a monthly payment collected for the use of a housing unit.
In the USSR, where most of the expenses for the maintenance of the state-owned housing fund are borne by the state, rents are the lowest in the entire world, amounting to 4–5 percent of the family budget. The rent does not include the cost of utilities (gas, telephone, and electricity, which are paid separately). The amount of rent and the procedure for paying it are established by Soviet legislation (for example, by the Basic Principles of the Civil Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics) and are spelled out in the provisions of the civil codes of the Union republics and in other law-making instruments.
The base rent and the rate assessed for various categories of housing units depend on location and availability of facilities; they are established by the local soviets (taking into consideration the total population of the city) and are uniform for the given city. The amount of rent depends on the earnings of the tenant himself or of the member of his family having the highest earnings. In practice the payment for 1 sq m of living space does not exceed 13.2 kopecks; the rate may be lowered in a particular house if any important facilities are lacking. Reduced rent rates are also established for certain categories of families of enlisted privates and noncommissioned officers. The rent for generals, officers, and reenlisted servicemen is specially calculated.
The rent of a dwelling space occupied by the tenant himself and by the members of his family and his dependents, including a domestic helper, is paid for at a single rate within the norms of the dwelling space (for example, in the RSFSR, 9 sq m for each person plus 4.5 sq m additional space for the whole family or a single tenant). Additional space over and above the indicated norm is paid for at a higher rate. The additional dwelling space allocated to certain tenants (including Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of Socialist Labor, Honored Scientists, Honored Art Workers, Honored Engineers, researchers, and recipients of a special pension) is paid for at the single rate. Recipients of a special pension and members of the family of such a person pay rent at the rate of 50 percent.
The rent for a dwelling space in houses owned as personal property by citizens is determined by agreement between the parties within the maximum rates established for the particular category of housing. In houses belonging to housing-construction cooperatives, members of the cooperative pay monthly maintenance expenses at a rate (for 1 sq m) fixed at the general meeting of all members of the housing-construction cooperative.
In capitalist countries, rent is high and represents a heavy burden to the working people: it absorbs 25–35 percent of their earnings. Despite laws in a number of countries on rent “freezing,” rent costs are skyrocketing. Even with the acute housing crisis in capitalist countries, many housing units are not occupied because of their excessively high rent.
a type of income regularly received from capital, land, and property and not related to entrepreneurial activity. Landowners receive land rent, which may be in the form of absolute rent, differential rent, or monopoly rent. In many capitalist nations, the interest paid on bonds to float state loans is also known as rent. Rentiers, the individuals whose income is derived primarily from rent, form a parasitic stratum of society.