Have you ever heard of a landlord not allowing guests in the apartment? Well I have because it personally happened to me. So here’s my story: I rented a room in my landlord’s home. We had a lease agreement for a year but after that, we were on month-to-month. I understand that the old lease […]

Security is always the first concern, whether you are renting a house, apartment, room or condo. Standard exit procedures include that the previous tenant return all the keys to the rental property but there are instances when the keys are not returned. To be safe, most landlords just change the locks every time a tenant […]

I lived in a property for 2 years 6 months and my husband’s job relocating us to another state so we were forced to move.  We gave the landlord thirty days notice in writing as well as verbally.  The property manager came to the property two weeks before we moved to do a brief walk through and […]

Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 allows for the payment of rental housing by the government in behalf of the estimated 3.1 million low income families.  It is an umbrella of several government services that aim to assist low income families and prevent them from living on the streets.  One of the most […]

These days, more and more landlords are requiring their tenants to get renter’s insurance. This shift in the renting process is molding the way landlords and tenants interact prior to establishing tenancy. However, tenant applicants are not the only ones affected the renter’s insurance requirement, existing tenants may also be asked to get the insurance […]

The problem with signing a lease is that it keeps you in one place for a year. And believe it or not, circumstances just push you to break your lease and go. That’s what happened to me. When I didn’t sign a lease (with my old apartment), I stayed there for 7 years – there […]

There seems to be so many horror stories circulating about deposits. But most of them can be traced back to a lack of education on the different deposits asked prior to moving in. So I’ve compiled a list of all deposits, what they are and whether they are refundable or not. I hope this helps […]

Secondary smoke can cause a whole lot of complications. That is why states have crafted laws that prohibit cigarette smoking in some areas. For apartments, the law is not yet very clear so the decision would come from your landlord. You cannot break the lease because of the smoke, (sorry to break that to you). […]

If you’re a renter with a pet, then you must know how hard it is just to even find one that accepts pets. But despite, it is never wise to settle on the first rental property that you find because chances are, you’ll be looking for another one soon. So still consider the features of […]

When a lease agreement was not signed, then that means you are not legally bound to fulfill anything. But does that also mean that you will not get the same rights as the other tenants who did sign the lease? And in case you move out, how will you do that legally? From a lot […]