If you are planning to retire to Romania or simply relocate/move to Romania for a longer period of time, you will surely want to rent a place or even buy your own apartment or house.
However, websites where you can check out such properties available for rent or sale in Romania are few – at least those in English – and those that are available in English usually post inflated prices, specifically created for foreigners who are automatically considered to have more money than native Romanians.
But why pay more for something just because you don’t know where to look? There’s no need to do it, and I am here to give you a quick and hopefully extremely useful helping hand by sharing with you a few websites where you can find the best rent prices in Romania, as well as properties to buy at Romanian rates, not inflated ones for foreigners.
And we’re talking about websites where you can search online through thousands of ads for places to rent/buy. Many of these ads are posted directly by owners simply because in Romania most people prefer to try and rent/sell on their own just to avoid the agent fees.
Plus, all agencies are present on these major websites to increase their chances of making a sale, so you’re still getting access to most offers available. And I believe that it’s at least worth trying first before contacting an agent, at least for getting a general idea of the prices for the property types you’re interested in.
Now, if you’re just moving to Romania and you don’t really know how everything works here, it might be wiser to rent through an agent. If not, at least make sure that you do sign a contract that is also translated in English (and authenticated) so that you are aware of all the clauses and such. Even though Romanians renting out or selling are not usually set on scamming you and most don’t want to sign a contract in order to avoid taxes, you will need one for proof of residency and safety of mind.
So, here are the websites (listed by popularity, in my opinion) where you can start hunting for properties to rent or buy in Romania at Romanian prices. Please have in mind that we’re talking about long term rentals in Romania (6+ months, usually a year-long contract) – even though many of the listed properties would probably accept to rent shorter term for a slightly higher price.
– OLX: this is the best rental property website in Romania and the largest classifieds portal in the country. I’d go as far as saying that if it’s not listed here, it’s not listed anywhere.
– Storia: I believe that this one’s owned by the same company that operates OLX, focused exclusively on the property market. I often see listings from Storia promoted on OLX, but the website might have some exclusive offers as well. It has grown a lot lately and got a huge marketing campaign on TV and all other sources of media, so definitely check it out as well.
– Imobiliare: This one is dedicated exclusively to renting and selling of houses/apartments and is probably the best known dedicated website, with offers mostly from agencies. I would say that the general quality of listings is slightly better here.
– Magazinul de case: another smaller website where you can find properties for rent or sale.
All the websites listed above allow you to search for properties to rent long term in Romania or buy and if the Romanian language is not your main strength, you can always use Google Translator here.
You simply paste the URL (from your browser’s top bar) into the box to the left and choose whatever language you prefer in the box to the right. Then click the link in that box to the right and the whole website will be translated. It won’t be a perfect translation, but enough for you to be able to navigate through the websites and understand most of the text.
To give you an example of what you would save, I checked out some offers in Bucharest on AirBnB and there are just 2 one bedroom apartments available for under 500 Euros per month (a huge price anyway).
On OLX, except for some luxury 1,800 square feet one bedroom apartments that go over 1,000 Euros, you have over 1,000 apartments available for under 250 Euros, many in great or at least decent areas in the city. Of course, we’re talking about long term rentals here, while AirBnb is for short term stays, but still the difference is impressive.
So you now know where to find the cheapest rental options and apartments for sale in Romania. Good luck and have fun!
You know l always love checking out rental prices everywhere. I almost became a realtor as a second profession. Every house l’ve ever owned, l found myself. I remember my first house, no internet in those days, they had this big huge book called the MLS book, looked like the phone pages, and basically had little black and white pictures of the houses and a little description. My realtor got tired and just eventually handed me the book to find my own house cos l bugged so much…lol! What fun l had driving around L.A on my little scooter searching for the right house. Once l found it, then l let her know and we went to see it inside. I even found houses for like 4 friends! The internet really has changed everything..lol!
Yes, there’s something about taking things into your own hands that seems the right thing to do. Agents have other interests besides finding the best property for you, so it makes sense to do some research on your own. It’s fun too! 🙂
Hi Calin:
Great post!!! AirBnB is truly a rip-off! They must assume everyone is wealthy;-) I’ve looked at imobiliere.ro, and the rent is either in Leu or Euro–Euro seems the preferred. But yes, there is certainly a variety. I’ll have to check out OLX.
We all await to see how your renting goes in your city. You’re a smart guy, so you’ll get the best deal, I am sure.
I assume most of the Romanian apartments are owned by individuals and not by companies. Do the laws provide for the lessors or the lessees? By this, I mean if the owner doesn’t provide routine maintenance to address issues with water heating, heating, refrigerator, stove, plumbing, a/c cooling (if equipped), paint, common areas, etc., etc., is the lessee able to ensure the issues are addressed and not ignored? (We have some shady owners/lessors here who really are “slumlords.” They don’t care about their properties–only that the rent is paid on time.)
