water are paid for by the residents, everything else is paid for by me.

Increase/decrease in hiring costs

This is a very slippery moment that I really don’t like, but there’s no escaping it. The first time tenants asked for a reduction in rental costs, in my opinion, was in 1998, at the time of the crisis. We discussed the amount of reduction, but with the condition that as soon as the situation in the country stabilizes, the cost will return to the pre-crisis level. A couple of years passed, the crisis subsided and it was time to raise the price, but the market in this area sank a little and it was not possible to return to the pre-crisis price. After that, the tenants lived with me for another four years and went abroad.

Contract and other legal issues

In any case, it is better to find out details and nuances from lawyers. I enter into an agreement for 11 months with an inventory of the property, its condition and defects, the payment procedure, the monthly amount and mandatory conditions under which the rental cost can be increased. In our country one cannot be sure of the stability of tariffs and taxes.

When making financial settlements with residents, I confirm with a receipt that the money has been received.

This is my experience. Someone will say that I was just lucky with the tenants and perhaps they will be right. But without strict filtering of those wishing to rent an apartment, even if it was more expensive, this luck would not have happened.

Good luck to all adequate employers and landlords!