The Russian of leases and viewings is a recognisable B2 register: it leans on impersonal passives to describe what is being done to the property, not who is doing it. An apartment "rents itself out" (сдаётся), utilities "are included" (включены́), and durations are framed with на + accusative ("for a long term", "for a year"). Mastering this small cluster — the -ся passive, the short passive participle, and the на-of-intended-duration — lets you read rental ads and negotiate a viewing. Here is a natural exchange between a prospective tenant and a landlord; read it whole, then line by line.
The dialogue
— Здра́вствуйте! Кварти́ра ещё сдаётся?
— Hello! Is the apartment still available to rent?
— Да, сдаётся. Вы на дли́тельный срок и́щете?
— Yes, it is. Are you looking for a long-term let?
— Да, ми́нимум на год. А коммуна́льные услу́ги включены́ в аре́ндную пла́ту?
— Yes, at least for a year. And are the utilities included in the rent?
— Вода́ и отопле́ние включены́, а электри́чество опла́чивается отде́льно по счётчику.
— Water and heating are included, but electricity is paid separately by the meter.
— Поня́тно. А зада́ток тре́буется?
— I see. And is a deposit required?
— Да, нужна́ опла́та за пе́рвый и после́дний ме́сяц.
— Yes, payment for the first and last month is needed.
Line by line
— Здра́вствуйте! Кварти́ра ещё сдаётся?
After the polite Здра́вствуйте, the central rental verb appears: Кварти́ра ещё сдаётся? = "Is the apartment still available to rent?", literally "Does the apartment still rent-itself-out?".
- сдаётся is the -ся passive of сдава́ть ("to let out, rent out [to a tenant]"). The active сдава́ть needs a landlord-subject ("the owner lets out the flat"); adding -ся turns it into an agentless passive: the flat "is let out / is for rent", with the agent (whoever owns it) deliberately unmentioned. This is the standard verb of rental ads: Сдаётся кварти́ра ("Apartment for rent"). Note the imperfective present — it describes a standing state/availability.
- A crucial pair to keep straight: сдава́ть = to rent out (the landlord's side), снима́ть = to rent from (the tenant's side). The same flat the owner сдаёт (lets out) is the one you хоти́те снять (want to rent). Mixing these two verbs up is a classic B2 error.
- ещё ("still") asks whether it's still on the market.
— Да, сдаётся. Вы на дли́тельный срок и́щете?
The landlord confirms with an echo ellipsis — just Да, сдаётся ("Yes, it is [for rent]"), repeating the verb instead of saying "yes". Then a question with the first duration phrase: Вы на дли́тельный срок и́щете? = "Are you looking for a long-term let?"
- на дли́тельный срок — на + accusative for intended duration: срок ("term, period") in the accusative (masculine inanimate, so = nominative form), with the adjective дли́тельный ("lengthy, long") agreeing. This на marks how long you intend to use it, the planned span. It is different from в/за/in-bare-accusative durations.
- и́щете ("you're looking for") is the вы-form of иска́ть, here with вы stated for emphasis/politeness. Russian fronts the duration phrase (на дли́тельный срок) before the verb — flexible word order packaging the new information first.
— Да, ми́нимум на год. А коммуна́льные услу́ги включены́ в аре́ндную пла́ту?
The tenant answers the duration, then asks about utilities.
- ми́нимум на год — "at least for a year". ми́нимум ("minimum, at least") modifies the same на + accusative duration: на год ("for a year"). год after на stays in the singular accusative (= nominative form).
- коммуна́льные услу́ги — "utilities", literally "communal services": the fixed term for water, heating, gas, building maintenance, etc. Often shortened in speech to коммуна́лка. услу́ги is the plural of услу́га ("service"); the adjective коммуна́льные agrees as plural.
- включены́ — the short passive participle "are included", plural to agree with услу́ги. This is the heart of the lease register: short passive participles state what is the case without naming an agent. Its forms: включён (m.) / включена́ (f.) / включено́ (n.) / включены́ (pl.) — note the stressed endings.
- в аре́ндную пла́ту — "in the rent", в + accusative (direction/inclusion into): аре́ндная пла́та ("rental payment, rent") → аре́ндную пла́ту. Things are included into the payment, so в takes the accusative here.
— Вода́ и отопле́ние включены́, а электри́чество опла́чивается отде́льно по счётчику.
The landlord answers with both passive types side by side.
