Have you decided to commit to living in an apartment for the next year? If so, you'll definitely want to look carefully at the lease that you are about to sign. Here are a few key things to pay attention to to make sure you're signing a good lease that will work in your favor.

Rent And Additional Costs 

The amount that you pay for rent should be crystal clear in the lease, with verbiage that prevents the rent from increasing during the time you are living there. You should also know what costs you are responsible for and the landlord will pay for, such as the specific utilities that the apartment has. For example, large buildings often have a boiler that provides hot water, but you have to pay for electricity.

Maintenance

Know how to deal with maintenance requests when they eventually come up. There are typically protocols in place for emergency and non-emergency issues, which include who to contact and how they will respond. The issues covered should also be spelled out for you, which helps let you know if the landlord will be responsible for things as small as changing light bulbs, or if that's something they want you doing on your own. 

Pet Policy

Do you currently have a pet that you want to take with you to the apartment, or plan on getting one after moving in? Every landlord is going to have their own pet policy, which will be defined in the lease with what you can and cannot do. Look for restrictions on how many pets you can have, as well as what pets are allowed. You may be surprised to see restrictions on certain breeds of dogs, or to have a limit on how many cats can live in the apartment at once. There may also be fees or deposits for having a pet.

Showings

There will come a point where you will no longer want to live in the apartment and not renew your lease. The landlord will likely have information in the lease about how showings are handled, which is when they want to show your apartment to a potential tenant to replace you. The lease should include the procedures of how showings work. 

Do you need to be home at the time of the showing? Does the showing need to happen at a specific time? Does the landlord have their own key and will let themselves in? These are all important things to know for your own privacy and security. Learn more about this kind of 2 bedroom apartment rental by contacting a professional apartment complex near you.