Being an immigrant in a Russian speaking country for you is not easy. The first thing you have to do is to find a place to live, to rent an apartment in Russia. Then, you have to improve language extremely fast.

How to rent an apartment in Russia? A short vocabulary reminder.

These words would be helpful for you to describe what kind of property you need. You choose a place for living by ‘bedrooms’ in such countries as the US, the UK and Canada. In Russia and other post soviet countries, you would be offered to choose a flat by ‘rooms’, which means ‘a living room’ would be counted as a room. It’s very popular to rent a studio in big cities as it is much cheaper in the market.

кварти́ра – [ kvartyra ] – a flat,

сту́дио – [ studio ] – a studio,

дом – [ dom ] – a house,

ко́мната – [ komnata ] – a room,

спа́льня – [ spalnya ] – a bedroom,

гости́ная – [ gatynaya ] – a living room,

ку́хня – [ kuhnya ] – a kitchen.

What’s next step?

DON’T FORGET to ask about furniture in the place. Most flats would be furnished, and it’s better to have a quick look at the condition of it before paying the deposit. Most agents or landlords could send pictures to make sure you’re interested in the chosen accommodation.

меблиро́ванная – [ meblirovannaya ] – furnished,

убо́рка – [ uborka ] – cleaning,

холоди́льник – [ haladylnik ] – a fridge,

стира́льная маши́на – [ styralnaya mashina ] – a washing machine,

посудомо́ечная маши́на – [ pasudamoychnaya mashina ] – a dishwasher.

What questions should you ask when you rent an apartment in the Russian language?

Most agents would ask you to sign a ‘tenant contract’ as it regulates the relationship between a tenant and a landlord. Be ready to pay for 2 or 3 months in advance. The first month would be prepaid, you can live there. Moreover, the second one would be considered as a deposit which is on hold till the end of the rent term.

Why do you have to pay for 2 months? The third sum is on hold for the last month of your living term. It means you won’t have to pay for the last month of your stay in the property.

Кварти́ра нахо́дится далеко́ от метро́?

Is the flat located far from the metro?

Сосе́ди шу́мные?

Are the neighbours noisy?

Ско́лько сто́ят коммуна́льные услу́ги?

How much would the bills cost?

Когда́ ну́жно производи́ть опла́ту?

When do I have to transfer money monthly?

Follow the facebook page ‘Russian for beginners’ for updates. ‘How to rent an apartment’, ‘How to go shopping’ and more useful phrases about shopping in the Russian language here.

Let’s practice some keyphrases in the dialogue below!

You’re going to listen to small talk. Line A is a speaker 1 and line B is a speaker 2. Read the dialogue and the glossary.

IMPORTANT! Click the ‘Hide/Show’ button for line A to hide them and listen to the dialogues again. After, you can practice spelling. Type into each box of the lines A exactly what you hear in the audio file. Then click it back to check. You can compare your lines with the ones which are written above. Correct the mistakes and write down the necessary phrases for you.

Do the same thing with lines B. You can also check the translation of the small talk by pressing the green button ‘check’ under the dialogue. You can download the audio and practice it later again.