Ten Things to Know Before Renting a House

Renting a house, be it a big city or a small one, is a big deal as there are many details and complications that come attached to it. If you are moving into a new city or moving into a new house or plan to rent a house in Miami or New York or elsewhere for the first time, you need to know a lot of things about renting housesTen Things to Know Before Renting a House. Because as said above, they are not as easy as packing and unpacking a suitcase full of clothes. Here’s a comprehensive list of 10 essential tips that will help you get started, rent and move into your new house.

1. The first and foremost thing you need to worry about is the location of the house. Before contacting the landlord and proceeding with renting procedures, make sure the house is located according to your preferences and helps your daily life in all ways possible. Also, ensure that the house is nearby to a hospital, local store, school, bus stop etc.

2. If you are pleased with the location of the house, contact the landlord to talk about the formalities such as rent, deposit and other legal procedures involved with renting. Get to know the landlord, their full names, occupation and other basic information. Judge if you would be comfortable with the person over the renting period and don’t proceed if you feel something is fishy about the landlord’s behavior.

3. If you are pleased with both the location and the landlord, proceed to make a quick survey of the condition of the house. Do not, at any case enter into the tenancy agreement without seeing the condition of the house. Make a list of all the inventory present in the house in the presence of the landlord and check if all the white goods provided (washing machine, microwave, cooker, fridge, dishwasher) are in proper working condition.

4. Apart from the white goods, also ensure that the electric connections, switch boards and plumbing of the house is in the working condition. Also notify the landlord if there has to any repainting and vacuuming to be done before entering into the tenancy agreement and paying the advance amount.

5. Now that you have thoroughly checked the condition and location of the house, don’t think your job ends here, as there are many other things that you need to get a clarification about. Few landlords have a very strict no-pet, no-guests, no-loud music and other weird policies that are often not mentioned in the tenancy agreement. To avoid any misunderstandings in the future, ensure to ask if pets and guests are allowed.

6. Also, few owners are very uptight about the appearance of their house and are completely against any modification, paintjob, wall art or any other form of decoration. Before signing the tenancy agreement, ensure to ask if any modification of the house is allowed and if there is any fine or reduction in the deposit while vacating the house.

7. If you are renting a flat in an apartment, make sure to familiarize with the rules of the apartment concerning parking, garbage disposal, water connectivity etc. Here you are not only coming to terms with the landlord, but also with other tenants living in the building. Sign the agreement only if you can live in such an environment, bearing a few constraints.

8. Upon completion of all the above safety checks, sit down with the landlord and negotiate on the rent to be paid and deposit amount to be paid before renting. Also discuss the tenure of the tenancy i.e. the starting and ending period, notice period and so on. Insist that all of these details be mentioned in the tenancy agreement in writing.

9. Before signing the agreement with the landlord or realtor, ensure to ask about the rise in the rent and how often will this rise be made. Also, the time of the month during which the rent has to be paid. Insist on including these aspects of the rent in the tenancy agreement. Also, clarify all the details regarding the release clause i.e. formalities to be followed while vacating the house.

10. Lastly, before signing the tenancy agreement ensure that your deposit money is saved in a deposit protection scheme and inform the landlord that he/she is required to protect your deposits so that the repayment can be done without any hassles or delay while you vacate the house.