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Citizens planning to rent housing do not always have the desire or opportunity to search for it on their own and therefore often resort to the help of real estate agencies.
Their work is efficient, but their services are not free, and their commission depends on the value and liquidity of the rental apartment.
What does it mean?
A commission for renting an apartment is payment for the agency’s services in selecting an option that suits the client, including completing a rental transaction between the tenant of the living space and the landlord.
The agency services provided include:
- selection of apartments that best meet the conditions set by the client in terms of location, type and quality of housing, rental cost;
- providing the customer with the maximum possible information about the apartment, its advantages and disadvantages;
- establishing contact with home owners and agreeing to show residential properties to the client;
- preparation of an agreement between the apartment owner and the tenant, presence at its conclusion.
Important! Commissions to the agency are paid once immediately after the conclusion of the rental agreement. In the future, the tenant pays only rent to the owner of the property.
Who should pay the realtor's commission? We rent an apartment economically
Activity is gradually returning to the Moscow rental housing market after a serious drop during quarantine. But for now, the main demand is for inexpensive properties: some tenants are looking for cheaper options, others are moving from apartment to room.
We found out whether it is now possible to rent an apartment without a realtor and who should pay the commission - the owner or the tenant.
Types of agency fees for rental
The process most often involves three parties:
- tenant;
- apartment owner;
- agent providing intermediary services.
Depending on the type of property being rented out, there are two types of commission fees :
- Commission for renting an apartment, paid to a realtor by a potential tenant for services in searching, selecting and presenting suitable housing options.
- Commission for renting out an apartment, paid to a realtor by the owner of the property for entering into the real estate agency’s database, searching for, selecting a suitable tenant, and conducting negotiations with him.
Rent a property without an agent
How to rent an apartment without commission? As noted earlier, you can rent a suitable option without intermediaries, but finding it is quite difficult, and sometimes almost impossible . But there are several ways to get information without paying a commission:
- Come to the inspection together with a realtor, and, if the owner is present during the inspection, try to arrange a meeting with him later and conclude a deal directly .
- a figurehead instead of yourself for inspection , and after finding out the address, contact the owner.
- Access the database and find an option there.
Of course, all these methods are scams, but they help save some money.
In addition, you will not pay any money as a commission if you find housing to rent on your own.
What does it mean to “rent an apartment without commission”? Study advertisements on special websites and in newspapers, advertise your desire to rent a home.
How to understand the numbers 50-100?
For reference: The average fee for agency intermediary services is 50-100% of the rent for one month.
Its size is influenced by the number of agents searching for a suitable apartment. If two agents work, the commission is equal to a month's rent. If the agent works alone, then the remuneration may be equal to half of this amount.
There is another important factor that determines the size of the commission - the value of the property itself.
Depending on it, the commission can be:
- Downward.
This type occurs if a potential tenant has modest demands on living conditions, and the main thing for him is to quickly move into an apartment, usually a secondary one.Since such tenants do not have a large amount of money, and when concluding a rental agreement, they will have to immediately pay both the monthly fee and the commission.
The latter may not be so great.
- Increasing.
This type of commission is used if the client is very demanding about housing, about the ratio of high quality, good location, and the cost of renting an object.In addition, an increased commission for renting out an apartment will have to be paid by the owner of luxury real estate who wants to rent it out at a high price to a suitable tenant.
Commission amount
For his work, a real estate agent usually sets a commission as a percentage of the monthly rent payment. Its size can range from 50% to 100% of this amount. Therefore, when you see the phrase “commission 50” in an advertisement, know that it is set at 50% of the monthly payment for rental housing.
The agent has the right to set a commission within 100 percent. He estimates the cost of his services based on the following factors:
- liquidity of residential premises. Demand creates supply. If the apartment is located in a good area, renovated, comfortable, then its demand will be high. This means the commission will be appropriate;
- Involving several realtors in the search for an apartment also increases the size of the commission. This often happens when the search is carried out in different cities and agents have to work together. For example, a client plans to move from Perm to St. Petersburg and begins searching for housing while in Perm. Realtors set a commission of 100%, which they then divide among themselves.
When and by whom are funds transferred?
After concluding a rental agreement and receiving the keys to the apartment, the tenant pays a fee to the agent for intermediary services. Sometimes the commission is paid by the landlord if he is the party most interested in the transaction and was the first to contact the agency.
Important! Regardless of who pays the realtor’s remuneration, an agreement on the provision of intermediary services is concluded between the parties, which stipulates all the conditions and features of the transaction, the possibility of its termination, the rights and obligations of its participants.
