Your place in budapest

Budapest renter's guide

Legal

Roommate Situations: Many tenants, particularly college student tenants and graduate school students search for an apartment they can share with 1-3 people. They choose this type of living arrangement so that they are not so alone in an unknown city. At the same time they can experience other people’s culture, or they can optimize their living costs. Landlords prefer often one or maximum two names on a lease. Roommates will be held jointly responsible for rent and brokerage fees. If one roommate does not pay their portion, the others will be held responsible for payment. We encourage you to create a written agreement amongst all parties involved binding each individual to the terms of the lease and to the fee. Search for your home together, for one roommate's palace may be another's dungeon.

Invoice: If the tenant needs an invoice of the rental fee and other costs, it is important to bring this condition to the agent’s or landlord’s attention  at the start of search for an apartment.

Address registration at the apartment: If the tenant needs to register themselves at the apartment at the Immigration Office, it is important to bring to this condition to the agent’s or landlord’s attention before starting the search for an apartment.

The language of the contract: Tenant has to understand what is signed in the rental contract. So it is preferable to have landlords and managment companies that have bilingual (Hungarian-English) contracts.

Types of contracts: There are definite and indefinite contracts. In case of the former one if tenants or landlords terminate the contract before its expiration day, they must pay 2 months’ rental fee for the other party. In case of the tenants it means losing the deposit, in case of the landlord it means paying back the double of the deposit. In case of indefinite contracts there is no expiration date, just a term (expiration notification term) until which the tenant or the landlord must inform the other party about terminating the contract. If someone terminates the contract within the notification term she/he pays the amount of the security depoist as compensation. There is a third possibilty as well when after the definite term (most often after 1 year) the contract turns into an indefinite one.