It will affect those who make money on daily rent
The authorities set out to levy taxes on apartment owners who rent them out for a short time. Deputies of the State Duma of Russia intend to adopt the relevant law by March 2025. How is renting apartments for several days now regulated and how it differs from long-term rent, MK experts said.
It is hard to imagine that tourists go to Moscow, St. Petersburg or Nizhny Novgorod in order to pollute the stairs at the entrance or bawl Stas Mikhailov's hits for days on end. And short-term lease is unlikely to lead to “more intensive exploitation of common areas”, which the authors of the project fear.
The explanatory note to the draft law, which is being developed by the Ministry of Construction, distinguishes between the concepts of a hotel and daily rent of apartments. In principle, owners are not prohibited from renting out housing — as long as the tenants do not interfere with their neighbors, and the owners pay taxes. In taxes, in fact, is the meaning of the project. But do the owners of housing for rent for a few days skimp on their duties?
— Even the hourly rental of apartments or apartments is legally registered. A contract is drawn up, a check. But there, basically, everything is typical, but a lot of nuances are already being laid in a long-term lease, — the political scientist comments. — Starting from what the landlord wants and what the tenant wants. And this is precisely the issue of the culture of rent, which is still poorly developed in our country, and in the West both parties are full participants in the transaction. In Russia, we are used to the idea that “if you don’t like it, move out,” that is, the owner has all the rights, and the tenant has almost none. But the situation is changing, here the other day a woman won the court, refusing to rent an apartment because of cockroaches. The owner at first wanted to send it, but in the end he returned both the deposit and everything else.
The Director of the Department of Real Estate of the federal project «Digital SNT» recalls that back in 2019, legislators directly banned the organization of hostels and the provision of hotel services in apartment buildings. However, any owner of the apartment has the right to rent it out.
— The concepts of «long-term» and «short-term» rent are not distinguished in the legislation, which gives rise to a lot of controversy about the legality of the daily rent of an apartment, — says Fedor Mezentsev. — Most short-term apartment owners officially pay taxes, as opposed to long-term rental income. The thing is that new temporary residents often create inconvenience to neighbors. Constant arrivals and departures with the movement of a large number of things, noisy parties, busy parking spaces near the house — all this creates tension between the owner of the apartment and neighbors who regularly contact law enforcement agencies.
— Short-term employment is especially important on vacation, — continues Ilya Grashchenkov. — Now, if you rent an apartment, special managers do it. I think legislators want more consumer protection, but not at the expense of owners. It is clear that the main task is the legalization of business and transparent lease terms
— I don't think so, — says Ilya Grashchenkov. — Any additional expenses are paid by the owner, and he already includes his expenses in the rental price. But it is not yet clear who, if the law is adopted, will need those renting apartments and apartments — accountants, lawyers, administrators?
— As follows from the explanatory note to the draft law, short-term lease should not lead to more intensive exploitation of common areas. Such a message from the legislator suggests that in the future it is possible to increase the financial burden on apartment owners who rent them out by the day: the abolition of benefits, the charging of an increased tariff. On the one hand, the commercial use of residential premises can create an additional load on the engineering infrastructure, on the other hand, how does the tenant differ from the owner in terms of the consumption of utility resources? Does he use more water? — answers Fedor Mezentsev.
— While it is still quite a «wild market». But it also gradually becomes white, — says Ilya Grashchenkov. — People want predictability, authorities want taxes. Here you yourself choose what to do — cheaper and the risk of running into a «bomb» or everything is official, but a little more expensive. In the end, I believe, everything will come to the same Über economy. As in Europe, everything has been rented through Air BNB for a long time, so in our country, everything will be done through booking platforms. And you need to prepare for this.
Fedor Mezentsev says that daily, or short-term, rent is a separate segment of the market, where, as in any direction of the real estate market, there are segments: from economy class to business apartments:
— Online services provide a service for booking an apartment by the day is the same as booking hotel rooms. The principal differences between short-term and long-term rentals are: the agency commission (if the apartment is rented through an intermediary) is about 15% of the daily rent, while for long-term rentals, the agent's commission is 50% of the monthly payment. Short-term rentals are in demand among families with children who came to another city as tourists, business travelers, young couples.
The position of the legislator is understandable, the expert continues: «It is necessary to regulate the legal status of «short-term» tenants and landlords, and also from relations with neighbors.At the same time, the official status of a short-term apartment rental is likely to be followed by commercial tariffs for utilities and an increased tax rate on the property.»