If a client is looking for housing in a low or mid-price category, he usually pays the realtor. If the owner of luxury real estate wants to rent it out, then he pays for the services of an agent.
In rare cases, the tenant and the apartment owner agree and jointly pay a commission to the agency.
You should not pay a fee to an intermediary before concluding a transaction, therefore, if a realtor insists on paying for his services before the transaction is completed, in order to avoid fraud, you should refuse to cooperate with him and contact another agent.
Who uses the services of a realtor
Most often, it is apartment owners who turn to realtors for help. In this way, they want to save themselves from the need to negotiate and protect themselves from spam and untargeted calls.
Tenants, on the contrary, in most cases search for housing on their own. Moreover, in order to reduce the associated costs of a realtor’s commission, many consider advertisements from owners, rather than agents. Realtors are hired mainly by regional tenants who are ready to come to the city and look at several properties selected for them at once.
The services of a realtor are often used when renting premium-class housing (from 70-100 thousand rubles). Such clients are usually willing to pay for the selection of options and all negotiation processes.
“If advertisements from owners take up about a tenth of long-term rental offers, then they account for about a quarter of all potential demand,” noted Victoria Kiryukhina, chief expert of CIAN.
DIY trailer with a pitched roof step by step
In conditions of financial instability, many are trying to use the most economical ways to solve various everyday issues, including renting housing, noted Oksana Polyakova, deputy director of the apartment rental department.
According to her, 63% of tenants try to find the right option and complete the transaction on their own, but then turn to specialists. If we consider this group, then half of its participants looked for housing on sites on the Internet, a quarter independently posted requests on specialized resources, 15% counted on the help of friends, and 10% used the services of news agencies.
Does the law require it to be paid upon withdrawal?
The participation of a realtor is optional and he is involved by agreement of the parties.
However, if the landlord and tenant used the services of a realtor, then in accordance with Russian legislation, Art. 991, clause 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the agent for his services must receive from the customer the fee specified in the contract.
If it has not been indicated, then, in accordance with Article 424, paragraph 3 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, it should be determined by the average cost of these services.
Attention! If the realtor, for reasons depending on the client, was unable to fulfill the agreement for the provision of mediation services when concluding a housing rental transaction, then he must still receive a commission, as well as compensate at the client’s expense for damages from expenses incurred, which is enshrined in Article 991, paragraph 2 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
How to reduce commission or not pay it
Most often, the commission is shared with the counterparty, and a discount in such transactions is almost never provided. “There are situations when the owner, wanting to receive exclusive conditions or additional services, is ready to pay for the work of the agency - thus, he takes part of the commission himself, and in this case the property is offered to the tenant with a discount on the commission,” added Oksana Polyakova from Inkom -Real estate."
You can try to reduce the commission if the apartment is rented from the owners not for a year, but for several months. The argument in this situation would be that in just a few months the tenant will again have to pay a commission to find a new property.
Another way to reduce commissions is to turn to various services or groups on social networks. For example, in the popular Facebook group Flats for friends you can find many announcements from property owners. It is also worth looking for options with a low commission (15–30%) or without it on the CIAN and Avito platforms. For example, on the CIAN service the commission for the tenant is 15% instead of 50% when contacting a realtor. Sometimes a realtor can individually provide a small discount, but its amount is 2–3 thousand rubles.
Source
Remuneration, deposit and advance, what is the difference?
We have already discussed what an agent’s commission means when you rent a room (see above). Now let's figure out what the following terms mean when renting:
The deposit (security deposit) is paid by the tenant to the owner of the property as a guarantee that he will fulfill his obligations, which is enshrined in Article 329, paragraph 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The cost of the deposit is approximately equal to a month's rent, but there are situations when its amount is more or less than the specified amount.
The deposit is taken by the owners of the apartment to protect themselves from possible material losses.
The deposit in this case becomes some kind of compensation to the owner of the apartment, allowing him to eliminate the consequences of the damage caused: carry out repairs, buy new things, pay debts, etc.
If the tenant has fulfilled all the terms of the contract and has not caused damage to the premises, then at the end of the lease period the landlord must return the full amount of the deposit to him.
An advance is a certain amount of money that a potential tenant pays to the owner of the apartment before the conclusion of the lease agreement in order to further pay for the rental of residential premises.
An advance is a way to prove the seriousness of intentions, but not a way to secure obligations. The concluded advance payment agreement can be terminated and the money returned.
