Questions to ask before renting an apartment

You might want to know (if it matters to you) whether it's done under the table or you can get a receipt.
Ask if you may officially use the address at all.
Similarly, some landlords won't allow you to sign up for utilities and services in your name, and insist you pay their bills without letting anyone know.

I think people aree often overcharged on the common costs so I would insist on paying my own utility bills and not a lump sum every month that may cover the long term upkeep of the building . This should surely be the landlords responsibility.

it is common to pay up front for at least 2 months rent, don't expect a refund either.
Some flats have their own utility boxes while others share. If you share then you have to pay a monthly average even if you are not using.
There are common costs for maintanance  that varies by building.
One reason some landlords do not put the utilities in the renters name is because it is a hassle for them. You both must go in together into each and every utility co. and show the meter reading before having the name on the bills changed. If a renter skips out and leaves a high bill the landlord still must pay the bill before he can once again have the utilities put back in their name.
If they use a rental co. they charge the landlord for a least one months rent for their services plus the gov. charges a huge tax rate to landlords to rent out their places. Forgot how much but 27% would be my guess, could be higher.It isn't sales tax but some other tax.
It isn't really to a landlords advantage to use rental agents unless they are using a target group such as students or foreign nationals in which case they will be charging more for rents.
If you can have a local trusted friend help you find a rental from someone it probably will save you some in the end.
We would love to rent our flat out half the year but the hassle of it all is not worth it. Perhaps someday when rents are higher it could be worth while. For now by the time one pays the rental service co. and gov. taxes and taxes on utilities( they charge landlords a tax if they are renting out and have not put the bill in the renters name, can't win for losing) it just isn't worth renting a low cost flat.
Everyone is making money except the landlord, the renter looses too because they must pay more for rent to off set all the taxes and pockets that want to be filled.

Thank you all for your replies. The situation with utilities is familiar to me from other countries, although I did not know what the exact situation was in Hungary. I hope at some point to find a Hungarian friend to help me find a better deal; until then I understand that I will have to pay a bit more, which I call a "tax" on my "stupidity" for not knowing the lingo!

Marilyn, what you describe is a universal problem, I have found, when two people basically want to come together to enter into a mutual agreement (rent an apartment), yet the state insists on being a third party, rather like the "third person" in many marriages! I am all for regulation, but this requires the legislation to be written by experts, which it so often is not..     I am always on the lookout for potential places to rent, whatever the time period, to add to my "database" (at the moment I am scouring private ads and agencies), so if you want to send me a PM about when you would like to rent out your own property, please feel free to do so!

And thank you to everyone else who contributed, it is a great help and will better arm me for when I come to signing my rental deal.

Good luck with everything.
We probably will never get around to renting our flat, more likely to sell it first.
My husband read ages ago about all the possible troubles with renting in Hungary.
I have forgotten many of the laws but we know in some cases it is almost impossible to get renters to move out even if they have not paid in years. Old, sick or people with children have more rights to stay in your property then you do once you give them the keys to the front door.
Confusing here, a mix of new and old laws on the books.
I know the flat upstairs from us was rented out to students and the owner couldn't get them out for a very long time. They trashed his flat so badly that he had to remodel the entire place and was afraid to rent it out again for a couple of years. Now he has a quiet mother and daughter living there.
If we were renting out that would mean we were out of the country and that would be hard to keep tabs on the flat and collect rent if we had a bad renter.
Less hassle to just leave the place empty, sadly.

It is hard to know exactly what is going on for most of us ex pats with rents and charges.
There are so many strange laws still in effect here, cross over from the old Soviet days mixed with new laws.
For most of us ex pats, we are probably better off using an agency and signing a contract rather then dealing with locals who may or may not have your best interest at heart.
In our experience one can not trust too many people when most are desperate for money.
My husband was born and raised in Hungary and it pains him to see how some are so willing to take advantage of innocents.
My best advice would be to read, re read and even have a professional read any contracts before signing anything here.