1. Make a list of features you are looking for before you go house or apartment hunting, and make sure to differentiate between want and need. Try using this Rental Search Worksheet to help get you started.
2. Make sure you know all the costs involved! Rent is the obvious one, but also have to consider utilities/amenities, laundry, parking, transportation, appliances, repairs/decorating, and insurance. As a rule of thumb, all this totaled should be less than 30% of your total income.
3. Walk around the neighborhood at different times to see if it’s right for you. Check noise level, crime level, air quality, local amenities and events, distance to work/school/family, access to transit and roads etc.
4. Have a tool kit on-hand, it is great for move-in day, but also great for any other easy repairs or decorating.
5. When visiting a property, come prepared with:
- Pen and copy of Rental Unit Evaluation Worksheet – Cheque for deposit – Your rental history and references – Credit references – A letter from current employer with salary and length of employment or a recent pay stub and contact information – List of questions – Info about pets
6. Consider getting renter’s insurance. Assuming that you are covered under your landlord’s insurance is usually wrong! The structure of the building is covered, but contents aren’t so check out some local companies for quotes. Check out this website for a better explanation of why renter’s insurance is important: Why. Also compare rates at the RateSupermarket.
7. Nobody ever tells you this, but you should get a return on your damage deposit! Ya, that’s right, you get interest on your deposit when or if you get it back. To see the current interest rate, check out this website if you are from BC, or check with your local or provincial Tenancy Board to find the calculator in your area: BC Tenancy Board.
8. Your landlord can only increase the rent after your first 12 months of living there (and the on every 12-month anniversary after) and only by the guideline set each year by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (check out this year’s in Brochures by Topic), you should also be notified 90 days in advance.
9. Before signing a rental agreement, a good question to ask is if you can speak to previous tenants, or at the very least, why did they leave. If the landlord seems embarrassed and squirmy or is trying to avoid the question, turn and run as fast as you can! (Also try talking with the neighbors, gossip travels quickly!)
10. A landlord can NOT just lock you out of your unit and consider that an eviction. You must first receive a Notice of Termination that tells you what the problem is, then they have to wait a certain amount of time (dependant on the problem and where you live) for you to fix it. If you don’t fix the problem and don’t move out, the landlord can file an application with the Board and in most situations a hearing will be scheduled. Once the case is presented, then the Board will issue an eviction order, and this is legally binding.
Check out more information at Our Renters Webpage
