Renting an apartment
Before you start searching for a flat and browsing sites, please read this useful guidance.

Some agencies are advertising themselves with free services for students. Basically here in
Hungary, the agents are paid by the owner of flats; they pay a fee for advertising their apartments,
and finding a tenant to rent their apartment, not you who is searching for the apartment.

How does it work in general?
You can always see in ads that the apartment costs: … HUF rent fee + overheads/utilities
It means that over the rent fee, you pay also the utilities in every month, so there are excluding
the rent.
Usually the description mention average amount of bills that contains the heating, electricity and
water consumption, but NOT your internet subscription and the community fee.
Average is calculated for 12 months, so it means higher fees in winter and lower in summer.

What are the bills?
The overheads or utilities cover community fee, water consumption, electricity usage and heating.

– community fee: it is a different amount in every building, as it is fixed by community of owners
there, it can be from 5000 to 10000 HUF/month/flat and it is for garbage delivery and for
lightening and cleaning of staircase for gardening

– water consumption: it has a unit price per m3, defined by the service provider, so this bill depends
on your usage. You can count approximately with 2000 HUF/ month/person
In some type of buildings, water consumption is calculated into the community fee.

– electricity: it has a unit price per kW/h, defined by the service provider, so this bill depends on
your usage. You can count approximately with 5000 HUF/ month/person, however it really
depends on how many electric devices you use, like AC

– heating: Heating season is from September/October until March/April in general.
there are more types of heating systems:

1. Individual gas heating: gas also have a unit price per m3 , as it is individual you can control the
temperature in the flat and also decide when you turn on and off, so the bill is up to your usage.
Certainly the bigger the flat the higher the heating bill is.
It is hard to say and exact amount as it really depends on the size of the flat, how warm you heat
up the flat, how cold is outside, how is the isolation, however count with 20000-30000 HUF/month
in heating season.

2. Individual heating with gas convector: it is individual as well, and can control the temperature
on every heating body, it is the same as the previous one just the heating body is different.

3. Central heating: there is a basic fee also during summer. You cannot control the temperature. It
means
– measured central heating: it means that the central heating system is renewed, so you can
control the temperature on every heating body

4. Block heating: the block of flats has a common furnace that provides the heating, so this is
usually built in the community fee.

There are different meters to measure these consumptions, which are monthly read down,
reported to the service provider and based on this numbers will the consumption billed.

Good to knows
When you find the appropriate flat you sign a lease contract with the owner, usually for definite
time, minimum for one year. (In rare cases it is possible for shorter period but it is up to the
owner.)

When you sign the lease contract you pay a security deposit in worth of two months’ rent fee and
the first month rent. Security deposit will be given back at the end of the contract when no
damages caused in the apartment, all the bills are paid, etc. the lease contract will contain all the
circumstances.

Flats are furnished and equipped in general, however the supply is different everywhere, some
owners are ready to invest items you miss, some are not, so always make these things clear before
you sign the contract.

Be prepared that you need to buy your own bedclothes.

Bills are usually paid monthly by the owner, when he collects the rent then shows you the bills and
you pay them with the rent in general until the 10th of every month. Of course agreement can
differ.

Read the contract carefully and do not be afraid to ask if something is not clear.