Questions to Ask When Viewing Apartments
An apartment showing is short, often twenty minutes in the unit with a leasing agent or landlord, and these are the questions to ask when viewing an apartment in that time. The first six of the 60 are good questions to ask when looking at an apartment of any size or price, and the rest cover the unit itself, the building, money, the lease and its rules, and applying. A few are for viewing a rental property that is not in a managed building: a house, half a duplex, or a condo rented out by its owner.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Ask first
Is this the exact unit I would be renting, or a model of the same layout?
Why ask it
A model is staged and freshly finished, and it may sit on a brighter side of the building than the apartment on offer. If the real one is still occupied, ask for its number, its floor and what its windows face, and whether you can see it before you sign anything.
What is the rent on this unit, and how long is that price held?
Why ask it
A quoted rent often assumes a particular lease length and start date. If the number moves when you name your date, the building prices by the day, and you can ask which start date and term come out cheapest.
What will I owe on move-in day once every deposit and fee is added up?
Why ask it
Application fee, admin fee, deposit, first month, pet deposit and a move-in or elevator fee tend to be quoted one at a time. Ask for a single total and which parts of it come back to you, so nothing new turns up at lease signing.
Which utilities would be in my name, and what do they run in the most expensive month?
Why ask it
"Heat not included" means little without a figure, and in a hot climate the month to ask about is the one when the air conditioning never stops. A steep bill says more about the windows and insulation than anything you can see on a tour. If nobody knows the number, some utilities will give an average for the address when you call.
How long is the lease, and what happens when it ends?
Why ask it
The end of the lease is where the surprises tend to sit: automatic renewal, month-to-month at a higher rent, or a notice deadline that is easy to miss. Ask exactly what happens if you do nothing, and how far ahead you would have to say you are leaving.
How long has this apartment sat vacant, and what made the last tenant move out?
Why ask it
A long vacancy where apartments usually go quickly has a cause someone can name: the price, the condition or a neighbor. Vagueness is information too, and so is a tenant who left before the lease was up. If the place is still occupied, ask how long that tenant has been there.
The unit
What will be repaired, cleaned or repainted before a new tenant moves in?
Why ask it
Point at what you mean while you ask: the stained carpet, the cracked tile, the cupboard door hanging off one hinge. A promise made on a tour is easy to forget, so ask for the list in an email or added to the lease before you sign.
Do you mind if I run the shower and the kitchen tap for a minute?
Why ask it
Asking first is polite and rarely refused. Time how long the hot water takes to arrive and watch how quickly the basin empties. Then find out whether it comes from a tank in the unit or a shared boiler, and whether anyone has complained of it running out on weekday mornings.
Which way do these windows face, and how much sun does this room get late in the day?
Why ask it
The room you see at midday is not the room at six in the evening. A window onto an airshaft or a close wall may never get direct sun, and one that takes the full afternoon sun can make a bedroom hard to cool in summer.
What can you hear through these walls, and who lives on the other side of them?
Why ask it
The useful answer names what is there: a bedroom or a living room next door, a stairwell, the elevator shaft, a family overhead. Check whether the floor above is carpeted as well, because footsteps overhead are hard for anyone to fix once you have moved in.
How are the heat and air conditioning controlled, and who decides when they switch over?
Why ask it
In some older buildings one boiler serves every apartment and management picks the date the heat comes on. If that is the setup here, find out whether the thermostat on the wall controls anything, and whether cooling is central, a wall unit or a window unit you supply yourself.
Which appliances and fittings stay with the apartment, and who pays when one of them dies?
Why ask it
In an occupied unit the microwave, the window air conditioner and even the blinds may belong to the person moving out. For whatever stays, find out whether a dead fridge is the landlord's repair or yours, because leases differ on that more than renters expect.
What was the last thing repaired in this apartment, and how long did it take from the request to the fix?
Why ask it
A promised response time is the policy, and one real repair with its dates is the practice. While they think of an example, ask which appliance in the kitchen is the oldest, and whether it would be replaced or patched up if it failed.
