How to Find Housing in Slovakia: Rent, Prices and the Contract

Housing is the first thing you have to sort out after moving, and the first thing on which it is easy to lose money. Here is where to look for a flat, what it costs in different cities, how a Slovak tenancy agreement works and how newcomers are most often cheated.

Where to look for a flat

The main sites that actually carry listings:

• Nehnutelnosti.sk — the largest property portal, with the most listings from agencies.
• Bazos.sk — a classifieds board with plenty of listings straight from owners, meaning no agent’s commission.
• Reality.sk, TopReality.sk — two more large portals.
• Facebook groups for rentals in a particular city. The freshest offers often appear there first, before they reach the portals. There is a list of useful communities in our article on Facebook groups for Ukrainians in Slovakia.

A practical tip: listings from owners (bez realitky, priamo od majiteľa) are gone within hours. If those are what you want, check the sites in the morning and respond immediately.

How much rent costs

Rough monthly prices for a one-room and a two-room flat, excluding utilities:

• Bratislava — the most expensive market in the country, almost twice the price of the regions.
• Košice — noticeably cheaper than the capital, with comparable infrastructure.
• Žilina, Nitra, Trnava, Banská Bystrica — mid-range.
• Small towns — the cheapest of all, but work is harder to find there.

A key point people often miss: listings usually quote the price without utilities (bez energií). Utility bills add a substantial amount on top. Always ask what is included in the price, and ask to see the actual bills from last year.

Deposit

The owner will normally ask for a deposit of one or two months’ rent plus the first month paid in advance. In other words, you need 2–3 months’ rent in hand to move in. The deposit is returned when you move out, provided the flat is in order.

The tenancy agreement: what to look at

Always put the agreement (nájomná zmluva) in writing, even if the owner comes across as a decent person. Without an agreement you have no rights and no way to register your address of residence, which you need for your documents.

Check the following in the agreement:

• Who the owner is. Ask to see the land registry extract (list vlastníctva) and an ID document. Only the owner, or someone holding their power of attorney, may let the flat.
• The amount of the rent and what it covers — rent separately, utilities separately.
• The amount of the deposit and the conditions for its return.
• The term of the agreement and how it can be terminated — how much notice you have to give.
• The condition of the flat when you move in. Take photographs and attach a handover record with the meter readings. That is your protection when it comes to getting the deposit back.
• Permission to register your address — if the owner refuses, that is a problem for your documents.

Estate agents: pay or not?

An agency’s commission on a rental is usually one month’s rent. As a rule the tenant pays it.

It is worth paying if your Slovak is weak, if you are looking urgently, or if you have no time to travel round viewing flats. An agent will filter out the unsuitable ones and check the paperwork. It is not worth it if you have time, understand the language and are ready to monitor owners’ listings yourself.

How to avoid being cheated

Newcomers are a classic target for fraudsters in the rental market. The main schemes are:

• Payment up front for a viewing or a reservation. Never transfer money before you have seen the flat in person and signed the agreement. “I’m in another city, send the deposit and I’ll post you the keys” is always a scam.
• The person letting the flat is not the owner. Someone rents a flat themselves and sublets it to several people. The land registry extract is your protection.
• A price far below the market. If an offer looks too good, it is almost certainly not genuine.
• Refusal to sign a written agreement. This often means the owner is not paying tax on the rent, and in a dispute you will be left with no rights.
• A deposit with no handover record. Without a record of the flat’s condition, you may not get your money back when you leave, on the grounds of alleged damage.

Temporary accommodation right after you arrive

If you have only just arrived and need a roof over your head immediately, go to the help centres for Ukrainians in the larger cities — they operate under the municipalities and aid organisations. They will help with accommodation for the first while and advise on your next steps.

There is also a state programme that compensates people for providing free accommodation — it is aimed at property owners, but it is useful for those looking as well: how accommodation compensation works.

Frequently asked questions

Can I rent a flat without Slovak?

You can, but your choice will be narrower. Many owners do not speak English and are wary of misunderstandings. Having an employment contract helps, as does a willingness to show your documents — that removes the owner’s main worries.

Do I need to register my address at the flat I rent?

You need to register your address in order to sort out your documents, so agree with the owner in advance that you will be registering there. Some refuse — that is a reason to keep looking.

Who pays for repairs and breakdowns?

Small day-to-day repairs are usually the tenant’s responsibility; serious breakdowns and replacing appliances are the owner’s. Put this in the agreement, or a dispute is inevitable.

What if the owner wants to evict me early?

The termination procedure should be in the agreement. If the agreement is in writing, you have protection; if it was verbal, you have practically none.

What next

If you are thinking about buying rather than renting, have a look at mortgage terms in Slovakia and how to buy a flat in Bratislava below the market price. For a general overview of settling in, see our full guide to moving here.

Important. The information in this article has been collected from publicly available sources online and is accurate at the time of publication. Rents, contract terms and the work of help centres all change. Read the terms of any agreement carefully before signing, and where large sums or doubts are involved, consult a relevant specialist — a lawyer or an estate agent.

Need help with housing? Send us a request through our form — renting, buying and selling property in Slovakia. We are a Slovak company, and we communicate in Russian and Ukrainian.

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What to buy after you move in

Flats in Slovakia usually come furnished, but bed linen, kitchenware, towels and decent lighting are almost always missing. The owner is under no obligation to buy these things, so set aside a separate budget for them — roughly 150 to 300 euros per person.

The cheapest way is to order everything online at once: 4Home.sk (textiles, kitchenware, small appliances, household bits and pieces) and HomePoint.sk (inexpensive furniture, shelves, wardrobes, tables). Delivery usually takes a few working days.

Important: anything you screw to the walls is best agreed with the owner in writing. Otherwise the cost of putting things back as they were may be deducted from your deposit when you leave.

This section contains affiliate links: if you follow them and buy something, we receive a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay.

Before you sign an agreement, read our breakdown: the tenancy agreement in Slovakia — what to check and how not to lose your deposit.

Current average rents by city and by number of rooms are in our article on how much it costs to rent a flat in Slovakia.

Not sure which district to look in? A breakdown of every district of Bratislava with prices is in our article on which district of Bratislava to live in.

Tenants should know that the owner’s policy does not cover their belongings: we explain the difference between building insurance and home contents insurance in our article on flat and house insurance in Slovakia.

Send us a request — we will find options for you

Would you rather not search on your own? Tell us what you need and we will take the search off your hands.

Fill in the form and we will get in touch — by message or by phone, whichever suits you. We reply in Russian and Ukrainian.

The service puts you under no obligation. Quarads s. r. o., IČO 53 047 486 — we are a Slovak company. How we handle your data is set out in the document “Processing of Personal Data”.