Several years ago, such special objects as apartments appeared on the real estate market. Everyone is accustomed to associating with this concept some kind of elite housing with panoramic glazing or luxury rooms in foreign hotels. In part, this was once the case, but today everything has changed dramatically, and it is not so easy to understand what the difference is between an ordinary apartment and an apartment in 2019.
What are apartments and what type of real estate are they?
In order to understand the question posed, you must first find out what apartments are and how they differ from an apartment. Turning to various sources, you can find out that this term has French or Italian roots, and is translated into Russian simply as “apartment”. Ushakov's dictionary defines an apartment as a large room or rest. However, this does not explain in any way what the legal difference is between apartments and apartments.
If you turn to Russian housing legislation, you can easily find out that residential premises mean:
- residential building or part thereof;
- apartment or part thereof;
- room.
This list is exhaustive and there are no apartments on it. Therefore, according to the law, this type of real estate cannot be classified as residential. However, such premises are used specifically for living and are equipped with all necessary amenities. To come closer to understanding the difference between an apartment and an apartment, you need to understand in which buildings these objects are located and what their functional purpose is.
If we take foreign experience, we can see that abroad property for temporary residence with hotel services is classified as apartments. This is partially true for Russia as well. For example, the order of the Ministry of Culture, which classifies objects of the tourism industry, contains the concept of apartments, which differs markedly from the definition of a hotel room. These include premises with an area of at least 40 square meters, consisting of two or more rooms, equipped with furniture, bathrooms and everything necessary for temporary residence.
Sometimes such residential blocks are located in office buildings or in large business centers. They are intended for accommodation of employees sent from other cities to perform certain temporary functions. Apartments are also available for staff who do not have their own housing.
Today in large cities you can find new buildings consisting entirely of apartments, which differ from apartments in that they have greater commercial value. Wealthy people invest in the construction or purchase of such real estate for subsequent profit.
Thus, the answer to the question of what does it mean to have an apartment rather than an apartment can be formulated as follows. A room intended for temporary residence with a separate entrance, included in an apartment-type hotel complex or located in an administrative building, is usually called apartments. Unlike an apartment, it does not belong to the housing stock.
Pros and cons of apartments
Let's look at the difference between apartments and apartments in practical terms: the pros and cons of purchasing such real estate. As was established earlier, apartments do not belong to the housing stock. It is from this circumstance that the existing shortcomings of these objects arise:
- It is impossible to register with them permanently at your place of residence. True, there are no obstacles to temporary registration at the place of stay if the premises have hotel services. As in any hotel room, you can temporarily register in the apartment for up to 5 years. The absence of at least temporary registration can create problems with enrolling children in school or kindergarten, obtaining a compulsory medical insurance policy for services in medical institutions;
- Housing and communal services tariffs that are used for residential premises are not applicable to commercial real estate. In this regard, you have to pay much more for utilities than in the case of an apartment of the same area. The difference can reach up to 20% in some cities;
- tax legislation is not very friendly towards commercial real estate. Thus, the property tax rate for apartments is 0.5%, in contrast to an apartment, for which only 0.1% of the base is charged, which for commercial real estate, however, is 1.44 times less. Calculation of deductions upon sale is carried out according to the rules for non-residential premises. In this case, a deduction for the purchase is provided, as for an apartment - in the amount of 2 million rubles;
- Where apartments are even worse than apartments is that developers are not obliged to organize social and cultural infrastructure in the places where such objects are being built. For this reason, kindergartens, schools and clinics may be located at a considerable distance from the complexes, and access roads may be completely absent;
- the law does not extend the SANPIN standards provided for residential premises to apartments, which gives developers a free hand. After all, they do not need to comply with the level of illumination, noise insulation and other mandatory parameters;
- In the case of shared-equity construction of apartments, the status of shareholders is radically different from that if the house had apartments. They are simply not recognized as victims according to the parameters of the Ministry of Regional Development in the event of bankruptcy of the developer.