Does this place come furnished, and is there a written inventory of what stays?
Why ask it
The sofa and bed you see on a viewing may belong to the tenant who is leaving, a staging company or the owner. If any of it stays, an inventory with photos, agreed on the day you move in, is what settles an argument about a scratched table when you leave.
Has water ever come through this ceiling or these walls, and what was done about it?
Why ask it
A leak that was traced and fixed at its source is an ordinary event in a building's life. One that was only painted over tends to come back as a stain in the same spot, so look up while they answer and ask what sits directly above.
Has this apartment or the ones beside it been treated for mice, roaches or bed bugs?
Why ask it
Pests travel along pipes and through walls, which is why the neighboring units belong in the question. Regular preventive visits are a decent sign. A treatment last month with no follow-up booked is the answer to dig into, including who pays if they return.
Which internet providers actually run service to this address?
Why ask it
Coverage maps are drawn by neighborhood, and a building can still be wired for one company only. The last tenant's provider is the one you know works, and it is worth hearing whether an internet charge is already bundled into the monthly bill. A single wired option leaves you no backup, which matters if you work from home.
Where are the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and when were they last tested?
Why ask it
Look at the ceiling as you ask: a missing alarm, or one chirping for a battery, shows how closely anyone checks this unit between tenants. What a landlord has to provide differs from place to place, so ask what the rule is locally and who is meant to test them.
Are the locks changed between tenants, and who else holds a key to this door?
Why ask it
Earlier tenants, their friends, a dog walker and a cleaner may all still have a copy. If rekeying is not routine, ask for it as a condition of signing and find out whether you would be charged. Try the window latches yourself before you leave the room.
Is there storage outside the apartment, like a basement cage or a bike room, and is it included?
Why ask it
Closets you can judge with your own eyes. The storage you are not shown is the kind that gets promised loosely, so ask to walk down and see it. A damp cage with a shared padlock is not somewhere you would leave anything you care about.
The building
Where does laundry happen, and how many machines serve how many units?
Why ask it
Two washers for forty apartments turns Saturday into a queue. Ask whether machines take coins, cards or an app, and how long they usually sit broken before anyone fixes them.
Is parking assigned, and what does a second space or a visitor space cost?
Why ask it
"Parking available" can mean a waitlist, a first-come lot, or street permits you buy from the city. Get the monthly cost, and find out whether a space is promised to you in the lease or is just usually free when you get home.
How do visitors and deliveries get in, and where do packages end up?
Why ask it
Press the buzzer or intercom on your way in, because a dead one turns every delivery into a trip downstairs. Parcels stacked in an open lobby answer the second half before anyone speaks.
Where do trash and recycling go, and how often are they picked up?
Why ask it
Ask to be shown, then notice how full the bins are and how close they sit to this unit's windows. Bins overflowing the day before collection mean smells in summer and an open invitation to mice.
Which of the amenities in the listing can I see today, and do any cost extra?
Why ask it
A gym closed for repairs and a roof deck that shuts at dusk both still count as amenities in an advertisement. If one of them is the reason you would pay more for this building, stand in it, and ask about hours, booking and any separate monthly charge.
How does moving in work here: set hours, an elevator to reserve, a fee?
Why ask it
Some buildings limit moves to weekday working hours or take a deposit against scuffed hallways, which matters if your movers are already booked for a Sunday. While you are there, measure the front door and the tightest turn of the stairs against your sofa.
If something breaks at nine on a Sunday night, who do I call, and does a person pick up?
Why ask it
An on-site super and an off-site management company with a voicemail box can be the difference between a two-hour problem and a two-week one. Ask what they count as an emergency, and how an ordinary request gets logged: a portal, a phone number, or a text to the owner.
Who is the landlord here: the owner, or a management company acting for them?
Why ask it
An owner who lives downstairs and a firm with a tenant portal are different relationships, and neither is better by default. Get the exact name so you can look it up tonight, and be wary of anyone showing the place who cannot tell you whose name will be on the lease.
