ACCOMMODATION
BUDAPEST
Rent apartments with property mangement in Hungary
Are you looking for an accommodation in Budapest? Are you
concerned with language barriers in Hungary? Do you have any
bad experience with landlords and property managers in
Budapest? If you need a home to live in Budapest where
apartment matters are in good hand, this is the way you go.
Home search in Budapest
You will first and find out advertising
websites and letting agencies in Budapest which are in the
search results. To find apartments for rent in a particular
street or complex you will type special key words in such as ‘rent
apartments on Andrassy’ or ‘rent apartments in Gozsdu
Udvar’. It is a time consuming exercise and you need to be
patience and creative to find what you want in a reasonable
time frame.
Popular community sites – and - just like
reliable contacts through your friends can speed things up.
Do not try to save time on accommodation search in Budapest
and Think Twice because you get burned easily with fast
actions. Let’s have a look at cool tips of how to protect
yourself from unpleasant situations with agents & agencies,
and home owners in Hungary.
Relevant information about rental terms and conditions you
might not know about
Rent
-
payable on monthly basis in Hungary (best practise)
-
HUF is the widely accepted currency but EUR can be an
alternative option
-
rent does not include utilities unless it is clarified
-
invoice/receipt is to required before you arrange any
payment
When you arrange any financial
issue please collect a paperwork (soft copy by
email or hard copy by hand or post) for security reason. You
need to prove how much and when you paid if you had any
argument in the future:
-
if you pay in cash: pay directly to a bank account and you
will get cash deposit slipt from the bank
-
if you pay by bank transfer: you will have bank statements
from the bank
Please keep all paperwork until you rent an accommodation in
Budapest.
Good and reasonable rent for
an accommodation in Budapest is not set by
districts/areas so obviously in contrast to other capital
cities in Europe. You can find both cheap and expensive
apartments in the same district in the same street and in
the same building. There are no expensive or cheap districts
in Budapest. Also, number of bedrooms has a real pricing
effect in rent while size of apartment is not as important
as you would think in advance. Rent prices in Budapest are
effected most by:
-street
(Andrassy) and street number (68 Andrassy Avenue)
-building/complex(ordinary or renovated
classical building; new complex)
-apartment
condition(renovated/new built,
furnished/unfurnished and standards)
-number of bedrooms( the more number of
bedroom the higher expected rent)
-view (street view, grey or green court yard
view, level of sunshine)
-level of floor (the higher floor the higher
rent even in new or renovated buildings with lift)
-size, layout/floor plan (the reasonable
size with good layout preferable rather than size itself)
-other factors/features like noise and air
pollution, balcony, alarm, air-conditioning, leisure
facilities
-special like short or long term (the
shorter term the higher rent)
When you are expecting to work or study in Budapest but you
do not know the city, it is strongly recommended to
do a homework about areas/streets/complex you prefer.
If you have any chance to visit Budapest, please do not
hesitate to do that. Central located districts have both
nice and ugly streets and central located streets have both
lovely and horror buildings.
The very first tenants in Budapest who arrive from abroad
and know just a little about Budapest they are most likely
to make bad decisions in terms of location and rent.
Lease Agreement & (Refundable) Security Deposit
12 months’ lease without break
clause and security deposit of 2 months’ rent in general
offered to Tenants in Budapest:
-
starting/finishing date must be clarified
-
date of moving-in is usually the starting date
-
payments and deadlines (rent, security deposit, utilities)
must be clarified
-
lease agreement, however, can be finalised 1-2 months in
advance before lease starts
-
the first month’s rent and security deposit must be arranged
before tenant moves in
-
security deposit is refundable only when tenant moves out
without shortfall in rent and utilities at date of
expiration
-
security deposit is non-refundable when tenant breaks the
agreement and moves out earlier than it is agreed before
Utilities, Meter Readings & Inventory
When you set your budget for an
accommodation in Budapest,
rent + utilities would give you a real picture of
financial requirements you need to satisfy.
Utilities can be as wide range as 15%-50% of rent you pay
for the apartment. For instance, HUF100,000 rent + HUF30,000
utility would be a realistic figure when you set your
budget. Winter/Heating time is to be taken into
consideration from October to May. What should you know
about utilities in Budapest?
Condominium/Community/Common charge
Directly related charge for
building/complex maintenance and operation (lift, cleaning
in complex, common electricity, water and gas usage,
building management). Every single building/complex
has a different pricing system but condominium charge is
based on sq. m (size of apartment)
Rent + Condominium charge is fixed while water,
gas/heating/air-conditioning, electricity are usually based
on meter readings. Utility is a crucial issue in Budapest
apartment rental because each building have a different
billing system. Let us have a look at them in general:
Heating and hot water supply
In-House
system:
Both heating and hot water meter available and billing on
meter readings. However, there are classic buildings where
heating and hot water service just like condominium charge
is fixed.
-
there are classic buildings where heating and hot water
charges are fixed in 12 months a year
-there
are new buildings where heating charges have a minimum level
in Winter time because in-house system operation has a fixed
charge that is to be paid
Individual system:
When heating and hot water provided by gas/electric boiler
and billing on gas/electricity meter and cold water readings
-
you can regulate heating/hot water supply by yourself
-
electric heater/electric boiler provides service at higher
utility bill
Cold
water
In Hungary, you need to pay
for cold water in 2 ways.
Included in condominium charge usually in Old/Classical
buildings or
Water meter available and billing based
on meter readings.
Electricity
All apartment has an electricity meter
and billing based on meter readings. Electricity
company is very proactive that means to you that shortfall
in bills can lead to cut off in electricity service in 3
months.
Air-Conditioning
In-House
system: In new complexes you can find in-house
air-conditioning system with separate meter. Service
available for residents when in-house system is working from
May/June to August. It is a common problem when in-house
air-conditioning systems do not work well in Budapest.
Split Air-Conditioning:
Accommodation has an exclusive split air-conditioning system
with indoor and outdoor unit(s). You can use it whenever you
wish. What’s more, professional system can provide heating
service in cold summer nights. Please mind split
air-conditioning system use electricity, that is why,
electricity bill can be affected by split A/C.
When you handover apartment and keys
from landlord or property manager you need to have a
paperwork including up-to-dated meter readings and inventory
list:
-
meter readings from the date you move in
-
inventory list at the date you move in (defects/marks/snags
with request for maintenance)
-
sets of keys, alarm and building codes need to be defined
-
user’s manual(s) for electrical appliances provided
Meter readings and inventory list are also inspected
when tenant moves out and landlord/property manager refunds
security deposit.
Internet, cable tv and fixed-line telephone
Internet as well as cable tv and fixed
line telephone services are available in all districts of
Budapest. Find out exclusive service provider in the
building you are interested in because more than one service
providers might be represented in a district (but only one
provides service in the particular building/complex).
We wish you a pleasant stay in Budapest!
IN CONCLUSION
Getting to know areas in Budapest where you prefer to live
Define
your requirements(location, number of bedrooms with size,
features)
Set up your realistic budget with utilities
Home Search with information in deep (particularly utilities
in focus)
Visit Budapest and accommodations you are interested in
Do a professional paperwork with landlord/property manager
Handover apartment with meter readings and inventory list in
Budapest
Take internet and cable tv from exclusive service provider
Pay bills and rent on monthly basis in accordance with
invoices/receipts
Organise Maintenance/Assistant services with
landlord/property manager
BRIGHT AND FUNISHED STUDIO
ON DIÓSZEGHY SÁMUEL UTCA DISTRICT
8
