Should You Buy Apartments: Pros and Cons + Expert Opinion

From the perspective of the Housing Code, a flat is a living, isolated room that is immovable property and suitable for permanent residence of citizens. Apartments fall under non-residential premises, which leads to all their drawbacks. We analyze them with experts from the company «Metrium Group».

1. You lose voting rights and pension supplements

Permanent registration in Moscow is only possible in a living space. No registration = no right to vote in elections, no Moscow benefits for pensioners and minors. If you want to enroll your child in school, your application will be reviewed after those from "normal" residents of the area.

Important to know: If an apartment complex has hotel status, the owner of the apartment can obtain temporary registration for 5 years.

2. You do not have the right to common property of the building

All areas of common use, roof, and courtyard are owned collectively by flat owners, who can jointly decide how to manage shared spaces. For example, they can prevent undesirable use of basements, roofs, attics, and other rooms. Apartment owners do not have this right.

Important to know: If apartment owners decide, for example, to create a fenced hallway on the staircase landing, they must buy or rent that area from the owner, typically the seller of the apartments.

3. You may lose your housing through court

When a property owner becomes a debtor and a court orders the seizure of their assets, bailiffs cannot evict them from a flat if it is their only place of residence. Since apartments are non-residential premises, their owner may be evicted if the property is seized.

Important to know: A buyer of a regular flat under mortgage can also lose housing through court proceedings.

4. Higher utility bills

Purchasing apartments, you cannot benefit from tax deductions and allowances provided for flat buyers. Tax benefits do not apply to non-residential premises like apartments. However, utility bills for such spaces are higher.

Tariffs for water supply are 12% higher, wastewater treatment 8%, heating 25%, and electricity 36%. The exact cost of utilities depends on tariffs set for non-residential premises in accordance with contracts signed between the property management company and utility providers.

5. Lower housing standards

Residential buildings are constructed in strict compliance with construction and sanitary norms (lighting, sound insulation, ventilation, daylight, fire protection). Technical requirements for apartment construction are lower than those for residential buildings.

What does the expert say? The most important economic differences between apartments and flats are differences in taxes and utility bills.

Maria Litinecsкая, Expert, Managing Partner of «Metrium Group», a real estate agency and consulting company operating in the Moscow region and St. Petersburg.

Simple calculations prove that the price difference between apartments and flats covers the higher costs of utilities and taxes for decades to come. Additionally, transportation costs should be considered, as the most budget-friendly housing offers within the MKAD are often apartments.

Legal differences are not that important. Buyers of apartments and flats are equally protected by Federal Law No. 214 from double sales and delays in delivery. In case of contract termination, they have the same rights to compensation and penalties, and in case of developer bankruptcy, they are creditors in the third queue for refunds.

As for technical differences, the absence of developer obligations to follow construction norms, build social facilities, and lay access roads is not favorable for developers in competitive conditions. In a tight market, most apartment complexes do not fall short of regular multi-family buildings in terms of construction quality or infrastructure availability.

As a result, if someone finds an optimal combination of three characteristics—price, location, and interesting concept—in any apartment complex, it won’t matter to them that formally they are non-residential premises. For the buyer, the main goal is to improve specific housing conditions—namely, move into a new house or more convenient location.

On the cover: Interior design project by Daria Maltseva.

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