The list of disadvantages is quite impressive, but what is the advantage of apartments over an apartment, that the demand for them is growing every year. Everything is simple here, because the absence of the need to comply with many formalities during construction greatly reduces the cost of such real estate. At the same time, the end buyer needs to pay a much smaller amount for the apartment upon purchase, which compares favorably with purchasing an apartment. This makes it possible not only to purchase relatively cheap housing, but also to make good money by renting it out.
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Should you buy an apartment instead of an apartment?
Many people wonder what is better: an apartment or an apartment? However, this question is not entirely correct. This is about the same as comparing a therapist and a dentist. It seems like both are doctors, but their tasks are completely different. In practice, it is better to buy an apartment for those who have no other permanent housing. After all, the presence of residential premises guarantees permanent registration and, as a result, free access to the various social needs of the family.
If you already have permanent registration, then the question of whether to choose an apartment or an apartment is no longer so clear-cut. In this case, commercial real estate can be purchased for the following purposes:
- for own residence due to proximity to the place of work or study, or due to more comfortable conditions. At the same time, it is quite possible to rent out a permanent apartment;
- for renting out for commercial profit;
- for organizing hotel business.
It is the commercial component that determines the main reason why apartments are built rather than apartments, especially in Moscow.
Answers to some questions
Taking into account all of the above, we can answer the question, is a studio an apartment or an apartment? It all depends on the legal status, not on the layout. After all, a studio is a living space that does not have partitions, that is, an open layout. It can apply to both residential and commercial real estate. In the first case it is an apartment, and in the second it is an apartment.
Another pressing question is whether it is possible to transfer apartments to apartments in 2019, and what is the price of this procedure. The possibility of converting non-residential premises into residential premises is enshrined in housing legislation. It should be borne in mind that the procedure is quite complicated. The main obstacle is to ensure full compliance with sanitary standards, for example, sunlight must enter each living room of the premises for at least 2 hours a day. Therefore, apartments that are characterized by insufficient insolation cannot be transferred to the status of apartments. In addition, no encumbrances by third parties should be imposed on the property.
If it is possible to comply with all the rules, you can try to make a transfer. To do this, you will need to contact the housing department of your city with an application.. The following documents will have to be attached to it:
- registration certificate for real estate;
- title documents;
- floor plan of the building;
- redevelopment project, if it is planned to be carried out.
In addition, it is necessary to undergo approvals from various services and government agencies, and then submit the relevant certificates. All this may take more than one month, and the money spent will negate the benefits of buying an apartment instead of an apartment. In addition, the success of the event is not guaranteed. Therefore, individual transfer is not economically justified. True, there were cases when owners en masse turned to the developer with a corresponding collective request to transfer apartments to the status of residential premises even at the construction stage before putting the house into operation. At the same time, their issue was resolved positively.
Thus, apartments differ from apartments in the absence of the status of residential premises. They cost less, but it is better to purchase them if you have permanent registration in another place. After all, converting non-residential premises into residential ones is quite difficult, and often completely impossible. At the same time, buying an apartment is a very profitable investment in real estate, since the demand for rental housing is always very high.
Real estate with a catch?
Today, more and more people moving to Moscow for permanent residence are purchasing so-called apartments. They are cheaper than regular housing, but are not officially intended for permanent residence. Federal and metropolitan authorities have repeatedly raised the topic of transferring apartments to housing status. And just the other day, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction Marat Khusnullin again stated that this issue is being discussed, and the corresponding amendments to federal legislation have already been submitted for approval to the Russian Ministry of Construction.
At the same time, apartment developers promise future residents to do everything for their comfort, which should be no worse, and perhaps better, than that of residents of neighboring Khrushchev-era buildings.
So is it worth buying apartments that still have hotel status? How are they different from ordinary houses? And who will ultimately benefit from the construction of high-rise glass buildings in long-established areas? The MK correspondent found out the answers to these questions.
