Security deposit, realtor fee and first month's rent: how much money you need to move into a rental

In OLX long-term rental listings for Cherkasy, 44 of 108 listings mention a deposit or “insurance payment”, and 60 mention an agency fee. The typical wording is: first month's rent, plus a deposit equal to one month's rent, plus a one-time agency fee.

On move-in day you normally pay for several things at once. Some of that money is gone for good, while some of it comes back if you return the apartment in the condition you received it. Here is what the first payment usually includes:

• First month's rent. Under Article 820 of Ukraine's Civil Code, if the lease does not set a payment schedule, rent is paid monthly.
• Security deposit (often called a guarantee or “insurance” payment). Usually returned when you move out if there are no debts or damage.
• Realtor or agency fee, if you found the place through an intermediary. Usually non-refundable.
• Sometimes the last month's rent in advance. In Cherkasy OLX listings this is rare: 2 out of 108.
• Related costs: moving, household basics, and the first month's utility bills.

Take a one-room apartment as an example. The median asking rent for one-room apartments in Cherkasy on OLX as of 29 September 2026 is UAH 16,000 per month (46 listings). Assume the deposit equals one month's rent and the fee is half a month's rent: 50% is the figure most often quoted by listing authors who state a percentage. The move-in total is then: first month UAH 16,000, deposit UAH 16,000, fee UAH 8,000. That is about UAH 40,000 before moving costs and utilities.

For a two-room apartment at the median of UAH 22,000 (40 listings), the same formula gives about UAH 55,000. Treat this as a benchmark, not a rate card: some listings ask for no deposit, some charge a flat fee or none, and an advertised price is an asking price that can be negotiated. For prices by size and district, see our article on rent prices in Cherkasy.

A practical rule: budget roughly two and a half months' rent plus moving costs. If it turns out no deposit is required, or the landlord pays the fee, you simply keep the difference.

Ukrainians call a rental deposit “zastava”, but in the Civil Code that word means something else: a pledge of property (Article 572). The Code does not define a rental “guarantee payment” either, as the Cedos think tank points out. So in a lease, the label matters less than clearly written terms.

An earnest payment (“zavdatok”, Article 570) is money paid towards future payments to confirm a deal. If the payer breaches, the money stays with the other side; if the recipient breaches, they must return it and pay the same amount again (Article 571). If it is not established that a sum is an earnest payment, it is treated as an advance (Article 570, part 2).

A guarantee payment is what people usually mean by a deposit: the landlord holds it for the whole tenancy to cover possible damage or debts. According to Cedos, it is usually equal to one month's rent. A contract may establish other forms of security (Article 546, part 2), and an agreement on security must be in writing (Article 547). There is no clear official guidance on whether these rules cover a rental deposit, so the safest option is to put it in the written lease.

You should get your deposit back if you leave on time, pay everything you owe and return the apartment in proper condition. The landlord can keep part of it only for purposes stated in the lease: unpaid rent, unpaid utility bills, or damage beyond normal wear and tear.

Experts interviewed for the 2025 Cedos report name unreturned deposits as one of the common violations of tenants' rights. A typical excuse is waiting for utility bills that arrive after move-out. You can defuse this in advance: set a return deadline in the lease and agree how the final month's utilities will be settled.

If a landlord withholds money without grounds set out in the lease, the tenant can rely on the general rule of Article 1212: property acquired without a sufficient legal basis must be returned. In practice such disputes end in negotiation or court, so your best protection is paperwork: the lease, a handover report, photos and a receipt for the deposit.

A deposit agreed only verbally is the weakest point of any rental deal. A sample clause: “The Tenant pays the Landlord a guarantee payment of UAH ____. It is returned within ___ days after the return-of-premises report is signed, minus documented debts for rent and utilities.”

Alongside the lease, sign a handover report listing furniture and appliances, with photos and meter readings: at move-out it shows what was already damaged before you. More in our article on the lease agreement. Besides the amount, put these points in writing:

• the exact amount and name of the payment (for example “guarantee payment”), and whether it can be counted towards the last month's rent;
• what the landlord may use it for: unpaid rent, unpaid utilities, documented damage;
• the deadline for returning it and how: bank transfer, or cash against a receipt;
• how the final month's utilities are calculated, for example from meter readings on move-out day;
• early termination: under Article 825, a tenant may end the lease by giving the landlord three months' written notice;
• a receipt or payment record showing the landlord received the money.

Realtor fees in Ukraine are not regulated by law; the price is whatever is agreed. According to Cedos (2025), in Kyiv the fee is usually half a month's rent, in Lviv a full month, and experts mention cases where 150% was requested. The study has no data for Cherkasy.

What Cherkasy listings say: among OLX listings that state a percentage, 38 quote 50% of monthly rent and 2 quote 60%. Another 11 give a fixed amount. The “no commission” checkbox is ticked in 13 of 108 listings, but authors set it themselves and nobody verifies it.

Svit Nerukhomosti is a real estate agency, an intermediary between landlords and tenants. For our terms, including whether a tenant fee applies and how much it is, please ask our manager at +38 (093) 627-96-00 before a viewing.

Whether the tenant or the landlord pays the realtor depends on the agreement. Cedos describes cases where tenants paid the fee even though the realtor was effectively working for the landlord. So before a viewing, ask directly:

• “What is the tenant's fee, and when is it due: at signing or earlier?”
• “Is it a one-time fee or a monthly one?”
• “What does the service include: search, checking the owner's documents, the lease, the handover report?”
• “What happens to the fee if the deal falls through because of the landlord?”
• “Will I get a receipt?”

OLX advises never to transfer money to cards or phone numbers before you have seen the property, met the landlord or signed the lease. The OLX blog notes that honest landlords ask for payment when the lease is signed and keys are handed over. A request to “hold” the apartment with a prepayment because “lots of people want it” is flagged by OLX as a warning sign.

Before paying, make sure the person signing is the owner or someone authorised by the owner (Article 761), and ask to see the ownership document. How to verify the owner and spot fake listings is covered in our articles on rental scams and on the lease agreement.

The move-in amount is not always fixed. If you are an internally displaced person, check the state housing support programmes in our article on housing for IDPs in Cherkasy. With the landlord, you can reasonably negotiate the following:

• split the deposit into two or three instalments over the first months, with the schedule written into the lease;
• count the deposit towards the last month's rent, only in writing and with a separate clause on damage;
• offer a longer lease in exchange for a smaller deposit;
• ask for a discount if the apartment needs cleaning or minor repairs, and note it in the handover report;
• compare several options in the catalogue: a lower monthly rent also lowers the deposit and the fee when they are calculated from the rent.