Your Guide to Long-Term Rentals in Serbia in 2022

People who set up or purchase a local business in Serbia to apply for a Serbian residence permit have to buy or rent housing for a long period of time to have a domicile address and keep the residence card. Renting an accommodation is always a cheaper solution, but the average rental price is growing. Studying the dynamics of long-term rental costs in Serbia is a good idea as it will help you make a more conscious choice of local housing. You will find an overview of the rental market and current prices below. In our analysis, we paid special attention to the situation in different towns and cities, as well as the tenants’ preferences. If you have any questions left about Serbia rentals for residence or any other aspects of life in Serbia, please schedule a meeting with our experts who will be glad to help!

General Trends in the Context of Residential Real Estate Investment/Business Immigration to Serbia

The rental value of Serbian apartments/cottages, as well as the cost of one square meter of residential property for sale in Serbia, have increased rapidly over the past two years. Experts estimate that the rent in small Serbian towns has now reached the average level observed in Belgrade two years ago.

Experts believe that the real estate market of the Balkan country will not remain immune to the regional price growth as a result of the Ukrainian crisis. This fact makes investments in Serbian real estate to get a residence permit in Serbia in 2022 leading to citizenship in the future even more justified.

It is enough for the applicant to buy any apartment/cottage suitable for living in order to receive and hold a resident card. After naturalization, you can sell your real estate and earn capital gains. A new citizen also has the right to rent out the accommodation, thus receiving passive income.

As an alternative, you can get a residence permit in Serbia by setting up a business. In this case, a prospective applicant will have to buy or establish a Serbian company and rent administrative premises, as well as an apartment/house to live in.

In view of the above, the cost of Serbian accommodation becomes an important aspect of investment/business immigration to Serbia and obtaining a residence permit. We offer the results of a recent study that sheds light on the situation in different towns, cities and regions.

Belgrade: Monthly Rent May Reach € 3,700!

In Belgrade, the prices of purchase and sale transactions and the rental cost are constantly increasing, so the rent (hereinafter we will be talking about the monthly rent) even in the relatively remote areas of Neru/Uchitelsko Naselje starts from at least 250 € (for a studio). Let’s take a closer look at the situation.

• 1 bedroom/studio: Studio/one-bedroom apartments with the area of up to 40 sq.m. in the center of Belgrade (e.g. in the Vračar/Savski Venac districts) cost between 300 and 450 €.
• 2 bedrooms: The price of a two-bedroom apartment with an area of 50 to 60 sq.m. varies from 400 to 550 € if you consider a prestigious area of Novi Beograde. Two-bedroom apartments with luxurious furnishing cost up to 900 € in Kalenić and other central parts of the city.
• 3+ bedrooms: Larger size apartments/luxuriously equipped penthouses cost more than 1,000 €. In this segment, the price varies from 1,300 to more than 2,000 €. Most of these lots are part of the new district of Belgrade Waterfront (Beograd na vodi).
• Most expensive lots: The rent in the Serbian capital reaches 3,700 €. This is the cost of a luxurious four-bedroom apartment in the territory of the prestigious Belgrade district of Dedinje, the area where the majority of wealthy people live.

Many newly-arriving expats choose the capital city for relocation, which contributes to the formation of an international business environment. If your ambitions go beyond a residence permit and you also want to integrate easily into the local business community, use the help of our experts and open a company in Serbia with a bank account.

Vranje: Get Accommodation for 100 to 350 €

The southern Serbian city offers relatively affordable prices. We analyzed dozens of ads from apartment rental websites and found that the rent in Vranje ranges from 100 € for small apartments and studios to 350 € for apartments with an area of more than 100 sq.m. Daily apartment rentals are popular: the so-called “apartments for a day” are offered at a price of 20-25 €.

• You can find affordable accommodation even in the center: A tenant will not have to spend a fortune on housing in the center of Vranje. In some cases, landlords agree to get 110 € per month for an apartment in the center. As a rule, the price starts from 150 €. Apartments on the outskirts are available for about 100 €.
• Unfurnished apartments are seldom offered to tenants: Only in rare cases are the apartments in this corner of Serbia advertised without furniture. As a rule, the apartments/cottages are fully furnished and equipped with household appliances, including microwave ovens and air conditioning.
• Accommodation is in most cases offered without frills: Owners will typically provide apartments in a normal condition, otherwise they describe their accommodation as a “luxury object”. You can find two-room apartments with an area of more than 100 sq.m., and the monthly rent in this case will amount to at least 250 €.
• Utility bills are low even when you rent the most expensive housing: The apartment with the highest rent (among the dozens of lots covered by the study) costs 350 € per month, and utility bills will amount to 3,000 dinars (about 25 €). The owner offers a furnished accommodation of 90 square meters with three and a half rooms. In addition, there is central heating, two parking spaces, a bathroom, a toilet, and four terraces. The object is located on the outskirts of the city, which may be an advantage or a disadvantage – depending on your needs.

