In the larger cities of Kiev, Lvov and Odessa, decent, long-term apartments typically run from $400 - $1,200 monthly depending upon numerous factors. Cheaper apartments can be found, but they most likely will not be what you want. Apartment selection factors everything you would consider in your home city – size, upkeep, proximity to center of town, access to transportation and conveniences (stores, bank, pharmacy, etc.), as well as quality of the neighborhood. Virtually all rental apartments are furnished, alleviating one concern. You know best what you want; the most important consideration is communicating your specific interests.

The role of apartment agencies is to match you with a landlord and apartment. Their commission is usually 50% of one month’s rent. It is standard for the individuals referring clients to the rental agency to receive a percentage of the rental agency's commission (from their cut). You do not and should not pay two commissions. While you are most interested in the apartment, it is appropriate to be wary of landlords. It verges on standard practice for landlords to charge more for a westerner to rent an apartment than they would charge another Ukrainian or Russian. In most cases this will be transparent to you and should not run more than $50 - $100 per month more. You are always able to provide a counter-offer; they may accept or reject it.

Rent is paid at the beginning of each month. It is typically the responsibility of the landlord to come to you to collect the rent and utilities (typically phone, water and electricity). Otherwise, long-term apartment rental is about the same in Ukraine as it is anywhere else. A signed, written lease agreement is absolutely essential for you – it is your protection, do not rely upon verbal agreements.

There are a few things to know and consider. First is that virtually all of the apartments with pictures available online tend to cater to the short-term tourist market. Most are concerned primary revenue generators such that the landlord or corresponding agency wants to capitalize on short-term turnover. They want to fill these apartments with individuals here on vacation, 1-2 week stays – to avoid extending significant discounts. Outside of peak season (May – September) short-term agencies are more flexible on extended stays and discounts.

Apartments without an online preview are almost always associated with the long-term market and require seeing in person. They may not always be as modern as short-term apartments, but the variance for function and comfort is usually nominal. The owners of these apartments are more interested in stable, long-term income and typically prefer renting to good families. They are always open to offers though, so it is a matter of making it worthwhile to them.

Considering a nice, centrally located two room apartment (with kitchen and bathroom) that would normally rent at $80 per month, daily rental would be about $80. While subject to considerable variance, a decent rule of thumb is that a short-term apartment will rent at 10% of its standard long-term monthly rental rate. The following is a quick analysis of cumulative short-term rent at a 20% discount vs. long-term rent including the 50% of one month commission for the real estate agent:

----------Short---Long--------

1 Month - $1920 - $1200
2 Month - $3840 - $2000
3 Month - $5760 - $2800

Most owners of a long-term apartment probably will not want to consider a 1 month lease; their threshold really begins with a three month lease. As the simple table above supports, a 3 month lease is a viable consideration if you intend to stay for 6 weeks or more. The table does not show costs of extra utilities automatically assumed in the short-term, but monthly utilities are typically nominal anyway.