Moving Home: From Communal to Costly

How does a two-room apartment just off Nevsky Prospect for $65 a month sound? What about a three-bedroom pad on the Neva for $3,000 a month? Depending on where and how you look, how quickly you need to rent and what length of time you are willing to sign a lease for, apartments in St. Petersburg come for all budgets, down to a less than $20 a month for a room in a communal apartment. Indeed, many companies can organize short-term rents in just hours, although without a doubt you pay a huge premium for the ease. There are two main ways to find a place to live: through agencies and through acquaintances - the latter of which, if an option, is often the easiest.

GOING LOCAL

Whether or not this is actually still the case, received wisdom has it that without a large number of Russian friends, your best recourse for finding a Russian-priced apartment is the weekly Iz Ruk v Ruki (From Hand to Hand) published every Wednesday. Unfortunately, what began as a newspaper for individuals has become almost entirely dominated by down-market property agencies, whose advertisements give the impression that they were placed by individuals. This can been especially frustrating as the 36-square-meter apartment on a quiet street near Gos tiny Dvor for $45 per month is always suspiciously unavailable, no matter how early on a Wednesday morning you call.

If you are confined to the lower financial brackets and do not have a large number of Russian friends, you will have to be prepared to deal with these infuriating agencies, which essentially sell leads rather than assist an individual to find an abode. Their rather unusual system involves pre-payment on the part of the client, albeit of a relatively small sum, usually in the region of 300 to 500 rubles ($10-18). However, the price of apartment hunting can swiftly accumulate when you employ more than one agency, which unless you are not planning to relocate for a very long time, will probably be the best idea.

As well as pre-payment, be prepared to sign an agreement "for information services" (soglashenie na okazanie informatsionnikh uslug), for which you will need your passport. This may seem a scam - indeed it often is, as there is no chance of a refund if an apartment is not found - but among these rather basic establishments this is the absolute norm.

Once the agreement is signed, you will be given the contact telephone number of the apartment you have expressed an interest in and allotted certain times to call the agency if the initial apartment doesn't work out.

By the terms of the agreement, the agency is obliged to supply you with information (usually over the following two months) until you have found an apartment.

Were it that simple. Two such agencies approached by The St. Petersburg Times gave out telephone numbers to the two apartments we had expressed an interest in renting. Neither one once picked up the telephone, despite being called for an entire week. Returning to the agency, instead of centrally located, cheap apartments, we were given an enormous list of apartments at the far end of metro lines, most of which, when called, had been rented already.

As neither agency had any further apartments on their books, they assured us they would be in touch as soon as they had some new clients in the city center. Suffice to say, we have yet to hear back from them. A third agency was so resolutely unhelpful (and consisted of an entirely empty room with nothing but a desk and telephone in it) that we did not even bother to sign up. There are a huge number of these agencies and better ones will advise you to avoid them if you have the means.

THE ELITE MARKET

People earning good salaries have the far easier option of employing a more up-market agency. These agencies will cost more (the standard fee is equivalent to one month's rent), but because this is paid only at the conclusion of a contract, you are at least guaranteed an apartment for your outlay. During the search the agencies are far more helpful and work as fast as possible, often able to meet you within hours for viewing appointments.

They are all very used to dealing with foreigners and all agents have at least basic English. While many of these agencies are markedly expensive, there are several that will deal with a range of apartments. The very top agencies, companies such as Pulford, Nevsky Prostor, K-Keskus and the Jensen Group, tend to deal with what are termed "elite" apartments. Complete with "eurostandard," which tends to suggest a trend towards more minimalist European design as well as modern fittings, the lowest starting prices in the center of town are about $400 per month, from where prices rise sharply and apartments often feature true luxury.

A pricey alternative is the out-of-town Dubravy Properties, a housing estate that would probably look far less incongruous in St. Petersburg, Florida, than it does in St. Petersburg, Russia. While the price is prohibitive for non-executives ($4,790 per month), these are homes away from home for some Westerners - highly secure, clean and boasting all mod-cons, the site is designed for foreigners with children and even has a playground and shop.

Signing the lease (dogovor) to an apartment will be overseen by the agent, and often the non-legally binding documents simply set out the terms of the rental contract for both parties. If a legally binding lease is necessary, it will need to be signed in the presence of a notary (notarius). This costs a few hundred rubles and is relatively simple.You will need to submit an officially translated copy of your passport, your Russian visa, your landlord's passport, the apartment's privatization document and the lease itself. Once a lease is signed and notarized, you may register yourself at the address with the OVIR.

The undoubted advantage of an agent is that they take care of such paperwork and can mediate in cases of dispute between landlord (naymodatel) and tenant (nanimatel).

Of course, if you find an apartment privately and are not well acquainted with the landlord, then safety becomes an issue, especially in cases when a un-notarized lease or - as is often the case - no lease at all exists between landlord and tenant.

As a rule of thumb, there should be an agreement that the landlord not enter the apartment without the tenant's permission as well as agreeing in advance who pays rates charges for gas and electricity.

Moreover, common sense is the best protection against unreliable agencies. Trust your instincts when you visit them, look to see whether they are licensed and whether they have many customers. While in the minority, those that simply want your money and have no real intentions of finding you an apartment do definitely exist.

However you end up finding an apartment, an element of compromise is nearly always necessary. Unless your local contacts are very strong, you will find yourself either paying somewhat over the odds to find a place quickly and easily, or the process will be more drawn out, more frustrating but cheaper.