How long do tenants in this building tend to stay?
Why ask it
Neighbors who renew year after year are the closest thing to a reference you will get on a tour. If most of the building turns over every twelve months, the follow-up is what people leave for: the rent increases, the management, or simply a student neighborhood.
Has anyone here had a break-in, a car broken into or a bike stolen in the past year?
Why ask it
Whether a neighborhood is safe is an opinion, and many agents will not offer one. What happened in this building is a fact they can share, so follow with what changed afterwards: a repaired door closer, a camera, a light over the back entrance. Then look up whatever crime map or police log your area publishes.
What time does the street get noisy, and does that change on weekends?
Why ask it
Open the bedroom window while they answer, then look down for the cause: a bar, a bus stop, a loading dock, a school. Each has its own loud hour, and the person showing the place usually knows which one tenants mention.
What is changing in this building over the next year?
Why ask it
Facade work, a boiler replacement, a new owner or a lobby renovation will shape your year more than any amenity on the tour. Scaffolding over your windows is a lot easier to accept if you knew about it.
What do current tenants complain about most?
Why ask it
A candid answer, thin walls or a slow elevator, names the building's weak point and shows the agent will be straight with you. A flat "nothing" is your cue to put the same question to a tenant by the mailboxes on your way out.
Does the rent cover the whole property: the garage, the basement, the shed, the yard?
Why ask it
This one is for a house or a duplex, where the owner sometimes keeps a locked room, a loft or half the garage for their own things. Ask what is yours to use, and whether anyone would be coming by to get at what is not.
Who mows the lawn, clears the snow and cleans the gutters here?
Why ask it
In an apartment building someone is paid to do this, and with a rented house the lease often hands it to the tenant. Ask whose mower and shovel it would be, and who answers if the city fines the address for an icy sidewalk.
What does this place run on: mains gas, electric, an oil or propane tank, a well, a septic system?
Why ask it
A house outside town can depend on a tank that somebody pays to refill and a septic system that has to be pumped. Find out who orders the fuel, who pays for it, and how full the tank will be on the day you get the keys.
Is this unit in a condo or homeowners association, and which of its rules would apply to me as a tenant?
Why ask it
An association can set its own move-in fee, pet limits and parking rules, and some want to approve a tenant themselves, all outside the owner's control. Ask for the rules in writing, and whether you or the owner would pay a fine issued against the unit.
Money
What is billed every month on top of the rent?
Why ask it
Trash, pest control, an amenity fee, a package locker and a share of the water bill each look trivial, and together they can move an apartment into a different price bracket. Ask whether those charges are fixed for the lease or can rise partway through.
How much is the security deposit, and what usually comes out of it when a tenant moves out?
Why ask it
Listen for whether a cleaning, carpet or repainting charge is taken from everyone as a matter of routine. How large a deposit can be, where it is held and how soon it must come back are set by law in many places, so ask how it works here and photograph every room on your first day.
Is there a broker or agent fee on this apartment, and who pays it?
Why ask it
In some cities the renter pays the agent, and the sum can be on the scale of a month's rent. In others the landlord pays, or the fee is not allowed at all. Find out which applies here before you get attached to the place.
Is there a move-in special, and what does the rent become once it ends?
Why ask it
A free month is often spread across the lease to produce the advertised price, so the amount you actually pay each month can be higher than the figure in the listing. Ask which of the two numbers a renewal offer would start from.
Is there any room on the rent, or on the fees if the rent is fixed?
Why ask it
A small landlord can say yes on the spot, while a leasing office may be tied to a pricing system and still have a say over the fees. A unit that has sat empty gives you the most room, and when the rent will not move, a waived fee or a parking space sometimes will.
When tenants here renew, how much does the rent usually go up?
Why ask it
Last year's increase is the best guide you will get to your second-year budget, so press for the figure and not an adjective. In places where increases are limited by law the answer may be a formula, and then the thing to check is whether this unit is covered by it.
How is rent paid, and what does a late payment cost?
