Before you agree to rent a place, go look at it. Walk through the entire apartment and around the building. Many times, landlords think they can get away with renting an apartment that is in bad condition and in need of certain repairs. And, many times, they do. The law, however, requires landlords to put apartments in good condition before renting them. This means that an apartment must meet certain minimum requirements. See the Booklet 2 Housing Code Checklist that summarizes these minimum requirements. Read over this checklist and take it with you when you look at apartments.
You can also find out whether any tenants or local housing inspectors have ever reported an apartment or building for not meeting the requirements listed on the Housing Code Checklist. Although this takes time, if you really want to know who you are renting from, this information may be worth finding out. To do this, go to the local Board of Health in the town or city where the apartment is located. Ask someone there whether there are any housing inspection reports listed for the address of that building. If there are, read the reports. If a report shows that there were cockroaches in the apartment (or other problems that would not have been obvious when you first saw the place), you can ask the inspector listed on the report whether the landlord corrected this problem.
See Form 2 Moving In Checklist, which suggests some specific things you can do when you are checking out apartments.
What If There Are Bad Conditions
If you want an apartment but there are problems with it, you should ask the landlord when she plans to make certain repairs. If this repair schedule is agreeable to you and you decide to rent the apartment, make a list of the problems. Then get the landlord to promise in writing when she will make the repairs. This will make it more likely that the landlord will actually keep her word. In addition, if the landlord later refuses to make the repairs and you have her promise in writing, she will not be able to turn around and blame you for causing these problems.
If the landlord agrees to make repairs orally but will not put it in writing, you should write a letter to your landlord after you've moved into the apartment thanking her for agreeing to make repairs (and then list what repairs she agreed to make). This will document both the need for repairs and the landlord's promise to make them.
If your landlord requires a security deposit, by law she must prepare a statement describing the conditions of the apartment. This is called a "Statement of Condition." See a sample Statement of Condition (Form 3: Statement of Condition). Make sure all problems with the apartment are listed on this statement.
If a landlord does not take a security deposit, it is still a good idea to prepare your own statement describing the condition of an apartment when you first move in. See Statement of Condition section in Chapter 3: Security Deposits and Last Month's Rent. If you have a camera or a video recorder (or can borrow one), you may want to take pictures of certain conditions in the apartment before you move in. For example, if the window is broken, take a picture of the broken window. Write the date on which you took the pictures on the back of each one. If you make a video, film someone in the apartment saying the date. Spending 20 minutes documenting the condition of an apartment before you move in may save you a lot of aggravation and money later on.
Produced by Pattie Whiting Created July 2008
