How do home inspections work in Russia in 2026?

Order a fresh выписка ЕГРН (extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate) for the object. Confirm the cadastral number, address, area, current right-holder, and basis of title. Check encumbrances: mortgages, arrests, lease registrations, and other restrictions that survive cheerful listing text. Electronic extracts carry Rosreestr signatures you can verify; do not rely on a cropped PDF forwarded through a chat chain.

For older secondary stock in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, ask for a technical passport or floor plan from BTI (Bureau of Technical Inventory) history and compare it to what you see. Missing walls, moved wet rooms, or red-line marks signal unapproved remodelling risk that can become your problem after purchase. Title and land-category limits for foreign buyers remain a separate filter in Can foreigners buy property.

Banks financing a purchase will often want the same pack plus their own appraisal. Build that cost into Property purchase costs rather than treating paperwork as free.

Turn radiators on in cold season logic even if you visit in summer: ask how heating is organised, whether pipes have leaked, and whether winter ZhKU (housing and communal services) bills spike. Look for mould behind furniture, window seals, bathroom ventilation, water pressure, lift reliability, and mobile signal. Photograph meter readings for electricity, water, and heat where present.

Renters should run a lighter version of the same checklist before paying a deposit. Ownership proof and a written акт приёма-передачи (acceptance and transfer act) matter as much for a lease as for a deed. Scam patterns that skip the viewing are covered in Avoid rental scams; the full renting path sits in How to rent a home.

Bring a Russian-speaking helper or lawyer to secondary purchases when your language is weak. Misreading an encumbrance line is more expensive than an interpreter hour.

Specialist surveyors and independent engineers exist, especially for houses, dachas, and high-value Moscow centre flats, but they are not a mandatory national licence step for every apartment deal. Many urban buyers combine the EGRN extract, a lawyer review, a bank appraisal when mortgaging, and their own viewing. That hybrid is the local norm.

Insurance underwriting and mortgage approval can fail on undocumented remodels even when the viewing looked pretty. Structure cover questions connect to Homeowners insurance, but a policy will not legalise an illegal replan after you buy.