Questions to Ask During an Apartment Tour
Questions to ask the agent or landlord while you are standing in the apartment: how the building is holding up, how it is heated, what breaks, who fixes it, and what living there is actually like.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How old is the building, and when were the roof and windows last done?
Why ask it
Age matters less than what has been replaced. Original windows and an aging roof predict drafts, high winter bills and disruptive work happening while you live there.
Which way does this unit face, and how much sun does it get in the afternoon?
Why ask it
Orientation decides summer heat and winter light, and a fifteen-minute daytime visit will not tell you. A unit facing a neighboring wall still gets described as bright.
What is above, below and next to this unit?
Why ask it
Neighbouring uses generate the noise you will actually live with. Sitting beside a stairwell, elevator shaft, laundry or trash room gives a unit a very different character at night from the one you are seeing at noon.
Can I run the shower and a tap at the same time?
Why ask it
Pressure with two fixtures open is what your mornings will feel like, and it also hints at the age of the plumbing. Agents rarely refuse this, and a refusal is itself an answer.
How is the unit heated and cooled, and who controls the thermostat?
Why ask it
Control decides both comfort and cost. Buildings running a central boiler on a seasonal calendar can leave you with no heat during a cold week in October and no way to change it.
What did the last tenant pay for heat and electricity in January and in July?
Why ask it
Real figures from the two extreme months are checkable in a way that utilities are low is not. An annual average hides exactly the months that will hurt.
How long did the last tenant live here, and why did they leave?
Why ask it
A short tenancy in one specific unit points at something the tour does not show. A landlord who does not know the answer is not managing the property closely.
Which appliances stay, and roughly how old are they?
Why ask it
Appliance age predicts both breakdowns and running costs, and it shows whether the owner reinvests. A twelve-year-old fridge in a freshly painted kitchen means the renovation was cosmetic.
Is there laundry in the building, and how many machines for how many units?
Why ask it
The ratio is what decides whether laundry takes an hour or a Saturday. Two machines for thirty apartments is a queue, however new they look.
Where do parcels go, and has there been a theft problem?
Why ask it
Delivery handling is a daily practical matter and a fair proxy for building security. An unattended lobby has usually had thefts whether or not that gets volunteered.
Where exactly would I park, and is the space assigned?
Why ask it
Assigned and first-come parking produce very different evenings. Also ask what happens when the lot is full and whether visitors can use it at all.
How does trash and recycling work, and where are the bins?
Why ask it
Bin location and collection frequency determine how the common areas smell and whether you carry waste down two flights at night in winter.
Who handles repairs, and what counts as an emergency?
Why ask it
An on-site superintendent and an outside contractor behave very differently at eleven on a Sunday night. The definition of emergency is what decides whether anyone actually comes out.
What was the last thing that broke in this unit, and how long did the repair take?
Why ask it
A specific recent example is much harder to spin than a policy statement. The length of that fix is your real response time, whatever the lease says.
Has this unit or any near it had water damage, mold or pests?
Why ask it
These recur because the cause is usually structural. Disclosure rules vary by location, so pay attention to hesitation as much as to the answer itself.
How well does sound carry, and what are the quiet hours?
Why ask it
Quiet hours only matter if someone enforces them. Ask what happens after a complaint is made, because the honest answer is often nothing much.
Is any renovation or construction planned in the building this year?
Why ask it
Planned works mean scaffolding, drilling and blocked entrances, sometimes for months, and they rarely come with a rent reduction. This is almost never mentioned unless asked.
How much notice do you give before entering the apartment?
Why ask it
Notice requirements vary by jurisdiction, and the answer shows how closely this landlord follows them. It is a good early indication of how much privacy you will have.
What can I change: paint, shelves, a wall-mounted television, and what has to be undone when I leave?
Why ask it
Modification rules affect your deposit at the end rather than just your decorating. Brackets and paint colors are the most common source of move-out deductions.
Could I come back at a different time of day, or speak to someone who lives here?
Why ask it
A second visit in the evening, or five minutes with a current tenant, reveals more than any answer on the tour. Reluctance to allow either is the most useful signal you will get.
Touring an apartment well
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
What to do while you are in the unit
- Open and close every window. Stiff frames, broken locks and painted-shut sashes are common and rarely disclosed.
- Turn on the exhaust fan in the bathroom and the hood in the kitchen. If neither vents, expect damp.
- Check phone signal in the rooms where you would sleep and work.
- Look at the ceiling under the bathroom of the unit above, and under sinks, for old stains or fresh paint patches.
- Count electrical outlets in each room and note where they are. Older units frequently have one per wall in the wrong place.
- Stand still in the main room for a full minute and listen: traffic, plumbing, footsteps overhead, the elevator motor.
How to handle the conversation
Ask about specifics, not policies
What is your maintenance policy invites a rehearsed answer. What broke here most recently and how long it took to fix produces a story that is either concrete or evasive, and both outcomes are informative.
Take photographs as you go
By the third apartment, details merge. Photograph the kitchen, the bathroom, any damage, the fuse box, the meter and the view from the main window. Photographs also help settle deposit arguments later.
Ask the same question twice, differently
Noise, pests and building works are the three topics most often downplayed. Raising each once early and once at the end, in different words, tends to expose inconsistency.
Signals worth taking seriously
- A unit that has been vacant a long time in a tight market. There is usually a reason and it is worth finding.
- A landlord who will not let you see the actual unit, only a model or a similar one.
- Fresh paint over one patch of one wall, or a strong air freshener in a closed unit.
- Pressure to pay a holding fee on the spot, before you have seen the lease.
- Vague answers about who to call for repairs, or a phone number rather than a name.