The main paradox of the situation is that apartments in Moscow, despite everything, are now in great demand among potential buyers due to their lower cost than apartments. People are not bothered by the fact that in hotel-type apartments registration can only be obtained temporarily, for a period of 5 years, and they will have to pay for housing and communal services at inflated rates. Many are even willing to wait to enroll their children in kindergarten or school, since according to the law, priority is given to citizens with permanent registration.
According to the head of one of the analytical and consulting centers, Vladimir Bogdanyuk, the demand for apartments today, of course, is somewhat lower than for apartments, however, fewer projects with apartments are being implemented in Moscow
“The good demand for apartments is due to the fact that this is the most affordable format of real estate for living within the old borders of Moscow,” he says. — At the same time, about 70-80% of the demand for apartments comes from buyers who live in the areas where these same apartments are located, or in adjacent areas.
Meanwhile, in pursuit of quick money, developers often build apartments anyhow. For example, the design documentation for one of the apartment complexes under construction in the Obruchevsky district was made with violations. In particular, according to the Moscow State Expertise, outside the boundaries of the designated area in the red lines of the road network, the project provides for the construction of sidewalks, lawns and stair slopes. The distances from the designed and existing buildings to open parking lots are not maintained. The future vertical parking does not take into account underground communications, and drainage from the building is not provided. In addition, according to the document, fire safety requirements were also violated. Despite these violations, construction continues and the necessary approvals have been obtained.
“Soon apartments will be legally burdened with the need to invest in infrastructure, but those who managed to draw up the documents in advance will build with minimal investments,” says activist and community member of the district Vladimir Ivanov.
According to Vladimir Bogdanyuk, by and large, the construction of those apartment projects for which permitting documents have already been received cannot be suspended. The law does not have retroactive effect. However, the risks of unfinished construction and delays in construction when purchasing primary market properties can and should be minimized if you carefully study all the documentation for the project, as well as the developer’s project portfolio and its financial situation.
At the same time, experts note that today the market trend is such that more and more apartment complexes are being built with maximum compliance with housing requirements. The main reason for this is competition with residential projects.
Advantages of apartments compared to apartments
— Apartments are 10-15% cheaper than standard apartments — the average supply price in the segment of new comfort-class apartment buildings in Moscow is 133,400 rubles/sq.m. Housing is more expensive - on average 146,360 rubles/sq.m.
— Often a better location is within old Moscow. According to the head of the new buildings department of the MIC, Alexander Engel, today apartments are sold in almost all districts of Moscow. The leaders are the Northern Administrative District (about 40% of supply) and the Central Administrative District (about 30% of supply).
— In the near future, projects of this kind will necessarily include the necessary social infrastructure facilities.
— Obtaining a compulsory medical insurance policy and registering at a clinic if you have temporary registration occurs without problems.
— Depending on the class of housing, the project may provide its own package of services from the management company, while almost all projects offer cleaning, security, garbage removal, and telephony.
Disadvantages of apartments compared to apartments
- Registration. Permanent registration is not possible in the apartments, but temporary registration is possible for 5 years. True, not in all, but only in those that have hotel status.
To enroll a child in a school or kindergarten not attached to their place of residence, their applications are considered after applications from residents of houses attached to the school or kindergarten and having permanent registration.
At the moment, the apartments do not take into account the load on the existing infrastructure and there may simply not be space in nearby kindergartens, schools and clinics, as well as parking spaces for cars.
— Utility payments for apartments have an increasing coefficient compared to apartment rates and, as a rule, differ by the VAT rate. In numbers, the arithmetic is as follows: for water +10%, for heat +25%, for electricity +27% (based on the average tariff of 2.5 rubles/kWh). As a result, the monthly rent of a 100-square-meter apartment will be 2-2.5 thousand higher than that of an apartment of similar size.
— The tax on an apartment is higher than the tax on an apartment and is 0.5% of the estimated cost of the apartment, versus 0.1% for an apartment. From January 1, 2015, it will be calculated based on the cadastral value of the property.
What to look for when buying an apartment?
