Find the best rentals in Riga
Every September, Riga fills up again: exchange students heading for the University of Latvia's historic building on Raiņa bulvāris, engineers starting at RTU on Ķīpsala island, remote workers drawn by Baltic rents that still undercut most EU capitals. Almost all of them face the same puzzle — finding a furnished home from abroad, in a market that runs in Latvian and moves fast around the start of term. Spotahome fixes that: verified listings you can check on video and book entirely online, before you ever land at the airport.
Two decisions shape your search for furnished rentals in Riga: which type of home fits your budget, and when to book it. A room in a shared flat costs roughly half of what a whole apartment does, and the calendar matters more than you might expect — December is consistently the tightest month, while February opens the widest choice.
The rental market in Riga in numbers
Renting through Spotahome in Riga cost 680 € a month on average across all property types in July 2026, after a steady climb that began in March. Whole apartments averaged around 920 €, studios about 630 € and rooms in shared flats roughly 440 €.
| Property type | Average price (July 2026) | Share of demand |
|---|---|---|
| Apartments | 920 €/month | 41% |
| Studios | 630 €/month | 38% |
| Rooms | 440 €/month | 19% |
| Student residences | 720 €/month | 1% |
Every home on Spotahome comes furnished, which in Riga saves you a real headache: local long-term listings often come empty. Many of our listings also mark some bills as included — check the label on each ad to see exactly which ones.
Our tenant community in Riga is international and young: French tenants lead with around 17%, followed by tenants from Panama and Germany at about 10% each and Italians at roughly 8%. Some 61% are students and 39% working professionals, and more than half of everyone renting with us here — around 54% — is between 25 and 40 years old, with another 31% under 25.
Students are well served beyond shared flats too: of the more than 110 homes we list in Riga, around 40 are flagged as ideal for students, including rooms in a modern student residence in Torņakalns, right by the University of Latvia's new campus.
Source: Spotahome's own database covering our more than 110 registered properties in Riga. Updated: August 2026.
Popular neighbourhoods to rent in Riga
Centrs. The Art Nouveau centre is where most newcomers start looking, and for good reason: the University of Latvia's main building, SSE Riga and the Central Market are all walkable, and trams and trolleybuses fan out from here to every corner of the city. It is also Riga's priciest area, so expect whole apartments to dominate the listings.
Avoti. East of the centre along Avotu iela, this is the eclectic, lived-in Riga of pre-war tenements and wooden houses, where prices drop noticeably just ten minutes' walk from the boulevards. A good hunting ground for studios and affordable one-bedroom flats.
Āgenskalns. Across the Daugava on the left bank, Āgenskalns pairs wooden architecture with a beautifully renovated market hall and a calmer, slightly bohemian pace. Trams put the centre 10–15 minutes away, and RTU's Ķīpsala campus sits just across the Vanšu bridge.
Torņakalns. The University of Latvia is concentrating its faculties in its Academic Centre here — the House of Nature and House of Science are already open — and the neighbourhood has its own rail station one hop from the central one. Our student residence listings in Riga cluster in this area, making it the practical pick for first-year internationals.
Frequently asked questions about renting in Riga
How much does it cost to rent a furnished home in Riga?
A furnished rental in Riga averaged 680 € a month in July 2026 across all property types on Spotahome. Your budget stretches differently by type: shared rooms sat near 440 €, studios near 630 € and entire apartments near 920 €. Prices have been climbing gently since March, so what you see today is unlikely to get cheaper by winter.
When is the best time to book a rental in Riga?
February offers the widest choice of available homes in Riga over the coming months, while December is the leanest. If you need to move in autumn — the start of the academic year — book several weeks ahead rather than waiting, because availability shrinks steadily from October through December before recovering in January.
Is a temporary rental contract legal in Riga?
Yes — in Latvia every residential tenancy agreement must by law be concluded in writing and for a fixed term, which is exactly how Spotahome bookings work. Most of our tenants stay between 3 and 11 months, though shorter stays from about a month, or longer ones, are also possible. The contract you sign is valid for official procedures in most cases, such as visa or residence-permit applications.
How does the deposit work when renting in Riga?
Latvian law caps the security deposit at two months' rent and requires it to be returned by the day you hand back the property at the latest. On listings carrying the "Deposit protected" label, if the landlord fails to return your deposit within 3 months of your departure and you have met your contract terms, Spotahome reimburses you directly. You can also filter the search to show only homes that ask for no deposit at all.
Do I need to register my address in Riga?
Anyone living in Latvia with a legalised residence — including EU and non-EU nationals — is expected to declare their place of residence (deklarētā dzīvesvieta). The declaration is free as an e-service on latvija.gov.lv and costs 4.27 € in person at a Riga residents' centre. Whether a specific property supports this registration is stated in each listing's description; if you don't see it mentioned and you need it, ask the Spotahome team before booking.