Užice: a Destination with Few Apartments Available for Rent

The popular tourist town of Užice in western Serbia is currently experiencing a shortage of housing for rent. In addition to the cost of apartments/cottages, local tenants have long been concerned about the extremely limited offer – especially in the town center.

• The choice becomes wider in the period of student holidays: the chances of finding a suitable rental apartment increase during the period of student holidays since a large number of apartments are typically occupied by students of the Faculty of Education at the Kragujevac University located in Užice. However, even during the holidays, ads posted by those who wish to find an apartment in this part of Serbia are more frequent than the offers of landlords.
• Students are not the landlords’ preferred category: Many landlords offering rental apartments in Užice prefer to rent out to families as the latter are usually more careful. If the accommodation is rented out to students, landlords usually want to receive payment directly from the students’ parents.
• Pricing factors: The range of prices for rental apartments in Užice is quite large and depends on several factors. In the first place, it is the location as many people prefer living in the center of events. Second, the accommodation area is taken into consideration. Finally, one of the decisive factors is the type of housing: old or new. Experts additionally recommend paying attention to the type of heating when they choose an apartment: many objects are heated with firewood, which often causes inconvenience.
• New buildings in the center cost the highest: In the center of Užice, the cost of renting apartments usually ranges from 150 to 200 € — depending on the area and the number of rooms. The most expensive lots are the apartments in new buildings located in the central districts with 2+ rooms. If you are looking for cheap accommodation, it can be found in suburbs such as Krčago, Senjak, Terazija, Karina, or Pori, where the price of rental apartments varies from 80 to 120 €.

Subotica: One-And-A-Half-Bedroom Apartments Take First Place

According to a recent study, the current most popular accommodation in the town of Subotica, located in the northern part of Serbia, is one-and-a-half-bedroom apartments. Their price varies greatly, influenced by a number of factors.

Just to make things clear, a “one-and-a-half-bedroom” apartment means that there is one regular bed and one folding bed. This is a typical feature in Serbia, and older generation even prefers folding beds to ordinary ones! However, your tastes may differ, and we recommend taking a close look at the bedroom while renting an apartment to live. Many expats with a newly-minted residence permit find this peculiarity of Serbian rental market an interesting local feature.

• Tenants’ preferences have changed: According to local real estate agencies, the habits of residents of Subotica regarding the rental of apartments have changed significantly over the past few years: while demand for the most inexpensive apartments was previously the highest, the most important criteria now are the furnishing (furniture/equipment) and location. Furnished apartments enjoy the highest demand.
• Popular areas: The most popular location is the center of Subotica, and the areas of Živka and Radijalac are stepping on its toes.
• Current prices: Furnished one-bedroom apartments in Subotica cost 130-150 €, while one-and-a-half-bedroom ones are available for rent from 180 to 200 €. A two-bedroom apartment without furniture is offered by the landlords for 150 €, and a furnished one costs from 200 €. Three-bedroom apartments cost from 200 to 250 €. Luxury real estate is available as well, with the rental price reaching 2,000 €.

Zrenjanin: Tenants Don’t Ask the Price – All They Need is Fast Internet and a Comfortable Bed

The town of Zrenjanin, located in northern Serbia near Novi Sad, is considered to be one of the regional culture and trade centers. As a rule, accommodation rental in Zrenjanin requires engagement of real estate agencies.

• Prices and conditions: The rent varies from 100 to 300 € and depends on the size and age of the apartment, as well as its furnishing. For instance, apartments with the area of 50+ sq.m. in old houses are now offered for 250 €. The main factors that determine the price include the area, furniture and household appliances available. A deposit of 1-3 monthly rents is usually required.
• Popular areas: Since Zrenjanin offers a wide range of employment opportunities, the most popular locations include sleeping areas where the employees of local enterprises live. Zrenjanin is literally divided into two parts/working areas. Some citizens work in factories in the southeast working area, while others are employed in the Bagljaš area. However, both categories naturally tend to rent an apartment close to their place of work.
• Popular offers: Apartments are rented mainly in new buildings which enjoy a really high demand: the young population of the town wants to live in new, clean, neat apartments with nice-looking furniture. Tenants do not want to deal with painting, repairs or breakdowns. However, there are many tenants who don’t care much about the interior as all they need is high-speed internet and a comfortable bed to relax after a day’s work.

