On thing to note in renting a property is the up front payment of four months rental, this can be unexpected if you are not preapred for it. You are required to pay at the time of signing two months refundable security deposit, one month’s rent in advance and also one month’s rent for the Agency commission ( plus local tax of 4.5%).

The rental market is fairly buoyant but prices have not risen and do not appear to be on an uptrend. Historically the rental yield has been and remains around the 2-2.5% yield, so property is not that attracive as a rental investment compared to hotspots such as London and major financial centres.

The luxury end of the market has been quite buoyant, there are some lets available, in general they are more quickly rented out due to their scarcity on the market and consequently the choices available may be limited.

As far as rentals are concerned the landlord will generally demand two months rent as a refundable deposit, plus one month rent in advance. Also at the time of signing the rental contract the agency fee will need to be paid which is also one month’s rent. So at the time of signing a rental contract you will need to pay four months rent.

Rental contracts are by law for five years and are heavily weighted in favour of the tenant. To evict the tenant the landlord has to provide evidence of mal treatment of his property or non-payment of rent or a breach of the conditions of contract. He cannot decide in the five years that he wishes to sell the property and get you to leave. Also the annual rental increase can be no more than the annual inflation rate, so again the landlord can’t unilaterally decide to raise the rent.

The law has recently changed on how much notice a tenant is required to give. As at February 2014 a tenant is required to give ONE month’s notice for each year or a fraction of year remaining in the contract. This means that a person who rents an apartment whilst he is looking to buy may end up having to give or pay 5 months rent to get out of the contract. Now this can be negotiable and if you feel that you are looking at a shorter term rent it may be best to negotiate this at the start with the landlord. However the law is the law and if the landlord decides to pursue his penalty the Courts are likely to agree with him.