Home lever: banks tighten the screws when renting mortgage apartments
Banks began to tighten the rules for renting out mortgage housing, Izvestia found out. Most often, this can only be done with the consent of the lender, and in some cases it is completely prohibited until the loan is fully repaid. Sometimes, even relatives cannot be accommodated in an apartment without approval, and the use of maternity capital becomes a separate restriction. In addition, contracts increasingly include the bank's right to inspect mortgaged apartments without specifying the dates and frequency of visits. Lawyers consider such formulations redundant and point to the risk of abuse. Against the background of increasing delinquencies, these conditions can be used as a tool of pressure on borrowers.
How often is an apartment rented informally in Russia?
According to experts, about 95% of rental housing in Russia is rented informally. At the same time, 13% of families rent apartments — about 8 million people. A significant part of this market is related to mortgages. According to Valery Tumin, Director of Russian and CIS Markets at fam Properties, about two thirds of the properties were initially purchased for rental. At the same time, a significant proportion of them enter the rental market without notifying banks.
The situation looks calmer in Moscow. According to Incom-Real Estate, in 2025, apartments in the capital, bought specifically for rent, accounted for no more than 5% of all leased properties. At the same time, 73% of home purchase transactions involved mortgages. Based on this, the share of rental apartments secured by the bank could be about 4%, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
Against this background, financial organizations began to tighten the requirements for mortgage housing more often, said Alexey Dzyuman, a lawyer at SKR-Group. The activation of preferential programs has led to an increase in the number of buyers who consider apartments as a source of income. At the same time, many borrowers do not take into account the condition of the loan agreement on the need to coordinate the lease with the bank.
Direct bans on renting out housing are almost not applied now, the lawyer explained. The Supreme Court previously stated that the bank cannot arbitrarily restrict the use of property. Instead, contracts increasingly require the prior consent of the creditor.
This practice is also confirmed by Galina Zemskova, a lawyer, a member of the Association of Lawyers of Russia (AYUR) and the Union of Lawyers and Bloggers at the Kutafin Moscow Law Law Institute. According to her, banks most often refuse approval if the mother capital was used during the purchase, since the law presupposes the improvement of housing conditions, not income generation. Information about monitoring, including on-site monitoring, is usually included in the general lending rules, and they cannot be completely excluded.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the Central Bank and major banks.
How banks tighten the mortgage of an apartment
Financial organizations are increasingly explicitly stipulating in contracts the need to coordinate the rental of an apartment or its transfer to third parties, as well as the right to check the condition of the collateral, including on-site inspections, said Yaroslav Kabakov, Director of Strategy at Finam.
The trend was confirmed by the PSB. According to Laura Kuznetsova, managing expert of the financial organization's Center for Analytics and Expertise, banks often prescribe that renting out housing is possible only with written consent, is prohibited until the loan is fully repaid, or is allowed solely for living without commercial use.
Banks are also more likely to introduce additional restrictions, including clauses prohibiting the rental of housing or its transfer for free use without approval from the lender, said Maria Ermilova, International financial Adviser, Associate Professor of Finance for Sustainable Development at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
Borrowers are noticing this trend. A client of Sberbank told Izvestia that the general terms and conditions for granting a loan when applying for a mortgage provide for mandatory written approval of the rental of housing and its transfer for free use to other people (for example, relatives). It also establishes the bank's right to verify the intended use of the loan, including on-site. However, it is not specified when and how often the financial organization may conduct such checks. According to her, when signing the contract, she was provided with only individual terms, although the text states that the borrower must comply with the general terms (they can be found independently on the bank's website).
The editors of Sber reported that the bank remains loyal to customers who rent out housing. The approval procedure is simplified, lease agreements and additional documents are not required. The use of maternity capital does not prohibit the subsequent rental of housing, however, in some cases, the consent of the guardianship authorities may be required.
Lawyers point out that the conditions for access to housing without restrictions on the time and frequency of visits are excessive and potentially contested. This can be referred to as an abuse of the right and a violation of the principle of inviolability of the home, said Galina Zemskova from AYUR.
Formulations that allow for sudden inspections without notification and reasonable restrictions on the time and frequency of visits are considered redundant, said Elena Kovaleva, partner at Legal Principles consulting.
Borrowers' complaints also appear on specialized sites. So, on the portal "Banks.<url>" Alfa-Bank's client reported that Rosreestr does not register lease agreements for less than a year, and the financial organization refuses to approve the lease for more than 11 months. In response, the company stated that such a period corresponds to its rules, emphasizing that the mortgage is issued to improve housing conditions, not to generate income.
In another case, the borrower indicated that in the Uralsib support chat he was informed about the ban on renting an apartment with reference to the contract. Later, the bank stated that there were no formal restrictions on the lease.
Why do banks impose additional conditions
For banks, such requirements are associated with the risks of loss or deterioration of collateral, explained Galina Zemskova from AYUR. For example, in case of a fire caused by a tenant, it may be difficult to obtain insurance compensation. In addition, an uncoordinated lease reduces the liquidity of an apartment: if a loan is overdue, it is more difficult for a bank to sell housing if tenants with legally protected rights live in it. Therefore, creditors seek to maintain control over the facility and minimize risks, explained Alexey Dzyuman from SKR-group.
The tightening is also related to the accumulated negative experience and the increase in delays, Galina Zemskova added. Additional problems are caused by increased depreciation of housing, especially during daily rent or the use of apartments for offices and warehouses, as well as bankruptcy of borrowers, in which tenants complicate the sale of property. Therefore, additional conditions may eventually serve as a lever of pressure for non-payers.
It is important for banks to know who actually lives in the apartment, and in terms of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing requirements, said Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global. Until the mortgage is repaid, the legal responsibility for the facility remains with the financial organization, and renting housing without notice means providing false information.
In the Dom bank.The Russian Federation, in turn, stated that financial organizations by default do not object to renting and do not consider the risks of wear and tear to be critical. Apartments on the primary market are often bought without finishing, and subsequent operation does not reduce their collateral value.
The consequences of an uncoordinated rental of a mortgage apartment
Renting out a mortgage apartment without notifying the bank carries risks for all participants, said Ekaterina Stashkova, the Mortgage product manager at Compare. For the owner, this may result in fines or a requirement to repay the loan ahead of schedule.
At the same time, control by banks is increasing, noted Valery Tumin from fam Properties. Information about registration of residents, utility bills, and insurance may indicate an uncoordinated rental. In such a situation, the insurance payment is also in question. For tenants, the situation is even weaker: if an apartment is seized by a bank, they may be left without housing and without compensation, since the lease agreement, issued without the consent of the mortgagee, does not protect them.
The owner's liability is not always limited to a fine. As explained by Alexey Kulagin, adviser to the BGP Litigation Real Estate and Construction practice, the agreement may provide for an increase in the interest rate or other financial sanctions. The possibility of such measures, including the requirement of early repayment of the loan, is also indicated on Alfa-Bank's website, said Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global.
According to her, such requirements often turn out to be unaffordable, the borrower has to negotiate with the bank out of court and continue to strictly comply with the terms. For bona fide tenants, the risks are lower: even if the financial organization detects a violation, measures are applied to the owner. Evicting a person who pays on time and abides by the contract is possible only by court order.
Nevertheless, it is uncomfortable to rent such an apartment, especially for a long time, Natalia Milchakova emphasized. Therefore, before signing the contract, it is important to check whether there is a clause on the absence of encumbrances, including collateral. If the owner refuses to turn it on, it is better to choose another option.
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