Important! The commission is paid to the realtor for intermediary services, the deposit and advance are paid to the owner of the apartment, the deposit is to ensure the conscientious fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by the tenant, the advance is as part of the future rent as proof of the serious intentions of the tenant. The commission and deposit are paid after the conclusion of the rental agreement, the advance payment is paid before its conclusion.
Signing a rental agreement and paying for services
When concluding a contract, three persons must be present - the realtor, the owner and the tenant..
The following points must be specified in the contract:
- Passport details;
- Characteristics of the rented housing - total area, address;
- Amount of monthly rent;
- Obligations and rights of the parties;
- Contract time;
- Procedure for paying rent;
- Procedure for payment of housing and communal services.
Pay attention to the title of the document. This should be a tenancy agreement, not a rental agreement.
According to Russian legislation, a citizen can rent a place to live only on the basis of a rental agreement.
At the request of interested parties, the realtor can include additional items.
For example, an inventory of property or an agreement on a constant rental amount during the term of the contract.
When concluding an agreement, the tenant should pay attention to the owner’s documents - passport and certificate of ownership of real estate.
In the certificate of ownership, in the section “type of ownership”, the type of right should ideally be indicated - individual property.
This means that the owner is the only owner of this property, and only he has the right to dispose of it.
If this section indicates the type of right “common share”, then the owner of this apartment is someone else. This means that the other owner can challenge the concluded rental agreement in court and evict the tenant .
To be on the safe side, it is advisable to sign an agreement with all legal owners of the property.
If for some reason the shareholders cannot appear at the transaction, one of the owners must present a power of attorney to conclude an agreement on their behalf.
Please read the payment clause carefully. If it indicates a fixed amount, then you are not required to pay beyond it, for example, for utilities .
In addition to the rental amount, the agreement may stipulate the tenant’s obligation to bear the costs of housing and communal services.
You need to pay a commission for the provision of real estate services only after signing the contract and receiving the keys to the apartment..
It is not recommended to sign documents with those realtors who ask for their fee in advance.
Before you sign, carefully read all the points of the document. Sometimes it happens that the owner of the apartment turns out to be a figurehead.
Check the owner’s passport, look at the name on utility bills, ask to see a document of ownership.
You may be interested in an article on how to correctly transfer property when renting out an apartment - we draw up an inventory according to the sample, you can read about it here.
What else to pay attention to
Owner behavior. If he is in a hurry, nervous, threatening to rent out the apartment to others if you don’t make a decision right now, be wary. Assess his adequacy visually: look at him first of all as a person. You need to see him every month, resolve issues, perhaps ask for help, so rent an apartment from a person who is at least not disgusting to you.
Apartment rental price. There are no perfect options at a low price. A renovated and furnished apartment five minutes from the metro cannot cost a penny. There's always a reason for the price and it's probably a scam.
Documentation. Forgery of documents is an expensive procedure. Therefore, scammers often use an economical option: they forge documents themselves or lie about why they are not there. Do not rent an apartment until you see the original documents.
Is it possible to rent an apartment without the services of a real estate agency?
It is quite possible to rent an apartment without the participation of a real estate agency, and therefore without any commission. This method will require more time to find a suitable option, but the obvious advantage will be the absence of costs associated with paying a realtor.
Searching for suitable housing on your own is usually done by viewing advertising newspapers and online resources. In order to find the treasured ad, you need attention and caution. After all, when looking for a rental privately, the risk that the deal may be concluded with scammers increases.
In this scenario, the deposit may be appropriated by a person who has nothing to do with the apartment allegedly rented by him.
The owner of a property rented without his knowledge may appear on the doorstep at the most unexpected moment for the unsuspecting tenants. The further course of events may have unpleasant consequences, including police proceedings.
Therefore, when conducting business on your own, you should pay attention to all the nuances associated with the landlord’s documents!
Who should pay the intermediary commission?
The established practice of leasing residential real estate indicates that, as a general rule, a rental commission is paid to the realtor by the person who rents the residential premises. However, there are exceptions to the rule. This applies, in particular, to high-paying luxury residential premises.
Finding tenants for such real estate is not so easy and involves additional difficulties. For the delivery of such a financially problematic property, the agent who has coped with the task of finding a tenant receives his commission from the owner of the apartment. A situation may also arise when, based on a general agreement, both parties - the owner of the residential premises and the new tenant - undertake the costs associated with paying a commission to the realtor either in equal shares or in proportions agreed upon in advance.