According to the head of the new buildings department at MIC, Alexander Engel, when choosing a property in the apartment segment, the same rules apply as when choosing an apartment. You should pay attention to the location of the facility, the quality and speed of construction. It is desirable that the apartments be located in areas of Moscow that are in demand among buyers. The development area should have good transport accessibility (proximity to the metro, major highways, etc.). It is worth approaching the choice of the developer itself no less responsibly - you need to study the history of the company, previously implemented projects, as well as documentation for the construction project. It is highly desirable that sales of apartments be conducted in accordance with Federal Law 214, which today maximally protects the rights of shareholders.
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Apartments (in Russia) are premises that are not part of the housing stock, but have the necessary conditions for living. Apartments are sold in administrative buildings, as well as in buildings with hotel status.
There are several types of apartments in the global real estate market:
- rooms in apart-hotels - rooms with a kitchen and kitchen equipment, which are rented out for short-term rent and require the availability of hotel services;
- apartments in tenement buildings - apartments that are rented out for long-term rent and require service (food, cleaning, security, etc.);
- apartments in condominium hotels - apartments that can be used either for the owner’s own residence or transferred under the management of a hotel operator;
- apartments in multifunctional and apartment complexes that are used as apartments for permanent residence (the overwhelming number of apartments in Russia).
More and more apartments are appearing on the Moscow real estate market, but not all buyers fully understand what the features of such housing are. Specialists from the kvartirolog.ru service told The Village what apartments are, how they differ from apartments in principle, and what is more profitable to take out a mortgage if you have initial savings.
What are apartments?
Apartments are legally non-residential premises intended for temporary residence. They are usually located in redeveloped buildings in the city center or in new buildings where the developer was unable or unwilling to obtain a residential building permit. Such buildings are usually registered as non-residential - hotel, office or other purposes. The type of building affects the amount of property taxes.
Modern apartments, as a rule, are not inferior to residential buildings in terms of landscaping and infrastructure of the house. But when purchasing them, you should pay attention to whether only apartments are located in this building and on your floor, or whether there will also be offices or even retail space. The most comfortable option is, of course, apartments in a building where apartments are also sold.
The legal status of non-residential premises imposes a number of restrictions on apartments:
You cannot register with them - you can only get temporary registration for five years with the possibility of extension. At the same time, you and your child will be able to use clinics, hospitals, schools and kindergartens in the area.
If one of your neighbors makes noise all night, you will have no legal basis to influence it.
Utility bills in apartments are 15–20% higher than in apartments - this difference arises due to different city tariffs for residential and non-residential premises. The same applies to property tax: it is 0.5% of the cost for hotel-type properties and other real estate properties, which include most apartments, and 2% for office premises. The apartment tax for individuals is 0.1% of its value, if it does not exceed 10 million rubles. The rate for more expensive properties is higher and can reach 2%.
The developer is not obliged to comply with the standards intended for residential premises: insolation level, infrastructure development, etc. In fact, the standards are usually not violated much, especially if there are apartments in the same residential complex.
What does the apartment market look like in Moscow?
Up to 30% comes the price difference between apartments and apartments. One-room apartments are on average 15% cheaper than comparable apartments, two-room apartments are 20% cheaper. As you move away from the center, the price difference usually increases. True, some apartments are more expensive than comparable apartments.
About 50% residential complexes with apartments belong to the business class, slightly less than 40% - to the elite class, 10% - to the comfort class.
2.3 million rubles the cheapest apartments within the Moscow Ring Road are priced (room with an area of 16 sq. m. in Marfin with delivery at the end of 2018). For 2.4 million rubles you can buy an apartment of 25 square meters. m. in Vostochny Biryulyovo, which is promised to be completed at the end of this year.
How different are the prices for apartments and apartments?
Moscow region
Minimum price of an apartment, million rubles.
