On the Specifics of Ukrainian Landlords

The rental market in Ukraine is relatively young and doesn't yet have strict rules of renter-landlord interaction. It's possible because of this, that foreign first-time lessees sometimes find certain things strange. Further on we'll examine the main differences between the Ukrainian and foreign apartment rental market. 

Landlords prefer fixed rental prices in euros or dollars.

This fact is easy to explain when you take into account the constant devaluation of the national currency. In signing a long term rental contract, the owner insures themselves from the possible fall of their revenue. Actually, listing rental prices in foreign currency is a violation of Ukraine regulations, and yet, owners continue to find loopholes.

Landlords dislike registering tenants

According to regulations, foreigners who arrive to work in Ukraine need to register their place of residence. It seems like there's nothing difficult about this if you have a lease. However, this problem is deeply rooted in the Soviet past. In the Soviet Union, (and up until 2001 in Ukraine), there was a complicated registration procedure. Government registration was mandatory for all citizens, and we were responsible for any violations.

Registration, far from having one purpose, also functioned as a way to distribute housing, subsidies, medical services, education, military, etc. This way, citizens who were assigned an apartment had claimed to it. Now, it’s become a problem. Regardless of the fact that registration has long been simplified and has a different role in daily life, apartment property owners are reluctant to register their renters, being inclined to believe that this registration somehow gives the lessees their own right to the property. As a matter of fact, in April 2016, the registration process was amended and simplified for both citizens and foreign renters.

Landlords don't ask recommendations from renters.

The rental market is still young enough to form a tradition of asking recommendation letters from lessees. Some landlords don't even understand why they should document all the various rules of the lease, and instead sign one page rental agreements.

Landlords worry about their property

 It’s true that the relationship of Ukrainians to their real estate is more trepidatious than, for example, Americans’. For us, real estate is something that we pass on to our children, it’s something that carries weight and is incredibly important. This is probably what explains the lack of popularity of low-quality housing. A house should stand for generations. Because of this, owners expect very careful treatment of their apartments, and are grieved by any damage done to them.

These are probably the main, albeit not the only, specificities of Ukrainian apartment owners.

Oasis in Kiev or one of the best place to live in Kiev

Nikolska Slobodka & Levoberezhka. Metro station "Levoberezhna"

View on Raisy Okipnoy 16 and Raisy Okipnoy 10 & 10a buildings from the bridge between Levoberezhny and Rusanovka

I was recently frustrated by a review of a Dnepr neighborhood written by a Kiev journalist. In the article, he said that the Dnepr neighborhood was"dirt and water." This really bothered me. How about Rusanovskaya Riverbank, or Nikolskaya Slobodka, or Pozniaki, or Telbin Pond, or the riviera? Are these all also "dirt and water"? Why throw these insults? The Dnepr neighborhood is 66km2 and has 330,000 residents. Yes, it has some less prosperous areas, but mostly, there are new buildings, beautiful parks, and the Dnepr river with its beaches.

View to new buildings of Nikolska Slobodka. Kyiv

In this article, I'd like to focus on the massive Levoberezhka (left bank), and Nikolskaya Slobodka, both beautiful modern residential goliaths, located right next to the Levoberezhnaya subway stop.

The residents of these microneighborhoods have access to all the amenities in this resort town. There's a sand beach on the Dnepr, floating restaurants, the sports fields in the Hydropark, and a manicured park along the Rusanovskaya Riverbank. In the summer these microneighborhoods really do resemble a resort. People in swimsuits and flip flops, holding towels and balloon floats, head out en masse to the Dnepr, across the Rusanovskaya Riverbank.

View to the right bank of Kyiv from Rusanovsky bridge

Dozens of great restaurants along the riverbank make this street a real promenade. Nowhere else in Kiev did I ever see so many health enthusiasts. Starting early in the morning, young and old, they head out for a run in the park. And the fields, sporting outdoor exercise machines, are never empty. Even in the winter, the street never dies down, from the constant current of “morzhi”, cold weather swimmers. Most importantly, all of this is within 10-15 minutes away from the subway, and only 4 stops away from Khreschiatyka.

School 128

Statistically, according to children's polyclinics,  these microneighborhoods are regarded as some of the most environmentally clean in Kiev, and clean air means less illness.

As for schools, Rusanovskiy Licée and school №128 regularly lead in educational quality ratings, and when you count exit exams, they outperform other schools. And, after renovations, school №128 now boasts not only modern classrooms, but also a modern swimming pool.

Now let's examine the real estate market in these microneighborhoods. The microneighborhoods themselves finished construction by the late 70s. Then in 2002, there was a rebuilding of the area. Due to that, you can now feel a difference in the quality of the buildings that arose even within a few years of each other. One of the main differences that is reflected in, are the prices.

Let's take a look at the new buildings in these microneighborhoods. These include the residential houses on P. Okipnoy St., Nikolsko-Slobodskoy and Lunacharskovo, the last two streets with older architecture, and thus, lower prices.

There's a special proposition on Levoberezhnaya, a residential house with the address of 16 P. Okipnoy St. Here the rental prices are a level higher than that of the rest of the houses in this microneighborhood. This  is due to the class of building, better security and the quality of its apartments (area, view and construction).

Lobby of residential building at 16 Raisy Okipnoy St

View from an apartment of the residential building at 16 Raisy Okipnoy St

Below are the apartment sale prices on the same streets. Of course, the apartments for sale have been renovated.

HEATING SEASON IS STARTING 

 Today is my fist post in this blog and at the same time is a start of heating season. Heating season in Ukraine is the period from early fall to the spring during which additional heat is needed to keep houses comfortable for occupants.

 Usually, a heating season in Ukraine starts either from October 15th and finishes on April 15th or it can start is the temperature is below 8C. For example in 2015 heating season started October 1st and last until April 30th. This year it starts on October, 14. It means that the transition to the temperature conditions for the heating season throughout the country will take place on October 14-15, which is 5-10 days earlier than usual. 

Generally, the duration of that season depends on such factors as temperature regime, the amount of the planned budget expenditures with the price of gas, and the possibility of thermal infrastructure. And the second factor may play a crucial role in determining the heating season opening and duration. This explains regular heat outages that even occur without prior notification. 

 This year Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center (НС) forecasts that the heating season, from the viewpoint of temperature conditions, will last no less than 160-180 days. This was stated by Anatoly Prokopenko, thewinterDeputy Director of HC during the annual conference. At the same time, according to weather the winter 2016 – 2017 will be relatively warm as it has been in the last few years. According to the HC, after October 13, daytime temperatures in Kyiv and most parts of the country will not exceed 6-7°C, and it starts to rain and snow. 

It is well known that conflict with Russian Federation negatively affected the price of the gas supplied to Ukraine. According to the thoughts of the head of country's main energetic company, in terms of coal shortage, Ukraine will have to launch the oil-gas units of the central power plant. This is one of the least expensive heating options, which may be used. Nevertheless, the head of state assured that there are no reasons for concern.