Tag Archive for: apartment rent in Budapest

A Q­uick and Dirty Guide to Renting an Apartment in Budapest – Part 2

In the first installment of this guide to renting an apartment in Budapest we looked at the process of actually finding the right property and ensuring that the legal and immigration aspects have been properly covered.

Failure may cause problems at the immigration office

Now we’ll look at the terms and conditions you need to ensure are included in your lease contract:

First of all the contract must state the right of all users of the property to live there. The contract must state “and family” or mention those family members by name as users of the property. Failure to do so may cause problems later at the immigration office.

Renting an apartment in Budapest: key contract clauses

There are then key contract clauses that you should ensure are included:

1. The security deposit should be refundable and would typically be an amount of one or two months’ rent.

2. In Hungary the tenant is not expected to return the property to the landlord in the condition it was given. The law allows that normal wear and tear during a lease is acceptable and not recoverable from the security deposit. The definition of what constitutes “normal wear and tear” is quite broad, however, and disputes can easily arise when it comes to handing back the property.

Guide ti renting an apartment in Budapest

3. It’s important to have a clause which states that should anything go wrong with the property it be fixed within seven calendar days. For critical losses of service such as power, water supply, heating, etc. to be addressed within 24 hours of notification by the tenant.

4. If the tenant has relocated to Budapest for work, it’s important to add in what’s called a diplomatic clause to the contract. This allows the tenant to break the terms of the lease at one month’s notice in the event that his or her position in Hungary is terminated and they can provide proof to that end. The pain of losing your job should not be compounded by having to pay rent on a property you no longer live in.

Housing law tends to favour the tenant

The Hungarian housing law (lakástörvény) actually tends to favour the tenant, and any contract clause that contradicts the law is considered invalid. The key of course in all such contracts is to reach an agreement that ultimately avoids the need for resolution via the courts.

Finally, before moving into your new home it’s vital to document the condition of the property to avoid any misunderstandings later. Most tenants accept some small fault or imperfection when they move into a property, and to avoid being charged to fix that fault at the end of the lease it’s important to write some kind of handover protocol, and ideally to have it witnessed when both landlord and tenant sign it.

Ideally you should also take photographs of every room and specifically of anything that isn’t perfect when you move in.

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To learn more, please contact us on [email protected] or call +36 1 278 5680

A Q­uick and Dirty Guide to Renting an Apartment in Budapest – Part 1

For new arrivals in Budapest, finding an apartment at the right price with the right legal conditions can be a real challenge. Read our guide to renting an apartment in Budapest.

Finding a landlord who will respect the terms of the lease agreement you’ll sign further adds to this challenge.

There are plenty of real estate agents, management companies and even English-speaking owners advertising properties for an expatriate audience. There is also an increasing number of Facebook groups for Budapest where private owners and companies alike advertise their wares. Accessing the market is not an issue.

Using many different sources to find a new home can make the search process more complex. Conversely, shopping around or renting privately direct from an owner can help make the most of a tenants budget. There are pitfalls, however.

How to rent an apartment in Budapest: prices can suddenly rise

The internet can teach you a fair market price but note that most prices quoted online assume you’ll pay cash. If you ask for an invoice you might find that the original price suddenly rises by up to 40 percent. Similar increases may happen if you mention that your lease contract will be needed for your residence permit application.

Guide to renting an apartment in Budapest

Rental income is taxable in Hungary. So if your landlord wants a cash deal or is not too keen on letting you register yourself in his home, it’s safe to assume he has something to hide from the taxman. However, you don’t encounter these landlord-related issues, there are still some potential issues when it comes to the immigration stuff.

Read part two of this guide here.

Expert guide to renting an apartment in Budapest: prove or move

One example is that at the immigration office you may be asked to provide a land registry document (tulajdonilap). This is to prove that the person you’re renting from is indeed the owner, and that there aren’t multiple owners.

Any owner has the right to throw you out into the street because they didn’t sign up to you living there.

Another example is that the apartment has not yet been registered with the state database of properties, a legal requirement before a person can be registered at that address. This is typical for new build properties.

An easy way to test this is to ask the landlord to confirm if anyone has had an address card (lakcímkártya) issued for that apartment and, if so, to show you a copy.

In the next instalment we’ll look at the key contract clauses you should always make sure you have in your lease and what power you have if the landlord isn’t doing what was agreed.

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To learn more, please contact us on [email protected] or call +36 1 278 5680.
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