- Вода́ и отопле́ние включены́ — "Water and heating are included". The short participle включены́ is plural because there are two subjects (вода́ + отопле́ние) coordinated, even though each is singular. отопле́ние ("heating") is a neuter -ие noun.
- а электри́чество опла́чивается отде́льно — "but electricity is paid separately". The contrastive а ("but, whereas") sets up the exception. опла́чивается is a -ся passive (опла́чивать "to pay for" → опла́чивается "is paid for"), the imperfective counterpart to the short participle. Russian fluidly alternates the two: included things take the participle (включены́), the regularly-paid thing takes the -ся passive (опла́чивается). отде́льно = "separately".
- по счётчику — "by the meter", по + dative (счётчик → счётчику), the "according to / by means of" по: charged according to what the meter shows. This по-of-basis is the same one in по счёту "by the bill", по расписа́нию "according to the schedule".
— Поня́тно. А зада́ток тре́буется?
The tenant signals understanding and asks about a deposit. Поня́тно ("I see / understood", literally "[it is] clear") is a one-word impersonal acknowledgment. Then зада́ток тре́буется? = "Is a deposit required?"
- зада́ток ("deposit, earnest money") is the upfront sum; распространённый synonym in rentals is зало́г (security deposit). зада́ток has a fleeting vowel — зада́ток → зада́тка in the genitive.
- тре́буется is again a -ся passive/impersonal (тре́бовать "to require" → тре́буется "is required"), agentless: a deposit "is required", no one specified. This тре́буется is itself a register marker — formal notices and contracts are full of it (тре́буется регистра́ция "registration is required").
— Да, нужна́ опла́та за пе́рвый и после́дний ме́сяц.
The landlord specifies the terms. нужна́ опла́та = "payment is needed": нужна́ is the short adjective "needed", feminine to agree with feminine опла́та ("payment"). Russian states a requirement with нужен/нужна́/ну́жно/нужны́ agreeing with the thing needed.
- за пе́рвый и после́дний ме́сяц — "for the first and last month", за + accusative in its "in exchange for / covering" sense: you pay за (for) a period. The ordinals пе́рвый ("first") and после́дний ("last") both modify the single ме́сяц (accusative, = nominative form, masculine inanimate). Note one shared noun ме́сяц governed by two adjectives — a tidy ellipsis.
Register: вы throughout, leaning formal
The exchange is on вы — visible in Вы … и́щете? — appropriate for negotiating with a stranger over a contract. But the register sits a notch above casual conversation because of its bureaucratic-passive flavour: сдаётся, включены́, опла́чивается, тре́буется. These agentless forms are the language of ads, contracts, and official notices, and they bleed into spoken negotiation when money and obligations are at stake. A landlord and tenant who become friendly might drift toward ты later, but the lease vocabulary stays formal — you don't colloquialise коммуна́льные услу́ги or зада́ток. Recognising this "officialese-lite" is itself a B2 skill: the same speaker can be on вы and dip into contract-register passives within one breath.
Vocabulary gloss
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| сдава́ть → сдаётся | to let out → is for rent | landlord's verb; -ся makes the agentless passive |
| снима́ть | to rent (from), to take a lease | tenant's verb — the mirror of сдава́ть |
| срок | term, period, deadline | на дли́тельный срок "for a long term" |
| на + acc. (duration) | for (an intended span) | на год, на ме́сяц, на неде́лю |
| коммуна́льные услу́ги | utilities | colloquial коммуна́лка |
| включены́ | are included | short passive participle, plural |
| аре́ндная пла́та | rent (the payment) | в аре́ндную пла́ту "in the rent" (acc.) |
| опла́чиваться → опла́чивается | to be paid (for) | -ся passive, imperfective |
| по счётчику | by the meter | по + dative, "according to" |
| зада́ток / зало́г | deposit / security deposit | зада́ток → зада́тка (fleeting vowel) |
| тре́боваться → тре́буется | to be required | agentless; contract register |
| за + acc. (payment) | for, in exchange for | опла́та за ме́сяц "payment for a month" |
Common Mistakes
❌ Я хочу́ сдава́ть э́ту кварти́ру. (meaning: I want to rent this flat to live in)
Wrong verb — сдава́ть is to rent OUT (landlord). A tenant uses снима́ть: Я хочу́ снима́ть э́ту кварти́ру.
