How to rent out property in Hungary?

It can be complicated even if you understand Hungarian.
My husband looked into it in the past and it can get confusing.
I would say your best bet is to turn everything over to a rental agent and let them handle renting and collecting rents for you.
They , at least last time we looked into it a few years back charged about one months rent per year for their services.
Well worth it if you do not speak HUngarian and will be out of the country.
You may also need to either turn all utilities over to your renter or pay a extra tax to the gov for having them still in your name and collecting rents.
Like I said, it can be complicated so talk to a agent.
The bad thing is if you turn over the utilities to another's name and they skip out on you, you will have to pay the bills before you can put them back into your name again.
If you leave them in your name and use a agency, it will be reported and you will be paying taxes on your utility bills.( Not sure why but something to do with you making a profit on utilities which really makes no sense but that's it, the law)
Would be nice if we all could find honest people we could trust to pay on time and pay every month without destroying our property or our good name with our neighbors.
I do know if you rent to students, they may ruin your property as happened to our neighbors but if they are foreign students, they will not graduate if they owe on rent or are being sued for non payment on any other bills or have ruined property.
Don't even ask how or why I know that, heard some horrible stories about renters over the years.
Not sure what happens if you rent to HU citizens and they do not pay up. I know if people have children or are elderly they cut them allot of slack even if they owe you back rent.
Use a agent that screens renters.

Thank you Marilyn. I find the "Will not graduate" strange!!

Yes, I would be renting out to students as they would be all year round income for me. So do you know of any well-known agencies in general? Their fees would be okay (1 month out of 1 year). Also, would I still need a tax code or would it be the agency who are taxed?

I think it has to do with foreign students leaving Hungary and not paying their bills before their exit.
Like many rules, someone did something to make rules change.
Used to be many years ago that HU citizens who lived out of HUngary for years could come back and just start up their national health.
Many people came back close to being on their death beds and ran up high medical costs who had not paid into the system  or had paid under the old system. Not clear but laws and rules sometimes changes because people abuse others.
Just about any real estate co. has a rental dept. too.
I don't know more about it really, we decided not to rent out, students living upstairs trashed the apt.Had after hour parties , the owner had to go to court to throw them out( they were Hungarian students) he was so upset about the condition of his apt. that he had it sit empty for over a year, resold the place. Not sure what damages were done but the new owners took over 6 months to fix it with workmen there 6 days a week from 6:45 am to 7 pm, I know, they were driving me out of my mind with the noise.

HelenLancert wrote:

I find the "Will not graduate" strange!!

I may be wrong, but I doubt this happens automatically. I suspect landlord probably needs to file an official complaint for remittance (rent/damages) in a timely manner.

You could always go down the holiday let route? Depending on the area if there is a demand for self catering?

I have really forgotten the details on the foreign students not getting their papers if they owe on rent or bills in HU before they go home.
My husband read it once to me when he translated the rules he found online.
I think to go college here in HU as a foreign national you also have to register your home address with the school and they double check everything is in order before granting a certificate of graduation.It is actually good for landlords.
Not 100% sure how it goes but basically something like that.
We knew of some Hungarians who had lived in other countries and only came back to HU when their health was bad and they wanted free medical care, that's one reason we believe they make HU returning citizens wait one year before being able to use the health system.
My info is second hand at best though.
To be allowed to do the air B&B thing the association in your building must approve it. I know our house will not allow it.

Any rental agency will have full details of the law  and current practices.  The caretaker in my block gets over involved at times and two years ago reported a group of medical students to the flat owner and they were evicted because they had one loud party.
With renting out as Marilyn says it can just be luck of the draw.  You could just be lucky and rent to a family that always pay and treat the place with respect.
You can take out landlords insurance to cover unforseen damages and I would also think it is worth paying an agency to manage the place for you.

Hi All,

Hoping to get some advice as I do not think the initial questions were all answered....

1) Does anyone know the process / arrangements with the tax office that needs to take place for a foreigner who receives rental income?

2) If an agent is hired to do all the work as part of the management fees, do they also look after setting up the required tax processes (as in point 1) or does the owner still need to sort this out themselves?

3) Any recommended insurances that should be purchased on the property before it is rent out?

Appreciate any advice!