Why ask it
A portal that adds a card surcharge, or a landlord who only takes checks, is worth knowing about before the first of the month. Ask how many days of grace there are and whether the late fee is flat or grows by the day, then see that the lease says the same.
Do you require renters insurance, and what coverage do you need to see?
Why ask it
Some leases name a liability minimum and want proof before the keys are handed over. The premium belongs in your all-in monthly number, so get the required amount now, and ask whether any insurer will do or only the one the office suggests.
Lease and rules
What would it cost me to leave before the lease is up?
Why ask it
Jobs move and households change, so ask while it is still hypothetical. Answers run from a fixed buyout fee to owing rent until a new tenant is found. What a landlord may charge depends on local law, so read the clause and check how it works where you live.
What are the rules on overnight guests, adding a roommate, and subletting?
Why ask it
A cap on how many nights a guest may stay matters if a partner is over most of the week. The part worth pinning down is how a name gets added to the lease later: a new application, a fee, or a change in the rent.
Are pets allowed in this unit, and what do they cost: a deposit, monthly pet rent, both?
Why ask it
"Pet friendly" can still come with a weight cap or a breed list that rules out the dog you already own, so name your animal and its size. Ask whether the charge is per pet, and whether any of the deposit is kept no matter how the place is left.
What am I allowed to change here: paint, shelves, a TV mounted on the wall?
Why ask it
Some landlords charge for every anchor hole, and others let you paint as long as the walls go back to white. What you would have to put right before handing over the keys is the part that ends up taken from the deposit, so get that answer specifically.
What is the smoking rule, inside units and on balconies?
Why ask it
It matters in both directions: whether you may, and whether the person below your bedroom window may. A smoke-free clause means little if nobody acts on it, so trust your nose in the hallway and ask what happened the last time someone complained.
Are there house rules beyond the lease, and can I read them today?
Why ask it
Quiet hours, grills on balconies, bikes in hallways and where a stroller may be left usually live in a separate document that tenants first see at signing. You will be expected to follow it, so read it while you can still walk away.
How much notice do you give before someone comes into the apartment?
Why ask it
Repairs, inspections and showings to the next tenant all mean a stranger with a key. Minimum notice is set by law in many places and by the lease in others, so ask what the practice is here and how the notice reaches you: a text, an email or a note on the door.
Does the owner have any plan to sell this place or move back in?
Why ask it
An owner with one rented house or condo may decide to sell it or live in it again, which a company running a whole building seldom does. What becomes of a lease after a sale differs from place to place, so ask how it works here and whether buyers would be walking through while you live there.
Applying
What does applying involve, and what does it cost for each person?
Why ask it
The fee is often charged for every adult on the lease, so two roommates applying to three places adds up fast. Ask whether it comes back if you are turned down or the unit goes to someone else, and whether anyone has already applied for this one.
What income and credit do you look for, and will you take a guarantor if I fall short?
Why ask it
Landlords commonly want income of some multiple of the rent, and the multiple varies from one to the next. Hearing the bar before you pay anything spares you a fee on a unit you could never be approved for. If you are self-employed or new to the country, ask what they accept in place of pay stubs.
What is the earliest date I could move in, and is there any give on it?
Why ask it
The gap between this lease starting and your current one ending is money: double rent on one side, a week on a friend's sofa on the other. An owner with an empty unit often prefers an earlier start, which makes a date you can offer something to bargain with.
Is this showing only for me, or are other renters seeing the unit today?
Why ask it
A day of back-to-back appointments means the decision may be made before you have slept on it. Ask how long you realistically have, and remember that "three other people are interested" costs nothing to say, so do not let it hurry you past the checks you came to make.
How soon do you decide, and what holds the apartment for me in the meantime?
Why ask it
One landlord takes the first qualified applicant, and another collects applications for a few days and chooses. If a holding deposit is involved, get it in writing whether it comes back if you are declined and whether it counts toward the first month if you are approved.
Could I have a blank lease to read at home before I pay an application fee?
