Questions to Ask When Apartment Touring
Written for people touring their first apartment, where the hard part is not thinking of questions but knowing what the answers commit you to. Each one below comes with what an ordinary answer sounds like and what should make you slow down. If you have rented before and want the detailed condition walkthrough instead, the questions to ask when touring an apartment set goes deeper on the unit itself.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What is the rent, and what else do I pay every month on top of it?
Why ask it
Ask for one number that includes rent and every recurring charge, because trash, pest control, amenity and technology fees are billed separately and are not optional. First-time renters usually budget from the advertised figure and are surprised by the first statement.
What is the deposit, what can be taken out of it, and when do I get it back?
Why ask it
A deposit is your money held against damage, not a payment. Ask for the list of things that get charged against it, such as paint, carpet cleaning or nail holes, and ask how many days after move-out the balance is returned.
Which utilities go in my name, and what do I have to set up before move-in day?
Why ask it
Electricity and internet usually need an account opened in advance, sometimes with a deposit of their own. Ask which company serves the building and how many days notice they need, because arriving to an apartment with no power is a common first move.
Do I need a guarantor or co-signer, and what would that person be agreeing to?
Why ask it
If you have no rental history a guarantor is often required, and they are agreeing to pay your rent if you do not. Ask what income they need to show and whether they sign for the whole lease or only the first year, since it is a real commitment to ask of someone.
What income and credit history do you require from me?
Why ask it
Thresholds like forty times the monthly rent in annual income are common, and so are workarounds: a larger deposit, prepaid rent or a guarantor. Ask before you pay an application fee for a place you were never going to be approved for.
Is this the apartment I would actually get, or a model?
Why ask it
Model units are staged, better finished and usually on a quieter side of the building. If you are being shown a model, ask when you can stand in the real unit, and do not sign for something you have not seen.
How long is the lease, and what does it cost me if I have to leave early?
Why ask it
Ask for the early-termination figure as a number, not a policy. A first job, a course or a relationship can all move within a year, and the difference between two months of rent and the rest of the term is worth knowing before you sign.
Which appliances come with it, and who pays when one of them breaks?
Why ask it
Leases sometimes assign a washer, microwave or garbage disposal to the tenant, especially if a previous tenant installed it. Establish now who pays for the repair, because that clause is easy to skim past and expensive to discover.
Can I run the shower and the kitchen tap at the same time while we are standing here?
Why ask it
Do it rather than ask. Pressure that collapses when a second tap opens is something you meet every morning, and it is not the kind of thing a landlord fixes quickly.
Which way do the windows face, and what will I be looking at?
Why ask it
Orientation decides whether the place is dark all winter or too hot all summer, and it is the thing renters most often regret. Check the compass on your phone rather than taking anyone's word for it.
Who do I call when something breaks, and how fast do they come?
Why ask it
Ask for the emergency number now and find out whether anyone answers it at night. No heat in January and a repair queue managed from another city is the situation you are trying to identify before you sign.
What am I allowed to change: paint, shelves, picture hooks, a pet?
Why ask it
Ask what needs permission and what has to be put back at the end, because putting it back is usually at your cost. Pets have their own set of fees and limits, and they are set by an insurer rather than by the person showing you around.
Do I need renters insurance, and what does the lease require it to cover?
Why ask it
Most leases now require it, with a minimum liability figure written in. It is usually inexpensive, but you need the policy in place before the keys are handed over, so ask for the requirement in writing today.
What are the rules about guests, roommates, and someone staying long term?
Why ask it
There is usually a limit on consecutive nights a guest can stay, and adding a roommate normally means a new application and a fee. Ask now if a partner might move in later, because doing it quietly is a lease breach.
Where does laundry happen, and what does one load cost?
Why ask it
Ask how many working machines serve how many apartments and go and look at them. Three machines for forty units means your Sunday is planned around a queue.
Where do trash and recycling go, and how does that work here?
Why ask it
Ask where the bins actually are and which day they are collected, because a fourth-floor walk-up with bins in a back alley is a daily chore you did not sign up for. Some buildings charge a valet trash fee for a service you may never use.
How do I get in, and what does it cost if I lose a key or a fob?
Why ask it
Replacement fobs and lockout call-outs run to a surprising amount, and the fee schedule is where you find it. Ask who to call at midnight when the fob stops working, and whether anyone actually picks up.
What is this street like at night, and how would I get to work from here?
Why ask it
Tours are booked in daylight. Ask what is open late nearby, where you would park, and how long the commute really takes at the hour you would travel, then come back one evening and check for yourself.
What do I have to pay before I get the keys, all in?
Why ask it
Add the application fee, admin fee, deposit, first month and any move-in charge into a single number while you are still standing in the apartment. That total, not the rent, is usually what decides whether you can take the place.
Can I take the lease home and read all of it before I sign?
Why ask it
A refusal, or pressure to sign today, is the clearest warning you will get on a tour. Read the sections on repairs, renewal, guests and what happens at the end of the term, and get anything promised aloud written in as an addendum.
Renting your first place
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Words on the lease that catch people out
Deposit and fee are not the same thing
A deposit is refundable and a fee is not, and the two words get used loosely on a tour. Ask which of the move-in charges come back to you and under what conditions, then get that answer in an email.
Joint and several liability
If you sign with roommates, this clause usually means each of you can be pursued for the whole rent, not just your share. It matters most when one person leaves partway through the year.
Holdover and automatic renewal
Doing nothing at the end of a lease can mean automatic renewal for another year, conversion to month to month, or a penalty rent well above what you pay now. Find the clause and read it before you sign, not eleven months later.
Normal wear and tear
This is the line between what a deposit covers and what it does not, and it is defined loosely on purpose. Photographs taken on move-in day are the only version of this argument you can win.
Simple checks anyone can do on the tour
- Open and close every window and check that it latches
- Run the hot tap and count how long it takes to warm up
- Check your phone signal in the bedroom rather than by the front door
- Look under the sinks with your torch for stains and buckled wood
- Count the outlets in the rooms where you would work and sleep
- Stand still for a full minute and just listen
- Photograph every room before you leave so you can compare places later
Between the tour and the keys
Before you apply
- 1Ask for the fee schedule and a blank lease by email and read both
- 2Work out the move-in total and check you can cover it plus a buffer
- 3Line up your guarantor and their paperwork before you pay any fee
- 4Go back to the street once in the evening
On move-in day
- 1Photograph every scuff, stain and chip before a single box comes in
- 2Email the photographs to the manager the same day so the timestamp is on record
- 3Fill in the move-in condition form yourself rather than accepting a blank one
- 4Keep the signed lease, every addendum and the rules document in one place