Long-term rental in Budapest for expats, step by step

In short: find the flat on a listings site, view it in person, sign a written (ideally bilingual) contract with a deposit of one to two months, expect to visit a notary, get the landlord's consent form for your address card, have the utility accounts read at handover, and pay rent by bank transfer in forint.

Renting long-term in Budapest as a foreigner is not complicated, but it happens in a fixed order, and each step has one thing that trips people up. This is the order. The deposit guide and the scam guide on this site go deeper on two of the steps; this one is the map.

1. Where are the listings?

Three places. Listings sites: this one, which is free for tenants and landlords and shows contact details only to verified users, and the two large Hungarian portals, ingatlan.com and alberlet.hu, which carry the widest stock and where most agencies post. Facebook groups: there are several large English-language ones for Budapest flats, and they are useful for rooms and for landlords who avoid agencies, but they are also where most scams start. The rule from the scam guide applies everywhere: never pay anything before you have stood inside the flat and met the person with the keys, and be suspicious of a landlord who is abroad and cannot show it. Agencies (ingatlaniroda) are common; the landlord normally pays their fee, and if an agent asks you for one, ask what it covers before you agree.

2. What does long-term mean here?

Twelve months is the standard term, often with an option to extend. Six months is possible but narrows the choice; anything under that puts you into the furnished short-let market at a higher price. Most contracts are fixed-term (határozott idejű), which means neither side can simply give notice before the end unless the contract says so, so read the termination clause. A common compromise is a twelve-month term with a two-month notice option after the first six months. Ask for it if you are unsure how long you will stay.

3. Viewing

Be on time, take your shoes off at the door if the landlord does, and ask the boring questions: which heating, last winter's bills, who the neighbours are, whether the building has a lift and a common cost, where the water and gas meters are, and whether the furniture in the photos stays. Look at the windows and the water pressure. If you like it, say so: good flats in the inner districts go within a day or two in September, and a landlord will hold one for a serious tenant who commits on the spot and pays the deposit when the contract is signed, not before.

4. What will the landlord ask for?

Your passport, and then one of two things: a residence permit or registration card, or proof of income, usually an employment contract, a job offer letter or recent payslips. Some landlords ask for a reference from a previous landlord; a short email from one is enough. Students are asked for an enrolment letter and sometimes a parent as guarantor. You are entitled to see the landlord's ID and, if you ask, the property sheet (tulajdoni lap) that proves they own the flat; a genuine owner will not mind.

5. The deposit, the contract and the notary

The deposit (kaució) is one to two months of rent, occasionally three, held by the landlord and returned at the end minus any damage beyond normal wear. The contract should be in writing, and a bilingual one is normal when the tenant does not read Hungarian; the Hungarian text is usually the one that counts, so have someone check it. Many landlords ask the tenant to sign a notarial declaration (kiürítési nyilatkozat) promising to leave when the contract ends; the tenant usually pays the notary fee, which depends on the rent and term. None of this is unusual. The deposit guide on this site covers all three in detail, including what to write into the contract.

6. The address card and the consent form

If you need a Hungarian address for a residence permit, a bank, a job or a GP, you register it at the government office (kormányablak) and receive an address card (lakcímkártya). The landlord has to sign a consent form, the befogadó nyilatkozat, and some landlords refuse because they fear it gives the tenant rights over the flat; it does not, but the fear is common. Agree on this before you sign the lease, not after you move in. Residence permit applications themselves go through the Enter Hungary portal.

7. Utilities: names, readings and Díjnet

Rent is quoted without utilities. The accounts usually stay in the landlord's name and you pay the bills, or the landlord pays them and invoices you; either is normal, and the contract should say which. The providers in Budapest are MVM for gas and electricity, Fővárosi Vízművek for water, and FŐTÁV for district heating in panel and newer blocks. In older buildings there is also the közös költség, the building's common cost for the stairwell, lift and shared repairs, paid to the building's manager. Write the meter readings for gas, electricity and water into the handover protocol on day one, with photos. Most bills can be viewed and paid through Díjnet, an electronic bill service that the landlord can share with you, or by transfer to each provider.

8. Internet

Most flats already have a cable or fibre line from one of the national providers, and the fastest route is to take over or renew the existing service rather than order a new one. Ask the landlord which provider serves the building; a new installation can take two or three weeks and needs the owner's consent. A month-to-month mobile data plan covers the gap.

9. How is rent paid?

By bank transfer, monthly in advance, in forint, to the landlord's named account; ask for a receipt or make the transfer reference clear. Cash is legal but leaves you without a record. Some landlords, especially those used to foreign tenants, quote the rent in euros. That is allowed, but it means your rent moves with the exchange rate every month, and in a weak-forint year that is a raise you did not agree to. Ask for the rent to be fixed in forint, or at least for a fixed conversion rate written into the contract.

10. Moving out

Give notice in writing in the form the contract requires, usually by email and letter, and keep a copy. On the last day, walk through the flat with the landlord, read the meters again, compare against the day-one photos, and sign a handover protocol. The deposit is normally returned within a few days to a few weeks by transfer; agree the date in the protocol. Cancel or transfer the utilities and internet in writing, and deregister your address at the kormányablak or register the new one, which does the same thing.

The checklist

• Find the flat on a listings site or a vetted group; view it in person.
• Confirm the term, the notice clause and what the rent includes.
• Bring passport plus residence permit or proof of income.
• Read the bilingual contract; check the Hungarian text.
• Pay the deposit on signing, never before; get a receipt.
• Sign the notarial declaration if asked; ask the fee first.
• Get the landlord's consent form and register your address.
• Record meter readings and take photos at handover.
• Set up utility payments (Díjnet or transfers) and internet.
• Pay rent by transfer in forint; avoid a floating euro clause.
• At move-out: written notice, meter readings, handover protocol, deposit date.

Who provides what

That is the whole process. If a step feels unusual, the deposit guide and the scam guide say what is normal and what is not, and the district pages hold the flats currently listed.