Rent a flat or a house in Florence

We own a company that manages apartments in central Florence, and are dedicated to assisting clients needs during their stay.

I'd like to give a quick overview about this topic, as "expert
from the field", so I'll answer your questions in order:

Is it hard to find a flat or a house for rent in Florence?

Finding a house in Florence is not easy if you need to stay for a long term stay. Infact, many things need to be evaluated, like location, noise, transportation, brightness and details related to the apartment itself. A good strategy if you are looking for a long term stay (over 3 months) might be to take an apartment for 2 weeks to 1 month, to have time to see in person the long term choice. 

How to find a home in Florence: classifieds, real estate portals, real estate agencies?

Renting directly from owners means savings. So, if you are after some budget rentals, skipping the agency is the best way to get something cheaper. Keep in mind though that some owners don't care too much about reputation (while all agencies do) so he might tell you a place is silent while it is noisy or that is bright while it is a cave!

Another little advantage about renting through an agency is that when troubles happen, some owners (not all of them) have resolution times that not always are "effective and acceptable".

Usually an agency has an organization 24 hours 7 days a week that can assist you. And again, worrying for the reputation online, they might run for you much faster then a private owner. So the price difference sometimes is worth it!

How much is the rental for a house, an apartment?

The price changes very much depending  on lenght of stay, and quality of apartment.
Let's say that if you stay one year, a decent one bedroom apartment will go around 1000 a month.

A decent 2 bedrooms apartment will go around 1400 a month. This on longer rentals doesn't include bills that run on these kind of apartments at around 150 a month, and if you rent through an agency consider 10% of agency costs.
Be aware of apartments that come much cheaper then this, because you have either spotted an incredible apartment for an incredible price (kind of winning a lottery) or it is an apartment where you'll be scared to stay!

What are the formalities or the required documents for renting an accommodation?

Renting long term will force the owner to register the contract. This means at arrival you'll need to get a codice fiscale, kind of social security number that neds to be part of the rental contract. Apart from that, only a copy of your passport is needed.

Which advice would you give?

Take it easy, look at reviews of other guests that stayed in the apartment you like, ask questions and suggestions, and if you know a local in town, maybe ask him to go see the place before renting it.

Good luck!

Hi apartmentsflorence!

Thanks a lot for helping

Regards
Armand

Hallo everyone, i was wondering how the cost of living in Florence is.for example
1)clean small 1bedroom apartment per month
2)utility bills i.e water,electricity,internet etc
3)food and clothing
4)public transportation per day
   thank you

Ciao!
A one bedroom apartment in Florence starts (for a long term rental around 650 if you arenot in the centre, and goes to around 850 in the centre, and up to 2000 a month depending on quality.

Public transportation goes around 2-3 Euro a day when using buses.

Consider that you need at least 1000 a month overallforleaving if youare very careful at costs, better to consider 1500.

Ciao!Lorenzo

Hi Lorenzo......thank you very much for the reply, its very helpful. if i was to move to Florence, would it be difficult for me to get a job since i only speak english and not italian?? Thank you!!

Hi velisima,

If you have more questions, could you please start a new topic on the Florence forum?

Thank you.