3 situations where you can lose your apartment as a landlord

Most owners worry about small problems with tenants - damaged renovations, disputes with neighbors, late payments. In practice, the risks run deeper: an apartment can be lost entirely if the owner doesn't keep track of who it's rented to and how it's used. Here are three situations that come up more often than owners expect.

Fraud using a copy of your passport

A known scheme works like this: a prospective tenant, under the pretext of "verifying the owner," asks for a copy or photo of the passport. That document is used to make a forged duplicate with someone else's photo, and then - with ordinary access to the apartment via the keys - the property is listed for sale in the owner's name. If the owner is unreachable at the time, for example living abroad, the deal can be completed and registered before the fraud is discovered. The rule is simple: never send a photo or scan of your passport to a stranger under the pretext of a "check" - for a lease, stating the passport details out loud or showing the document in person is enough.

Cash payments as a reason to lose in court

If an apartment is sold fraudulently, a good-faith buyer has a chance to keep it through the courts - but only if they can prove they acted in good faith. The key condition is transparent payment. Cash handed over directly, with no bank confirmation, sharply lowers the chance of proving good faith and often becomes the deciding factor against the buyer. This applies to both sides of any deal: use an escrow account, a bank safe deposit box with a real depositary, or a notary deposit - never cash.

Liability for what happens inside the apartment

If tenants use the apartment for something other than its intended purpose - running an illegal den, a storage facility, an unlicensed hostel - liability can fall not only on the tenant but on the owner, who failed to monitor who was living there and how. Formally renting out the property and collecting payments to a card without checking further isn't enough: the law requires the owner to oversee how the property is used. Since September 1, 2022, the mechanism for seizing housing over systematic misuse or violation of neighbors' rights has been set out in Part 1.1 of Article 30 of the Russian Housing Code - it replaced the former Article 293 of the Civil Code, which has since lost force. After a warning from the local government, a court can order the property sold at public auction.

A standard online lease limits you rather than protecting you

Digital rental platforms simplify paperwork, but signing a lease through a platform's standard template means the tenant automatically gains the right to temporary registration at your address. Refusing to register them is an administrative violation on the owner's part. Agreeing means that, until the registration expires, evicting a non-paying tenant can only happen through court - which in practice takes months, even if the payments are official and fully documented through bank transfers.

Why you should never take matters into your own hands

If a tenant isn't paying or is behaving unlawfully, the only safe path is going to court - not evicting them yourself. Changing the locks while the tenant is out and moving their belongings without a court order qualifies as unlawful self-help and can lead to criminal liability for the owner, regardless of who actually broke the lease terms.

How to protect yourself when renting out a property

• Never send a photo or scan of your passport to a prospective tenant - verbal details or an in-person meeting are enough for verification.
• Only accept cashless payments, so you have documented proof of every transfer.
• Check periodically how the apartment is being used - formally collecting payment without oversight doesn't remove your liability.
• Read the standard online lease carefully before signing, especially the clause on registering the tenant.
• Resolve any dispute with a tenant only through court, never by attempting to evict them yourself.

Want to rent out your property without the legal risk

Describe the property by phone - we will help you arrange the rental so you stay in control of how it's used and don't risk losing it.

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