BTW: Do most people have a/c for the hot summers? What city do you know which is most seasonally comfortable–not stifling hot in the summer, or too bone-chilling cold in the winter?
Thanks for the great post!
~Teil (USA)
Hello Teil,
Some great questions raised – something that I, as a person living in Romania, didn’t consider talking about, but they probably deserve their own article.
To put it short, indeed most of the apartments (probably all in the smaller cities) are owned by individuals. The funny thing compared to how things work in the States is that the renter is in many occasions expected to deal with the issues you’ve mentioned. It really depends on the owner and how you arrange things to happen, but don’t be surprise that if a water pipe breaks down, you’ll have to take care of it. Or at least pay the costs.
Regarding air conditioning, they start to become common use, but you can surely find a lot of apartments for rent without a/c. The weather is pretty much the same in Romania – colder up in the mountains and a bit hotter in the South. The area where I live in (South Eastern Romania) is considered the warmest in the country (big cities here being Timisoara, Craiova, Targu Jiu and Drobeta Turnu Severin) and the central-western part of the country (Covasna, Buzau, Vrancea) are the coldest.
Oh, and regarding the currency, USD is rarely used here so get ready for a lot of EUR listings 🙂
Hey Calin,
Nice picture of you “chillin.”
The USD is a joke, anyway.
I better read up on DIY maintenance, then;-)
Ciao,
~Teil (USA)
Nice blog, very helpful. With your permission I would like to repost some of the content, for example, cost of living article, on my site.
I would say though, not all agents are as you say, focused on other things. As a workaholic, I built a reputable business week by week since 2007 & most of my cleints are either repeat or referral, as our google+, google maps, fb, linkedin & own site testimonials can demonstrate.
True, there are many agents too lazy to try very hard to help & others that take opportunities they should not. But equally, there are plenty of local landlords who offer very poor value for money, lack of a decent agreement, lack of interest after signing up. So as an expat myself & a real estate agent with now 7 years experience on this market, running a decent sized team (multiplying my experience by a factor of 10), I can say that you are just as likely to get cheated by a greedy property owner as you are by a lazy agent.
I’ve personally had dozens of conversations with owners where I refused to list their property until they fixed certain functional items, such as heating, a bed, or heating, or a dangerous electrical circuit. Tenants do not always have the confidence or courage to insist on such a repair.
So, I can say with confidence, as an agent, I genuinely do take first priority of the tenants needs to ensure value for money, stability, quality and fair treatment whilst trying to find the owner a decent tenant at a fair rent.
So if you are seeking a nicely furnished fair priced apartment in Bucharest for example , check also with recommended agents as well as private searches & compare the difference. I personally would willingly write a public apology on here if any of my cleints over the years were able to say we treated them as suggested in the main article able. It is about pride in your work & personal integrity. When people mention my name I do not want it to be accompanied by words like lazy, dishonest, greedy etc. I want them to use words like dedicated, hard working, helpful. Therefore I work to earn those descriptions & I manage my team to do the same.
All the same, very nice idea for a blog. Keep it positive & informative for everyones sake. Spor la treaba.
WhiteMountain
That is good to hear! I am sure that there are honest agents doing the hard work there – they are difficult to find though 🙂
Regarding the reposting of articles from this site, you can post a snippet on the blog with a link back to the whole article, but unfortunately not the entire article. Thanks for the visit and keep up the good work too!
What is the minimum time of the lease? I have heard its usually for 6 months minimum, could you confirm it? Thanks a lot
If you sign a contract with the owner or especially an agency, you usually have to sign for a longer lease. However, it’s not a rule for the 6 months period and I am sure that most owners would be willing to go for a short term let too.
Thanks so much for your precious first hand information.
In fact, I’d like to find a deal where I could pay the rent month per month a bit like with Airbnb (without any long term lease) but if possible with better prices. Do you think it would be possible in Romania? Some owners could accept such conditions?
I have checked out the Airbnb prices and they are outrageous for what you should expect to actually pay here in Romania. I am also sure that most owners would accept such a deal. The truth is that in Romania, in order for owners to avoid tax, they will not sign with you an official contract if you don’t want to. This would mean that the lease could be broken at any moment by the renter, as the owner has no reason to do it. Either way, I am sure you will be able to find what you’re looking for!
Good news, thanks! How about the deposit? Do you know the usual amount required by owners?
It also varies greatly, but expect 1-3 months of rent as a deposit. You can easily work out a deposit of just one month of rent, though.