Many apartment owners in Kazakhstan are wary of temporarily registering their tenants: some fear that residents could claim a share of the property, while others worry that it will be difficult to deregister someone once the lease ends. However, as the Krysha portal notes, these fears are unfounded — registration at a rented home does not grant a share in the apartment and does not make the tenant an owner, infohub.kz reports.
Lawyer Bakhyt Kasymbekov emphasizes that registration has nothing to do with ownership rights. The owner has the right both to register a person and to deregister them at any moment without anyone's consent. Thus, even after temporary registration is arranged, the tenant does not receive a share in the apartment, and the right to sell, gift or mortgage the property remains with the owner.
So why does a tenant need registration? Temporary registration confirms a person's place of residence and allows them to receive the necessary social services. For example, it may be required to enroll a child in school or kindergarten, or to attach to a polyclinic. In addition, information about the actual place of residence is needed by migration, law enforcement and tax authorities.
If an owner rents out an apartment and tenants live in it, the owner is obliged to ensure their registration at the place of residence. For rentals, temporary registration is arranged, while permanent registration is retained at the previous address. Temporary registration is issued for a period of one month to one year. If a tenant moves and registers at a new address, the previous registration is terminated automatically. If the registration period has expired but the tenant continues to live in the apartment, it must be arranged again.
Living without registration can result in fines for both the property owner and the tenant themselves. The owner faces a fine of 10 monthly calculation indices (MCI), or 43,250 tenge; 20 MCI, or 86,500 tenge, for a repeat violation within a year. If the owner fails to deregister a tenant who has already moved out, the fine is 5 MCI, or 21,625 tenge. For the tenant, the following fines are provided: 7 MCI, or 30,275 tenge; 13 MCI, or 56,225 tenge, for a repeat violation within a year.
Important: Astana and Almaty have introduced a registration limit — at least 15 square meters of the apartment's total area must be available per person. For example, in an apartment of 30 square meters, as a general rule, two people can be registered. If two are already registered, a third unrelated person will be refused.
How do you register a tenant? Temporary registration is arranged online with the owner's consent. To do this: the tenant must submit an application for temporary registration; indicate the owner's IIN and the registration period; the owner must confirm consent; both parties must sign the application using an electronic digital signature. The service is free and usually takes no more than 15 minutes. It can be arranged through the electronic government portal, eGov Mobile, bank applications or at a Public Service Center (PSC).