Your Home Is A Stage: Tips For Real Estate Staging

What To Look For When Signing An Apartment Lease

4 April 2023 by Andre George

Are you ready to sign your lease for your next luxury apartment? You'll definitely want to take a closer look to find out more information about the following clauses to ensure that they match what you were told.

Parking

Parking is always a big deal when you are living in an apartment in a big city. Some apartments include a specific number of spots while others may not include any at all. You'll definitely want to verify how many parking spots you will have, as well as if there is a cost associated with them per month. You don't want to be caught off guard to find out that you have to street park your car soon after moving in.

Pets

Another factor that is often different between apartments is how they handle pets. Some allow pets while others do not. If pets are allowed, there may be a limit on the kind of pets you have, how many pets you can own, and even a limit on the type of breed. This is especially true of dogs since some tend to be bigger and louder than others. You will want to make sure that an apartment is going to allow your dog if they are more aggressive than other breeds. If pets are allowed, find out what the pet deposit is and if it is refundable. 

Subleasing

Subleasing is the ability to rent your apartment to other people. This is often used when you want to end the lease early and find somebody to take your lease over completely, so you move out of the apartment while someone else moves in and pays you. Some landlords let you sublease, while others will not. It's also possible that a sublease is allowed, but the landlord will screen the tenant and require the new tenant to pay rent directly to the landlord.

Utilities

It's important that you know how utilities need to be set up after you move in. For larger buildings that use a boiler system for hot water, it is common for the hot water and heat to simply be included because there is no way to track hot water use to be included. Other utilities will likely need to be set up in your name, so make sure that you know which ones you need to contact directly to start service with them. 

Security Deposit

Security deposits can also be vastly different between apartments. Some may only require as little as the first month of rent, while others want the first and last month. Understand what it takes to get the security deposit back as well to ensure there is no confusion.

Share

Search