Photo: PixabayMore and more Ukrainians and Russians are coming to Serbia. Real estate agents say that because of this, real estate rental prices in the capital have increased by 30 to 50 percent, and in New Belgrade by as much as 100 percent. Most often, statistics are mentioned, but they forget that landlords are obliged to report the rental of apartments to the Tax Administration within 30 days and pay a tax in the amount of 20 percent of the rent. So far, 17,600 Russians and Ukrainians with permission to stay in Serbia have been registered, and according to the data of the Agency for Economic Registers, the establishment of more than 2,000 Russian companies has been registered in the past seven months.
Six months ago, IT sector manager Pavel Gonza, together with 300 colleagues, arrived from Moscow to Belgrade. He says that they had to move out of their hometown because of the impossibility of doing business. They found business premises in New Belgrade, and everyone also found a roof over their heads.
"It was very complicated to find apartments for such a large number of people, especially when the rental prices were increasing every day. We found a good agency that managed to find apartments for all my colleagues in such a short time. "I was looking for a two-room apartment for up to a thousand euros, but we found one for 1,300 euros, of good quality and close to work, with a view of the river," says Pavel Gonza, information technology manager from Moscow.
A large number of apartments are rented in "Belgrade Waterfront", about 300 of them, and real estate agents note that the demand for furnished two- and three-room apartments has increased. Russians and Ukrainians agree to a much higher rent than local tenants, so there are almost no apartments for rent, especially in New Belgrade.
"A three-bedroom apartment is somewhere between 3,000 and 3,500 euros, depending on the equipment. As for the calls, these days we have a completely extraordinary situation where we cannot manage to process all the requests, there are over 20 calls in one hour", says Nenad Avram, "Eminent Nekretnine" Belgrade.
INCREASING FLAT PRICES ALSO IN NOVI SAD
The price of renting apartments has also increased in Novi Sad, because there are more and more Russians and Ukrainians in that city as well.
"Studios that cost around 200 euros cost around 300 euros, we can say that the price of all real estate has jumped by around 30 percent." Somewhat more luxurious and better furnished real estate, maybe even 40 percent. By the way, at this time of the year, since the school year starts, a large number of students and other people who work in Novi Sad come, so they also felt the increase in prices, they get by in various ways, they take bigger apartments that are rented by more of them", he points out. Mihailo Radović, "Total Real Estate" Novi Sad.
MORE THAN HALF A MILLION PROPERTIES ARE RENTED EVERY DAY
In Serbia, according to a rough calculation, more than half a million properties are rented every day, but only one percent of them pay tax for it. Even after the census, which is in progress, the exact number of apartments that are rented will not be known, because these data are collected for statistical purposes.
"We have a question that only applies to the household. When we come to an apartment where there is a temporarily present person, for example a student from Kikinda studying in Belgrade, he is a temporarily present person, so he is not a household, we do not ask him that question. Therefore, the census will not give us the number of apartments that are rented out," emphasizes Petar Korović from the Institute of Statistics.
In most European countries, apartments are rented out through agencies that take care that taxes and all other costs are paid. Landlords pay tax, but that's why they don't have to chase down unscrupulous tenants for unpaid bills. On the other hand, if damage occurs in the rented apartment, the insurance policies compensate it. Thus, rental prices are stable, and tenants are protected, writes rts.rs.
Source: rts.rs