Minimum price of apartments, million rubles.
from Sadovoy to the Third Transport Ring
5.2 (36 m²)
3.2 (17 m²)
near the Third Transport Ring
4.1 (22 m²)
4.4 (27 m²)
from the Third Transport Ring to the Moscow Ring Road
2.4 (25 m²)
2.3 (16 m²)
What is more profitable to take out a mortgage?
Let's say you want to buy real estate near the Third Transport Ring, no further than two or three stations from the Circle Line within a 15-minute walk from the metro. You are considering business class residential complexes with delivery in 2018 and choose a one-room apartment or apartments with an area of about 40 square meters. m. On average, such an apartment will cost 9.1 million rubles, and apartments - 7.8 million rubles.
Let's say you have 3 million rubles as a down payment, the rest of the amount can be taken out on a mortgage at 11.7% per annum (average mortgage rate in Moscow for the 1st quarter of 2017 according to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation) for 15 years. The cost of compulsory property insurance will be 0.15% (accrued annually on the outstanding balance) per year. At the same time, it is desirable that your income be at least 150 thousand rubles if you are buying an apartment, and 180 thousand rubles if you are buying an apartment: it is recommended that the monthly mortgage payment be no more than 40% of your earnings.
How much will a mortgage cost?
Expenses
Apartment, million rubles
Apartments, million rubles
Object cost
An initial fee
Amount of credit
Total payments for the entire loan term
Thus, with the initial price difference between an apartment and an apartment being 1.3 million rubles, the final difference with a mortgage is 2.8 million rubles.
Last update: 10/10/2017
I'm going to buy a house in Moscow. In addition to regular apartments, they also offer another type of housing - apartments. What is the difference between an apartment and an apartment? What is better and more profitable for living?
If you answer briefly and generally, then for the permanent residence of the average family it is better to buy an ordinary apartment. It is more profitable to purchase apartments as an investment property - to invest free funds and receive a small stable income.
But this is general. In fact, everything is a little more complicated. For those who want to delve deeper, let's look at the issue in more detail.
What is better to choose for purchase – an apartment or an apartment – depends on the goals and capabilities of the Buyer. The key differences between these two housing formats are their price and legal status. The price of apartments, as a rule, is noticeably lower than that of an apartment of similar size in the same area (unless we are talking about luxury apartments as part of office and hotel complexes). And the legal status of apartments does not classify them as residential premises at all. Legally, apartments are commercial real estate. And it is this status that changes a lot from the point of view of purchase, compared to traditional residential real estate (more on this below).
First, you need to explain what the difference is between an apartment and an apartment in the legal sense, and how they differ technically.
What are apartments? How are they different from a regular apartment?
Externally, both of them are urban housing. That is, premises physically intended for people to live in. Physically, but not legally! Visually, it can be difficult to distinguish a regular residential building with apartments from a building with apartments. This is where their similarities end and their differences begin.
Apartments as a type of living space are typical only for large cities, where active construction is already underway. In such cities, as a rule, the development of territories is quite dense (especially closer to the center), and it is not always possible to build new residential areas there. The shortage of land and urban planning restrictions do not allow the construction of multi-apartment residential buildings in these places. And clearing, for example, a former urban industrial zone for housing (demolition of permanent buildings, relocation of communications, changing the status of a land plot) is too expensive.
But the Developers found a way out. They began to build non-residential complexes on these plots and sell them as residential ones. Or repurpose existing administrative and industrial buildings and make them suitable for living. That is, legally (according to documents) the building belongs to commercial (non-residential) real estate, but in fact the premises in it are intended for living. And the law allows such a combination.
The concept of an apartment is defined by law as a premises that meets all construction, sanitary and fire standards for permanent residence.
The concept of apartments is not clearly defined in the law. It is only mentioned that they must have an area of at least 40 sq.m., consist of at least two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom (which is not always true).
Such premises are sold in buildings that have the legal status of a hotel, office center or multifunctional complex.
The popularity of apartments as a type of housing is explained by their relatively low cost. Regarding the same class of apartments. Why are apartments cheaper than apartments? This can be explained simply - their construction is much cheaper for the Developer himself. Why?