Zaječar: Demand for Rental Apartments is High, with Supply Lagging Behind

Renting an apartment in the town of Zaječar, which stands on the picturesque Timok River, has become a much more complicated thing to do in 2022 due to the opening of the Aptiv factory. New workers flooded the area, and all vacant apartments were instantly occupied by new tenants. But you can try your luck – who knows? All residence permit holders get a nice place to live one day!

• Apartments: The rent for a studio/one-and-a-half-bedroom apartment ranges from 50 to 100 € plus electricity, water and heating. The price of two-room apartments varies from 100 € to 200 € plus utilities. However, the utility bills are high and may reach the rent level.
• Cottages: Under the favorable circumstances, the tenant can get a cottage of about 100 sq.m., with a rent of 150 € plus electricity, water and heating. Cottages are often equipped with solid fuel boilers, so you will need to buy coal and firewood. During the heating season, the tenant of such a cottage spends about three tons of coal and seven cubic meters of firewood.

Kragujevac: Monthly Rent Varies from 100 to 200 €

Some residence permit holders decide to buy an apartment in Kragujevac to rent it out, which is a relatively profitable and safe investment due to a large number of students studying at various faculties of Kragujevac University. Prices of local property for rent vary from 100 to 200 €, with accommodation located closer to the center being more expensive.

Examples of real deals:

• 200 € for a one-bedroom apartment with the area of 35 sq.m. on the prestigious Karadjorjeva street
• 170 € for a similar 40 sq.m. apartment on the adjoining Svetozara Markovica street near the Faculty of Medicine
• 140 € for a one-and-a-half-bedroom apartment of 45 sq.m. near the Great Park

Šabac: High Demand for Small Furnished Apartments

According to local real estate agents, the cost of rental apartments in the town of Šabac, located in western Serbia on the banks of the Sava River, has increased by 50 per cent in 2022 as compared to the previous year. And even though newly arriving residence permit holders stimulate great demand, the supply remains extremely weak.

• Popular lots and prices: Small one-bedroom apartments and studios are in great demand in Šabac at a price from 120 to 150 €. Two-bedroom apartments between 35 and 40 sq.m. can be rented at 150 to 200 €. If you want an apartment with an area of more than 50 sq.m., expect the rent to equal 200 to 250 €. The cost of renting more spacious apartments (from 70 to 100 sq.m.) amounts to around 300 €.
• Unfurnished dwellings are not in great demand: Apartments without furniture are extremely difficult to rent out. As a rule, such lots are hard to find on the market as the arriving Serbian residence permit holders generally look for the furnished housing. We are often talking about customers who work in foreign companies in the town of Šabac and have good salaries, so the rent of 200-300 € would not be a big blow to their budget.

Majdanpek: Prices are Rising

Over the past decade, Majdanpek has remained a stable outsider when it came to the cost of selling or renting apartments: three-room apartments in a mining town were sold for several thousand euros. Pensioners from major Serbian cities, including even Belgrade, often sold the existing apartments and bought real estate in Majdanpek to live comfortably on the difference for decades.

However, the rental price of apartments has risen significantly since the start of local business by the mainland China-based multinational mining company Zijin Mining Group Ltd and the influx of numerous subcontracting firms hired by the Chinese. Some expats who have just obtained their Serbian residence permit also opt for this laid-back town, which additionally pushes the prices upwards.

• Renting an accommodation for 150 € is a piece of luck, and this situation is perfectly illustrated by the tenant’s comment: “If you found an apartment for 150 €, it’s time to celebrate.” Tenants in Majdanpek now pay between 200 and 250 € for an apartment. Moreover, foreign tenants may be charged more than locals. Of course, all utility costs (electricity, water, telephone, internet) are paid in addition to the rent.
• An additional driver of the rental market: Many property owners in the nearby town of Donji Milanovac and villages located in the proximity seek to convert apartments/cottages into tourist rentals, and abandon the monthly contracts to take advantage of daily rental.
• An acute shortage of new buildings: Tenants in Donji Milanovac and Majdanpek are not spoiled for a wide choice of accommodation due to an almost complete absence of newly-built housing. Therefore, landlords feel free to dictate prices as long as demand exceeds supply.

Novi Pazar: High Demand and Limited Supply

A large number of students, single mothers, and people who immigrated from other cities and villages in Serbia made Novi Pazar a popular town with a high demand for rental housing – not to mention residence permit holders! Many buildings are being erected in different urban districts, but the demand on the part of buyers and tenants remains high.

