Apartment Guide and Checklist

All-Moving.com would like to ease your search with an apartment guide and checklist. Listed below are items to be considered including leases, fees, roommates and more.

Be Prepared - Check your credit history and bring along a current credit agency report. If possible, ask your previous landlord to write a favorable letter of reference. Also ask your employer, co-workers, and friends if you can use them as character references (bring a list with names and telephone numbers).

Fees and Deposits - Find out exactly how much you are expected to pay up-front to rent the apartment. Note: security deposits are usually not be more than one month's rent. Also, the owner/managing agent can sometimes charge an application fee. Typically, this fee is for checking your references, your credit rating, etc.

Read your Lease - It is important that you examine your lease carefully. Once you and your landlord sign it, the lease is considered executed and you have in effect agreed to every provision inside it. Does the lease mention all the amenities agreed upon? Be sure to write down any oral agreements. Check your lease to find out the due date for your rent each month, as well as what late charges apply if you miss the deadline. Check to see if utilities are billed separately or are included in your monthly rent. Are there any special building rules? Find out if your new building is: pet-friendly, has limits on guests, has restrictions on running a home business, etc. What happens at the end of the lease term? Can you renew automatically? What happens if you break the lease? Can you sublet or assign (transfer) the lease?

Roommates - If you are joining a household as a roommate, try to find out what the primary tenant's plans are. If the primary tenant leaves and you are not on the lease, you have no right to stay in the apartment. If you would like to stay at your discretion, see if you can add your name to the lease.

Landlord's Right to Access - If you are concerned about privacy, be sure to ask for wording in the lease limiting the landlord's ability to enter your apartment (except during emergencies). Tenants in multiple dwellings also have the right to install and maintain their own locks on their apartment entrance doors, but you must provide the landlord with a duplicate key upon request.