✅ Я хочу́ снима́ть э́ту кварти́ру.
I want to rent this apartment.
❌ Я ищу́ кварти́ру для го́да.
Off-idiom — intended duration is на + accusative, not для + genitive: на год.
✅ Я ищу́ кварти́ру на год.
I'm looking for an apartment for a year.
❌ Коммуна́льные услу́ги включена́.
Incorrect — the short participle must agree as plural with услу́ги: включены́, not feminine singular включена́.
✅ Коммуна́льные услу́ги включены́.
The utilities are included.
❌ Электри́чество опла́чивает отде́льно.
Incorrect — without an agent you need the -ся passive опла́чивается ('is paid'); опла́чивает means 'pays' and wants a subject.
✅ Электри́чество опла́чивается отде́льно.
Electricity is paid for separately.
❌ опла́та для пе́рвого ме́сяца
Off-idiom — payment 'for' a period is за + accusative: опла́та за пе́рвый ме́сяц.
✅ опла́та за пе́рвый ме́сяц
payment for the first month
Key Takeaways
- The rental ad verb is the -ся passive сдаётся ("is for rent"); keep сдава́ть (let out, landlord) apart from снима́ть (rent from, tenant).
- на + accusative marks intended duration: на дли́тельный срок, на год, на ме́сяц.
- Facts about the lease use the short passive participle (включены́ "are included", agreeing with its subject) and the -ся passive (опла́чивается "is paid", тре́буется "is required").
- Requirements use нужен/нужна́/ну́жно/нужны́ agreeing with the thing needed (нужна́ опла́та); payment "for" a period is за + accusative (за пе́рвый ме́сяц).
- The register is вы but leans into contract-style agentless passives — recognise this "officialese-lite" and keep the lease vocabulary formal.
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- The -ся Passive in DetailB2 — The imperfective half of the passive: an inanimate patient as nominative subject + a 3rd-person -ся verb + an optional agent in the INSTRUMENTAL (Дом стро́ится рабо́чими 'the house is being built by workers'). It is IMPERFECTIVE only — completed results use быть + a participle (Дом постро́ен). The construction is bookish; ordinary speech recasts it as the indefinite-personal active (Дом стро́ят).
- Short-Form Passive Participles and the Result ConstructionB1 — The short past passive participle (откры́т, закры́т, напи́сан, постро́ен, про́дан) is the everyday face of participles. With быть it expresses a result-state or the analytic passive — Магази́н закры́т, Письмо́ напи́сано — agreeing in gender and number, and spelled with ONE -н-.
- Accusative in Time and DurationA2 — Beyond the direct object, the accusative runs Russian's time system. The bare accusative gives duration (Я ждал час 'I waited an hour'); в + accusative gives days and clock times (в понеде́льник, в три часа́); за + accusative means 'within / in' a span (сде́лал за час 'did it in an hour'); на + accusative means 'for' a planned span (на неде́лю 'for a week'). The classic hurdle is keeping час (spent it), за час (in an hour), and на час (for an hour ahead) apart.
- The Passive VoiceB2 — Russian splits the passive by aspect. The IMPERFECTIVE passive uses a -ся verb for an ongoing process (Дом стро́ится рабо́чими, Вопро́с обсужда́ется); the PERFECTIVE passive uses быть + a short past passive participle for a result (Дом был постро́ен, Письмо́ напи́сано, Реше́ние при́нято). The agent goes in the INSTRUMENTAL, never with a 'by'-preposition. But the passive is bookish — natural Russian recasts most English passives as indefinite-personal actives (Мне сказа́ли 'I was told').
- Home and HousingA2 — Talking about where you live: кварти́ра vs дом, the rooms (ко́мната, ку́хня, ва́нная), renting with снима́ть кварти́ру, saying which floor with на + prepositional (на пе́рвом этаже́) and the ordinal этаж, moving house with переезжа́ть, and counting your rooms with the у-меня́ possession frame (у меня́ две ко́мнаты) — each tied to its case.
- At the HotelB1 — Set phrases for checking into and staying at a hotel, tied to their grammar: the ли direct and indirect question (Есть ли свобо́дные номера́?), на + accusative for intended duration (на одну́ ночь, на три но́чи), the от + genitive 'key to' construction (ключ от но́мера), reservations (Я заброни́ровал но́мер), and service questions like Во ско́лько за́втрак? and Где лифт?