• Difficult choice for tenants: Local tenants sometimes have to make the difficult choice between a high rent and low-cost housing in poor condition. Homeowners often decide to rent out a part of the cottage/room in the apartment/other living space that is not used to earn some extra money. All this means that the accommodation available for rental rarely comes with stylish repairs/modern equipment. 
• Actual prices: A place to live in Novi Pazar will cost you from 100 € to 350 €. Lots for € 100 are also available, but these are mostly small apartments in old dilapidated houses with a dampish smell of cellar. Sometimes you may be lucky to stumble upon cheap accommodation that looks quite comfortable, but you should be prepared to live outside the city center. Apartments for 350 € are offered in the center and are usually luxuriously equipped.

Jagodina: Furnished Studios are the Most Commonly Offered

• Housing without furniture is almost non-existent: Tenants in Jagodina are mainly offered furnished apartments. There are very few unfurnished accommodations in the ads.
• Current prices: The price of a studio and a one-bedroom apartment usually ranges from 150 to 160 € (excluding utilities). You will also find apartments for 120/130 €, located in old houses and equipped with shabby furniture. Exclusively equipped studios will cost you up to 200 €.
• Living spaces available to tenants: The majority of ads offer apartments with an area of up to 40 sq.m. You will also find two-room apartments with an area of about 60 sq.m., but their number is much smaller. And if you are looking for larger apartments/cottages to rent, they are as rare as hen’s teeth.
• Details of the deal: In Jagodina, most landlords require a mandatory deposit upon check-in (usually in the amount of a month’s rent).

Niš: Arrival of Russians and Ukrainians Boosted the Rent

In Niš, apartments for rent are not cheap: the price varies from several hundred to thousands of euros per month – depending on the location, area, number of floors, age, physical condition, furniture, and household appliances available.

• The influx of Russians as an additional market driver: The monthly rent in Niš started an upward trend even before the coronavirus pandemic, decreasing slightly only in January and February 2022. In March, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians began to come to Niš, so prices rose again. The natives of the post-Soviet states had actively received a residence permit and moved to this part of Serbia before, but the flow of such guests became much more intense after the events in Ukraine. Russians often arrive through the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center (RSHC) and apply individually to local realtors for rent.
• Growing demand for exclusive housing: There is growing interest in exclusive apartments for high-ranking employees of local companies/temporary workers arriving in Niš and employed by such companies.
• Prices and available lots: Renting an apartment with an area of 30-40 sq.m. in the city center costs from 200 to 350 €. About 80 per cent of the apartments are adequately furnished, and the rest are offered without furniture/partially equipped. Sometimes there are apartments for less than 100 €, which are typically located on the outskirts and poorly equipped. At the beginning of 2022, a furnished apartment on the top floor of a building with central heating and the area of 160 sq.m. in the city center (Crveni Pewac district) broke the record: it was offered by the owner for 1200 €.
• Hurry up: Experts believe the rent to increase again in August 2022 amid the influx of numerous students arriving to local universities on the eve of the academic year.

Novi Sad: Small Apartments Enjoy the Greatest Demand

The demand for apartments in Novi Sad is steadily increasing, and renting accommodation in some areas is becoming a real luxury. The town, popular among IT specialists, can easily compete with the Serbian capital in terms of the monthly rent.

• Gray market and social networks: Although local realtors offer a large number of lots, owners who rent apartments still prefer to bypass the agency and the state using “gray” schemes. As a result, newly-arriving resident permit holders most often rent apartments in social networks, which allows them to receive somewhat more favorable conditions, at least in terms of price.
• Prices: Apartments in the city center with the area of 30 to 40 sq.m. are rented out at a price of 300 €. Similar accommodation in a more central location like Patriarch Paul’s Boulevard is available for as little as €230. And in both cases we are talking about apartments in newly-constructed buildings with new furniture. If you decide to rent through the agency, an apartment of 60 sq.m. in the city center will cost you about 500 €, while a 30 sq.m. living space will require 200 € per month.
• Relevance of investments in “apartments for a day”: Investments for short-term rent are justified, given the large number of business travelers. But this business only blooms during the annual Exit Festival music event, allowing you to earn up to 50 € per day. The standard average price for daily rent is 20 €.

Expert Assistance with Long-Term Rentals in Serbia

So – are you planning to move to Serbia for residence to secure a better life for your loved ones and ensure safety of property? Or you want to re-domicile your business to a safer place? Serbia offers excellent conditions for comfortable accommodation and productive work. The Balkan country attracts guests from all over the world, and the locals are really friendly to all this newly-forming international community. You can start exploring the Balkan country by renting real estate in Serbia for several months.