How to choose a Developer when buying an apartment in a new building? Qualitative and quantitative characteristics - see this note.
Because housing construction standards do NOT apply to commercial real estate (including apartments). This means that you may not comply with modern requirements for housing, for example, for sound insulation, thermal insulation, ventilation, fire safety, insolation (level of natural light), distance from highways and industrial facilities, etc. Moreover, the Developer is NOT obliged to provide buildings with apartments with social infrastructure accompanying housing. That is, he does not need to build schools, kindergartens, clinics, he does not have to worry about street lighting, parking spaces, playgrounds, landscaping, etc. There is no need to change the type of permitted use of the land plot - for the purpose of housing construction.
All this greatly reduces the Developer’s costs for implementing a project with apartments, and therefore gives him the opportunity to sell them much cheaper than apartments.
Despite this unusual housing format, for many buyers the determining factor is the price. And the technical characteristics (sound and heat insulation, ventilation, etc.) may be quite satisfactory for them in the as-is condition. Social objects may also not be of decisive importance. And the individual advantages of apartments (more about them below) may outweigh their “non-residential status.”
In Moscow, for example, the share of apartments is about a quarter of total housing sales (statistics for 2016 are here). A large number of premises of this format are concentrated in the Moscow City International Business Center and in a number of office, business and hotel complexes throughout the capital.
True, Moscow is not a reflection of the situation throughout Russia. Moscow is a financial and administrative center, it is a concentration of capital and the most expensive real estate, it is a hangout of show business stars and the inhabitants of Forbes magazine. Therefore, the demand for real estate in Moscow is specific. We consider the choice between an apartment and an apartment from the position of an ordinary citizen who does not own factories, newspapers and ships.
Where to start buying an apartment? From the first step STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS.
Pros and cons of buying apartments as a type of housing
Since we consider apartments in the context of purchase, as an alternative to purchasing a regular apartment (including in a house under construction), we will list their advantages in turn, and then the disadvantages relative to the traditional type of housing.
Pros (advantages) of buying an apartment:
- A noticeable gain in the purchase price compared to an apartment of a similar class. The price per square meter for apartments is approximately 15 - 25% lower.
- Location. Apartments can be sold where there is no new housing at all, and existing apartments are too expensive. For example, in the city center, in historically prestigious places, in business districts and office and hotel complexes. Possible proximity to main job.
- Free architecture and non-standard layouts. For example, the “loft” style with characteristic high ceilings, large areas of rooms without partitions and huge floor-to-ceiling windows. Up to the exotic - mezzanine floors, second light (double-light hall), terraces with winter gardens and even fireplaces.
- It is much easier here than in an apartment to coordinate the redevelopment of the premises and make your home even more unique. Unlike traditional housing stock with a lot of prohibitions and restrictions on reconstruction, apartments are an ideal platform for implementing various design solutions. The restrictions apply only to the integrity of the building’s structure - columns and ceilings cannot be touched.
- Developers often build car parks for residents (including underground ones) and improve the surrounding area of the apartment complex. Although they are not required to do this (according to regulations), for marketing purposes it justifies itself.
- Included with the apartments you can also receive services typical for a hotel. For example, administration of the complex, reception and waiting area in the lobby, concierges and security, floor maintenance, room cleaning, ironing, etc. Additional service facilities are also possible directly on the territory of the apart-complex: spa centers, cafes and restaurants, shops, pharmacies, fitness rooms, bank branches, beauty salons, etc.;
- There is a fashion for this format of housing among the business community and creative youth (in Moscow, especially);
- The owner of the apartment can rent it out through a management company, without worrying about finding a tenant and monitoring his residence. And taking into account the purchase price and rental cost, this is a more profitable investment than a similar operation with an apartment.
For the Buyer, all the positive aspects and advantages of the apartment will be described in the best colors in the advertisement. But they try not to advertise what might bother the Buyer. But the future owner of such “non-residential property” should be prepared for what is hidden.