Why ask it
Nobody reads twelve pages well with an agent waiting and a pen on the table. A landlord who will not let the document leave the office until money has changed hands is asking you to pay to find out what you are agreeing to.
May I come back for a second look one evening before I apply?
Why ask it
A visit after dark shows you the parking, the hallway lighting and how much carries from next door, none of which were on show the first time. It is an easy request to say yes to, so a refusal is worth noticing.
Getting real information out of a twenty-minute tour
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you go
Choose what to ask in the room
Nobody gets through a list this long in one viewing, and you should not try. While you are looking for an apartment you may see five in a week, so ask the first six at every one and the answers can be compared. Use the unit questions while you walk through and the building ones on the way out past the laundry, the bins and the mailboxes. Money, lease and application questions can follow by email, which also puts the answers in writing.
Fix your all-in number first
Decide what you can pay per month including utilities, parking, laundry, renters insurance and pet rent, not just rent. The figure in the listing is only one part of that total, and it is the total you will be comparing between places.
Look up the address before you look at the apartment
Ten minutes with a map shows what the listing left out: a bus depot, a bar under the bedroom side of the building, a school run that fills the street at three. Then search the building's name together with the management company's and read the worst reviews in full. A complaint that turns up in several of them, whether the heat, the deposit or repair requests nobody answered, is a question to bring with you.
Bring the paperwork if you might apply
Pay stubs or an offer letter, photo ID, bank statements, a previous landlord's contact details and a way to pay the application fee cover most requests, though it is worth asking beforehand what this landlord wants. Where apartments go quickly, a complete application the same day can count for more than having seen the place first.
Tour at the hour you live there
An evening or Saturday morning viewing shows you parking, noise and hallway traffic as they actually are. A Tuesday at 11am shows you an empty building.
When the showing is shared with other renters
An open showing puts several renters in the unit at once, and the agent may have time for one or two questions from each. Spend yours on the first six, do the hands-on checks while someone else is talking, and ask where to send the rest in writing. Listen to what the others ask as well, because their answers about this unit are yours to keep.
Things to check with your hands, not questions
- Flush the toilet while the shower is running and feel whether the water goes cold or drops to a trickle.
- Work each window up and down and pull the front door shut behind you. A frame that sticks or will not latch is a draft in cold weather and a repair to ask for now.
- Check your phone's signal bars in the bedroom and bathroom, the rooms where poor reception is most annoying.
- Look under the kitchen sink and behind the toilet for water staining, warped particleboard or fresh paint on one small patch.
- Count outlets in each room and note where they are, then think about where a desk or bed would go. A phone charger tells you in a second whether one is live.
- Stand still for a full minute with nothing running and listen for traffic, plumbing, a compressor or the television next door.
- Ask to see the electrical panel and where the water to the unit shuts off: whether the panel is breakers or fuses, whether anything is labeled, and whether the valve is somewhere you could reach in a hurry.
- Look at the ceiling corners and the top of window frames for grey speckling, which suggests damp that keeps coming back.
- On the way out, walk from the parking space or the bus stop to the front door by the route you would take after dark, and look for the light fittings along it: a broken one, or a stretch with none, shows in daylight too.
Comparing places afterwards
Write it down in the hallway, not that evening
After three tours the apartments blend together and you will remember the nicest kitchen rather than the best deal. Note rent, all-in cost, commute and the one thing that bothered you before you set off for the next one.
Photograph the flaws, not the features
You will not forget the light. You will forget which unit had the cracked tile and which had the stained carpet, and those are the items you will negotiate or document at move-in. Ask before taking pictures in an apartment someone still lives in.
Do not let the finish decide
Fresh paint, new cabinet handles and a staged sofa are cheap next to what they do for the photographs. Light, noise, water pressure and the people on the other side of the wall cannot be changed once you have moved in, and they are what you will be weighing when the renewal offer arrives.
Read the lease before you fall in love
Ask for a blank copy at the viewing. Automatic renewal clauses, joint liability with roommates, and who pays for repairs under a set dollar amount are all decided in that document, not on the tour.