For any new "long-term" Muscovite who doesn't have a flat provided by his company, looking for it will represent a very important step of the installation. But it's not that easy to find a great deal. Indeed, you can find a wide range of prices (for the rent as for the percentage fee) for the same kind of flat depending on which agency or website you look at. Besides the price, choosing the right location is fundamental if you don't want to spend one hour and a half in the public transportation just to go to work!! So it's sometimes better to pay a bit more to leave closer from work.
First let's see what's the right price! It is acknowledge that rents in Moscow are quite expensive, but it doesn't mean that you have to pay 3000€ to leave in the center. According to what I've seen, you can find one-bedroom apartments starting 24 000 rubles (600€) if you want to be close to the center, and more 30-35 000 rubles (750-800€) in the very center of Moscow. Prices can of course get much more expensive. If you don't mind having a flatmate, then it will be less expensive, count between 50 000 et 80 000 rubles (1250-2000€) for a two-three bedrooms flat in the center. If you look for an apartment a bit outside the city, you can also find much cheaper prices.
If you are here as a tourist, renting a flat can also be a good thing. There are lots of proposals for one-week rents and the prices are quite good compared to hotels.
I advise you several websites to look for a flat, first http://www.cian.ru, its database is substantial for Moscow and Moscow region. A minus for foreigners is that everything is in Russian, but you can still ask some Russian friends to help you. For each flat, the percentage fee is written, from 0% to 100% (one month rent), and the advanced search is powerful (metro station, how far from the metro, price range, ...). You can find rentals of various length.
For the non-russian speaking, expat forums can be very useful, I can advise you http://expat.ru/ where you have a section "Real Estate". You can find some flats to be rented or even to be sold (a bit more expensive than "cian" according to me), but the most interesting part is if you want to find flatmates. If through these websites you didn't find the perfect match, you still can contact some real-estate agencies. I advise you to ask several of them and to call for competition, they will offer you lower rents and lower percentage fee!
As regards to the required papers to rent a flat, there is only one, cash! The owners will often ask for one month deposit and then to pay one or two months in advance. Have in mind that you will need lots of cash at the beginning and that you won't be able to withdraw as many as you want in a short period of time, so bring some with you.
Thank you for reading this article and do not hesitate to put comments or ask questions!
French version: http://regards-sur-la-russie.blogspot.com/2011/03/la-location-dun-appartement-courte-ou.html
French version: http://regards-sur-la-russie.blogspot.com/2011/03/la-location-dun-appartement-courte-ou.html
