5 Crucial Items to Check Before Signing an Apartment Lease

An apartment lease or rental agreement identifies the terms of a rental. It cannot contradict the law, but its terms can dictate the landlord’s rights and your rights as a lessee within that context. With that in mind, there are at least five crucial items that you should check before agreeing to a lease by signing it.

1. Determine What Is Included

Know your exact rent amount, when the deadline is and what flexibility is allowed you. Determine if your rent includes some or all of your utilities, such as water and garbage pickup. Anything not covered will often be paid directly to the service provider, such as an electric bill, but there may be fees that are expected of you on rent day but not included in the rent in order to make the price seem better. Know ahead of time if pets are allowed and what additional fees are required. Pay attention to long-term concerns because having a pet can often increase the security deposit and move-out responsibilities.

2. Is around-the-clock maintenance available?

Avoid assuming the you’ll have access to emergency maintenance. Sites managed by property management companies often will provide it, but you can’t expect it without a written promise. The laws on this vary from state to state, but generally, a landlord only has to make repairs within a reasonable time frame, which doesn’t extend to the middle of the night. That means that if your air conditioning cuts out during July in the evening, you may just have to wait until the next day unless your lease guarantees service. Even if you’re forced out of your apartment temporarily, that often falls into the purview of renter’s insurance rather than landlord responsibility.

3. Heed the Rules About Customizing Your Abode

Want to paint the walls or hang artwork? You need to check the lease as well as inquire with the apartment or property manager. If anything is unclear, get it in writing before signing. In some cases, you may even have limited rights when it comes to copying keys. Some complexes require that you do it through them and often at a higher-than-standard rate. When it comes to personalization, you need to look to the future as well. Many complexes will paint the apartment after you leave at no cost to you, but if you paint the walls, that can put you on the hook.

4. Know Your Rights Concerning Subletting and Roommates

You never want to sublet an apartment or add a roommate after the fact unless you have the right to do so as provided by the lease. Otherwise, you forfeit many of your other rights, and a landlord can evict you, fine you or raise your rent with little to no recourse for you. A roommate can make an apartment more affordable and subletting can be an option to get out from under a lease without actually breaking it, but the lessor will often want the same level of control that it had when it picked you.

5. Understand Your Lease Termination Options

Know when and how you can terminate your lease. Avoid assumptions because there can be specific contract language that contradicts your expectations. Leases will often convert into month-to-month agreements by law after the initial period has passed, but your contract can dictate other terms, such as automatically reupping for six months or even a year unless written notice is provided. Be mindful that breaking a lease can affect your credit, so understand what options are available to you to break a lease in a manner that protects you. You can expect to lose your security deposit, but some apartment complexes will compound that loss with additional fees.