Inspect the property
Before you move in, make sure that the apartment has received a certificate of occupancy (C.O.) from the town housing inspector. Not all towns have laws requiring a certificate of occupancy. Call your town inspector to find out if the town has such a law. Also, check the following:
Bathroom—Check the water pressure and hot water, and look for leaks. Make sure that the toilet works. Check for loose tiles on the walls and floor, and look for bugs or signs of bugs.
Kitchen—Check the water pressure, leaks, hot and cold water, stove, and refrigerator, if any; look for bugs.
Ceiling—Check the ceiling and walls for water leak stains, dampness, loose plaster, holes, or cracks.
Windows—Check the locks, screens, glass, and frames.
Floors—Look for rotten wood, loose tiles, splinters, water stains, and cigarette burns.
Electricity—Make sure that the light switches and fixtures work. Take a lamp and try all of the outlets, and look for hanging or open wires. It is sometimes not possible to check the working condition of electrical switches and outlets because the power may have been shut off in the apartment.
Heat—Turn on the heating system and make sure that it works properly, even if you rent in the summer.
Basement—Look for dirt, trash, leaks, loose wires, broken windows, crumbling walls, and termites.
Smoke detectors—Check for installation and make sure they work properly.
Doors—Check for dead-bolt locks and peepholes on the entrance door.
Paint—Look in all rooms to make sure paint is fresh; check for dangerous, chipping lead paint. (See Lead paint and lead poisoning.)
After you have checked each of these items, make a list of what is broken or in poor condition. Ask the landlord or superintendent to sign the list. If they refuse, get one of your friends or neighbors to sign and date it. It is a very good idea to take pictures. You can also talk to other tenants who already live there. For example, if you are renting in the summer, they can tell you if there’s enough heat in the winter.
Get promises to repair in writing
Ask the landlord to make all necessary repairs immediately. However, you should not accept the landlord’s spoken promise. It is very important to get the landlord to write out what he or she promises to fix and when. Any promises made by the landlord that are not in writing, with the date and the landlord’s signature, are difficult to enforce. If you try to enforce a spoken promise, it will be your word against the landlord’s.
A written agreement also protects you later on if the landlord tries to say that you were the one who caused the damage.
If you cannot get the landlord to sign a written agreement or statement, then you should send your list of defective conditions in a letter to the landlord.
Explain in the letter that you expect that the landlord will make the repairs. Send the letter by certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep a copy of the letter and the return receipt for use later. If you can, take pictures of the defective conditions and hold on to them. You will need these documents should the landlord seek to wrongfully evict you or keep your security deposit.
If you have any questions on what to look for when you move into a rental call me (c) 609-977-5343 – Julie
