Communal housing is a remnant of Soviet era. During Soviet period, urban housing was in critically short supply. As a result, communal hosing was formed. In brief, communal housing is a large apartment that is shared by various tenants. Sometimes they have rights to individual rooms but share kitchens and bathrooms and in other cases tenants may be sharing rooms. Each tenant has equal ownership rights to the communal property.

 

Every year there are fewer communal properties available as they are slowly being sold off and converted into regular apartments. Often, communal properties pose fantastic investment upside as their cost is typically lower than stand alone apartment; however, they almost always require signification renovation investment. Further, re-planning of the entire property is often required for better layout.