Frequently Asked Questions

Please find below brief answers on the most popular questions.

The listed price of a property by brokers and websites serves as an indication. In Kyiv there is not a consistent standard used by brokers which enables one to compare apples with apples.

  • In many cases a real estate tax applies (акщь 5% up to 20%) that will increase the monthly payment. Some brokers include this tax and some don’t. 20% makes a substantial difference. In other cases only a 5% tax applies. This all makes it very difficult and unreliable to compare the prices.
  • Sometimes landlords include the utilities into rental price but more often they do not. This is clearly a point for negotiations
  • Parking (especially underground) often comes on top of the price but can also negotiated in the price
  • Furniture: adding furniture or removing furniture often has its effect on the final negotiated price.

In general rental tax applies from 5% to around 20% of rental amount. The way the parties agree on the lease agreement determines the applicable tax rate and which party is the tax agent.  

For Seller - 1% State Duty over the selling price determined in the sale-purchase agreement (but not lower than valuation). In case property ownes less than 3 years, or seller has made more than one sell per year - additional tax of 5% + 1/5% military tax apply.

For Byuer - 1% Pention Fund over the selling price determined in the sale-purchase agreement (but not lower than valuation).

Most companies and embassies have lawyers involved in negotiating the terms and conditions in the lease agreements and checking the validity of the ownership documents. It is advisable to work with lawyers but a substantial amount of lease agreements are negotiated without the assistance of lawyers. A rent codex in the Ukrainian law is quite extensive and arranges many issues between tenants and landlords.

Lease agreement templates are oftren issued by the company/organization/embassy of the expat. In case there is no such template our agency will provide our standard billingual (English and Ukrainian) draft lease agreement confirmed and accepted by many lawyers of our clients.

In Kyiv the standard term for cancellation by the tenant is from 1 to 3 month notice. Landlords often wants to have the same rights but our agency's aim is make it possible for landlord to cancel agreement only when the tenant is in material breach of the lease agreement.

Compared to Western Europe the costs for utilities are relatevely lower. In the monthly cost overview there are part of utilities for consumed electricity, water, gas, etc and a fixed part called "kvartplata". Often landlords wish to put all utilities on tenant's sholder. During negotiation process we often build kvartplata into the rent price. If tenants wish to have the cost for consumed utilities also build in the rental price most landlords accept this. But limit their exposure with a fixed monthly amount.

Apartment/houses come un/party/fully-furnished. Unfurnished implies that the kitchen and bathroomы are always provided with appliances (including the washing machine). In unfurnished properties one can still find build-in wardrobes and curtains and blinds. Partly furnished implies that most of basic furniture is provided.

Storing furniture still is a problem as there are limit options available on the market of the dry and clean wearhouses. Buying furniture for a large space is rather expensive as there is not mid range furniture available. Important to add, that there is no IKEA in Ukraine (but it should be opened by the nend of February 2020). It is either high-end imported or relatively poor local supply.  

Street/secured/underground. In Kyiv street parking is a good option. Often the center gets emptier with cars in the evening and there is ample space to park. It is also safe. Another option can be a secured parking like behind an access control system or security guard. The best option is the underground parking since in the winter one does not to bother about removing snow.

Most landlords have a network of handymen to fix technical problems or assist in hanging paintings etc. It is worth preparing a list of adjustments in the apartment (mosquito nets, hooks, etc) before moving into the property. Landlords tend to be more flexible in the initial stages.

For cleaning staff/drivers/nannies with recommendations we refer to www.iwck.org (International Women’s Club Kyiv)

The 2 main schools for expats are PSI (www.psi.kiev.ua) and KIS (www.kis.net.ua). They are not located close to each other and the choice of school will have impact on the location of apartment/house. There are other schools like a British School, German and French for different levels but significant less expat children are going there.