Deposit or advance payment - what form of advance payment is used in transactions for the purchase and sale of apartments? See the link in the Glossary.
Disadvantages (disadvantages) of buying apartments:
- When purchasing apartments at the construction stage, the Buyer does NOT enter into an Equity Participation Agreement (EPA), is NOT a shareholder and is NOT subject to the protection of Federal Law No. 214. This means, among other things, that the developer does not insure his liability (if construction stops, you will not get anything), and there is no way to recover from the developer a penalty and compensation for late delivery of the house, and construction defects inside the premises.
- Impossibility of permanent registration (due to the legal status of “non-residential”). Only temporary registration is possible for apartments (up to 5 years, with the possibility of extension), and then only if this property has the status of a hotel complex.
- Due to non-compliance with building standards for housing, technical problems with sound and heat insulation of premises, insolation, etc. are possible. Kindergartens, schools and clinics are not built for apartment residents; they will have to rely only on themselves and on paid services around them.
- Increased utility bills (at rates for non-residential premises, without benefits). Especially for heating and hot water. Plus payments to the management company for additional services.
- Increased tax rate on real estate ownership. Property tax for apartments ranges from 0.5% to 2% of the cadastral value (versus 0.1% for apartments). True, the cadastral value of non-residential premises itself is usually noticeably lower than that of housing.
- It is impossible to use maternity capital and other housing subsidies from the state to purchase apartments.
- Taking out a mortgage to buy an apartment is more difficult than for an apartment. Many banks increase the interest rate for such loans or refuse them altogether.
- Impossibility of using tax deductions (personal income tax refund) when purchasing apartments.
- Apartment buildings do not have co-occupancy rules. If, for example, in a neighboring room someone builds a music studio, a creative office or a gambling club, then the neighbors will have no legal grounds to stop it. After all, formally this is a non-residential premises.
- It is impossible for apartment owners to create an HOA to jointly manage the building.
Some of these shortcomings may be eliminated in the near future. In 2017, there were proposals to change the legislation relating to apartments (see here). It is proposed to make apartments a new type of housing and consolidate their legal status in legislation. In particular, it is proposed to allow permanent registration there.
In addition, the increased costs of maintaining apartments (property taxes and rent) are more than offset by their reduced cost. Even rough calculations show that the money saved on the purchase covers the future “overpayment” for maintenance for decades to come.
As for lending for the purchase of non-residential premises, since 2016 the Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending (AHML) has launched a program for issuing loans for the purchase of apartments (see here).
After registering ownership, the owner of the apartment can subsequently make all the same transactions with it as with a regular apartment (donate, bequeath, sell). Although in the Extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate it will be written “non-residential premises”.
What grounds can there be for declaring an apartment purchase and sale transaction invalid?
Who buys apartments?
In Moscow, for example, apartments are usually bought by those who already have housing with permanent registration. Then they are used as second housing (for “physical presence”) - more convenient in location, comfortable in layout, and prestigious in status (if it is an expensive complex).
The owners of the apartments are both Muscovites themselves and visiting businessmen (including foreign expats), for whom this format is also very convenient. It is also called a “jacket apartment,” thereby emphasizing its business purpose. Such business apartments are not very suitable for the whole family (especially if the family is large and with children), but they are perfect for secluded living and for various meetings (business and not so...).
Apartments are also bought by creative people who are accustomed to thinking outside the box and living unusually. They can use these spaces simultaneously as a studio, a meeting and party space, a workshop, a relaxation area, a storage area for their works, a personal representative office, a bedroom, a dressing room and anything else they can think of. Fortunately, the status of “non-residential” allows you to do whatever you want there.
And of course, apartments are taken by those who decide to invest their free money in real estate. They are then rented out at prices comparable to the rental price of the same class of apartments. And since the purchase price was significantly lower, the commercial benefit from investing in apartments was higher than in ordinary apartments.
For rules for preparing a transaction for the purchase and sale of an apartment, see the interactive map STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS (will open in a pop-up window).
