Renting out property in latvia

The process of renting out Latvian real estate is rather straightforward, and is somewhat similar to the process of selling a property, but simpler. While a specialized guidance of a real estate agent is not obligatory, it may still be useful to hire one for certain services, especially when it comes to paying taxes.

In general, renting out a Latvian property involves the following steps:

1. document preparation
2. determining the price
3. searching for a buyer
4. negotiating
5. signing a rent agreement
6. registering residential tenancy in a Land Book (if needed)

Document preparation

As a rent contract does not include a change in ownership, merely in residence rights, the only document you are likely to need in most circumstances is the rent contract itself. This is further reinforced by the fact that in Latvia people who are leasing a property are seldom interested in anything other than the price and the living conditions. Nevertheless, below you can find a list of documents that might be asked for by your potential tenants, so it would be wise to prepare them in advance, just in case.

a Land Book excerpt

A Land Book excerpt contains information on the ownership and legal status of a property, including thing such as easements and encumbrances. The data basically act as a proof to the fact that the property leasing deal is legal and honest.

Technical and landscape documents

The State Land Services provides a variety of technical documentation about any property, including building and land plans. Sometimes tenants are interested in the building/apartment plan, especially if it is residential property you are selling. Naturally, for industrial and commercial real estate the surrounding land plan is almost essential, as their infrastructure often strongly influences the area in the vicinity.

Determining the price

For a property renter, the price of a real estate is weighed against its value to him/her, which means that determining a correct and attractive price is the question of making or breaking the deal. To set a correct price, it is advisable to follow certain principles:

Do not set the price based on what is offered by others

According to Latvian real estate experts from ‘Realia’ property agency, one of the most widespread mistakes in setting a price is looking at what others ask from their potential tenants. It is important to remember: the price that real estate owners ask for their property (offer price) does not always equal what they eventually get as a result of negotiations (deal price). Deal prices are known to real estate agencies, and they usually are willing to share the knowledge with their clients, which is why it is advisable to become