Finding and Renting a Home

Home > Life Skills > Housing (life skill) > Finding and Renting a Home

How to search for rental properties, understanding lease agreements, and negotiating rental terms. Important factors to consider when choosing a rental property and how to deal with common rental issues such as repairs and security deposits.

Budgeting for Renting a Home: Understanding how much you can afford to pay for rent on a monthly or yearly basis.
Types of Housing: Understanding the different types of housing, such as apartments, single-family homes, duplexes, and condos, and their associated costs.
Searching for Housing: Understanding the different ways to search for housing, such as online listings, real estate brokers, and classified ads.
Lease Agreement: Understanding the terms and conditions of a lease agreement, including rent amount, security deposit, utilities and other fees.
Tenant Rights: Understanding tenant rights and landlord obligations under local, state, and federal laws.
Property Maintenance: Understanding the landlord’s responsibility for maintaining the property and addressing tenant complaints, and the tenant’s responsibility for upkeep and repairs within the rental space.
Security Measures: Understanding the security measures in place, such as locks, alarms, and security personnel, and knowing how to report security concerns.
Moving Process: Understanding the process of moving in and setting up a new home, including hiring movers, packing, and unpacking.
Insurance and other Protection: Understanding insurance options and other protections that may be required or recommended when renting a home.
Utilities: Understanding the costs and set up for utilities such as electricity, water, and internet in your new residence.
Apartment Buildings: Large multi-unit buildings owned by a single entity or landlord. Each unit is typically leased to individual tenants.
Houses: Single-family homes owned by a landlord and rented to a tenant.
Duplexes and Townhouses: A duplex is a property that has two separate living spaces, while a townhouse usually has multiple levels and shares one or more walls with neighboring residences.
Condominiums: Similar to apartments, but units are owned by individual owners who may choose to rent out to tenants.
Co-ops: Co-ops (cooperatives) are buildings owned by a corporation, and tenants buy shares in the corporation rather than owning the physical space.
Roommates: Multiple people sharing a living space, often splitting rent and utilities.
Sublets: When a tenant leases their apartment or home to someone else temporarily, often when they are away from the property for an extended period.
Short-term Rentals: More common for vacation rentals, short-term rentals refer to renting a home or apartment for a short period.
Corporate Housing: Fully furnished apartments or houses rented by businesses for employees who need temporary housing.
Section 8: Government-subsidized rental assistance program for low-income individuals and families.
Transitional Housing: Temporary housing for individuals and families in transition, such as those facing homelessness or recently released from incarceration.
Senior Housing: Housing specifically designed for seniors, often with specific amenities like medical assistance or communal spaces.
Homelessness Services: Organizations that provide emergency and long-term housing to individuals experiencing homelessness.
Vacation Rentals: Short-term rentals for vacation purposes, often in popular tourist destinations.
Rooming Houses: Shared living spaces for unrelated individuals or individuals with income levels that make finding traditional housing difficult.
Trailer Homes and Mobile Homes: Small homes that can be moved from one location to another.
House Boats: A unique type of housing, a houseboat is a floating home or apartment.
Accessory Dwelling Units: A smaller living space on the same property as a larger residence.
Converted Spaces: Existing structures that have been converted into housing spaces, such as factories, warehouses, and churches.
Farm-stays: A type of vacation rental held on a working farm where guests can help with farm life.
Tiny Houses: Small living spaces often ranging from 100-400 square feet.
House sitting: An arrangement in which a homeowner leaves their property in the care of someone else for a specific period, often in exchange for free housing.
House exchange: An exchange of houses with another person or family for a short period of time, usually for vacation purposes.
"Rent regulation is a system of laws, administered by a court or a public authority, which aims to ensure the affordability of housing and tenancies on the rental market for dwellings."
"Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: price controls, limits on the rent that a landlord may charge, eviction controls, obligations on the landlord or tenant regarding adequate maintenance of the property, and a system of oversight and enforcement by an independent regulator and ombudsman."
"Price controls, limits on the rent that a landlord may charge, typically called rent control or rent stabilization."
"Eviction controls: codified standards by which a landlord may terminate a tenancy."
"Obligations on the landlord or tenant regarding adequate maintenance of the property."
"A system of oversight and enforcement by an independent regulator and ombudsman."
"The loose term 'rent control' covers a spectrum of regulation which can vary from setting the absolute amount of rent that can be charged, with no allowed increases, to placing different limits on the amount that rent can increase; these restrictions may continue between tenancies, or may be applied only within the duration of a tenancy."
"As of 2016, at least 14 of the 36 OECD countries have some form of rent control in effect, including four states in the United States."
"Rent regulation is one of several classes of policies intended to improve housing affordability, alongside subsidies (including vouchers and tax credits) and policies aimed at expanding the housing supply."
"There is consensus among economists that rent control reduces the quality and quantity of housing units."
"There is consensus among economists that rent control reduces the quality and quantity of housing units."
"N/A - The paragraph does not explicitly mention the potential effects of rent control on housing affordability."
"N/A - The paragraph does not specify who administers and enforces rent regulations."
"N/A - The paragraph does not mention the potential benefits of rent regulation."
"N/A - The paragraph does not discuss how rent regulation impacts rental market dynamics."
"N/A - The paragraph does not mention drawbacks or criticisms of rent regulation."
"N/A - The paragraph does not specify the scope of rent regulation in terms of property types."
"N/A - The paragraph does not provide details on how subsidies and tax credits contribute to housing affordability."
"N/A - The paragraph does not mention countries outside the OECD that have implemented rent control."
"N/A - The paragraph does not discuss different models of rent regulation across regions or countries."