How to arrange renting of apartments in the RA independently?
With the end of the holiday season and the beginning of the academic year in Yerevan, the number of rented apartments naturally increases. The contract for renting the premises must be in compliance with the specific rules established by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia. Wanting to avoid the hassle of doing this on one’s own, many turns to services of professional intermediaries operating in the real estate market. However, there are those who want to arrange renting of apartments in the Republic of Armenia independently without the help of intermediaries. It will be useful for those persons to get acquainted with the following specific information.
How to find a tenant?
The most important factor determining the demand for housing is an adequate and reasonable asking price. The size of the rent generated is based on the availability of transport, housing conditions, availability of tech equipment and furniture, state of the building in which the apartment is located, as well as, the region. Essentially, the most popular apartments are the ones with modern repair, equipped with low-cost and practical furniture and household appliances.
How to properly inspect the apartment?
Before you show the apartment to prospective tenants, you need to prepare it by restoring order, cleaning, checking that all the household equipment is in working order. Should the tenant require tenancy agreement, including documents certifying final payments of all household bills (water, electricity, gas/heating, council tax), it is advisable to prepare these in advance. Most of the time renting in the Republic of Armenia is relatively easy, however in some cases, the rented real estate may have few owners, and as a result, will also require their agreements.
Please also note that in the Republic of Armenia one owner may not rent an apartment out without the written authorized agreement of the other registered owners.
Payment order
While making a decision on the lease the tenant and the landlord do not always sign a contract on the spot, as the parties often do not have the necessary documents or the correct amount of money. In these instances, an agreed amount is put forward in a form of a deposit so that the apartment/real estate is taken off the list. In accordance with the civil legislation of the Republic of Armenia, the deposit payment is the amount of money which is transferred to one of the contracting parties, in respect of payments due in the contract (in this case – the daily/weekly/monthly rent) to another party, as proof of its implementation.
The amount of deposit stipulated in the contract is agreed by the prospective tenant and the prospective landlord. The agreement on the receipt of the deposit must be noted in the contract where it should clearly indicate that the transferred amount is the deposit. Should the tenant changes his/her mind to rent the apartment/real estate, the deposit will not be refunded to the tenant? Should the landlord decide to rent apartment/real estate to another person, the tenant will receive double the amount of the deposit paid. Remember that the Deposit Agreement shall be in writing, in order for it to have an effect.
It is advisable to ensure that the prospective tenant does not damage the property or the good within, including household appliances, or leave without final payments of household bills. To avoid this one must include a certain amount as holding deposit. Usually, this is the sum of two month’s rent that the landlord will hold until the end of the tenancy. Should the landlord at the end of tenancy inspection find that any of the above has been damaged the compensation amount will be deducted from this holding deposit. However should the landlord be satisfied that all is in working order, then that amount will be refunded to the tenant. The sum of this deposit will be agreed between the tenant and the landlord upon entering the contract. Please note that at no point within the tenancy can this deposit be used in substitute of rent due.
As a general rule, the tenant pays rent each month, however, the parties may agree on other terms of payment.
The tenancy agreement.
The tenancy agreement is concluded in writing with official notarization at your local notary office. Following this, the contract is registered at the local territorial division of the State Committee of Real Estate Registry. The tenancy agreement is in full force from the date of registration at the above State agency. If the agreement does not specify the length of tenancy, the agreement is registered for an indefinite period.
In practice, there are many cases when the actual rental relationship is not fixed in the form of a written contract and is not registered. This practice is caused by the desire not to pay income taxes from the lease. However, in this situation, the risk of the tenant leaving the property without paying rent and household bills is increased substantially. Additionally, the legal protection of your rights will be practically impossible. Therefore it is highly recommended that the prospective landlords rent in compliance with all requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.