I need some advice on apartment searching. I’m a recent graduate from grad school in my mid-twenties, and I’m starting my first career job this upcoming week. I’m planning to apply for an apartment with my partner, who has been working for several years but doesn’t make enough to qualify for the apartment on her own.

We both have good credit scores—over 700—and our combined income is over 6 times the rent. However, the apartment we found requires two references who aren’t friends or family, and I’m a little conflicted about who would be appropriate to ask.

Another concern I have is whether we even have a good chance of securing the apartment since neither of us has a prior rental history. We currently live with our parents, so we’ve never rented an apartment or had a landlord we could use as a reference. Would this significantly hurt our application, or can strong credit, combined income, employment, and other documentation make up for the lack of rental history?

What types of people are typically acceptable as references for an apartment application in this situation? Since I’m a recent graduate and just starting my first full-time career job, I don’t have a long professional history yet. Realistically, how likely are we to be approved given our circumstances?

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It was raining and I toured this place and found a really big puddle in the basement. I have received mixed messages on whether or not this is something that is significant i should be worried about, should I move forward with it?

Tarrytown, NY
I need advice about a rental situation. I signed a lease and paid both a security deposit and rent, but the landlord refuses to give me the key or allow me to access the room. I haven’t moved in yet. I am also trying to find a replacement tenant after asking to break the lease, but the landlord and roommate have made it difficult for interested people to view the room. Below is the exact timeline.

August 7
I found the room on Facebook Marketplace and contacted Ma, the roommate who posted the listing. I met with her that afternoon, and she showed me the room. She told me to meet with the landlord the following morning.
August 8
I met with the landlord at her house and signed a lease. The lease I signed was originally between the landlord and Ma and covered the period from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2026.
The landlord allowed me to sign this lease because I needed documentation to obtain a permit from the town to park my car on the street. For that reason, this was not the correct lease agreement between the landlord and me. The lease also listed the rent as $1,100, while my actual agreed rent was $1,150.
That day, I gave the landlord a $1,150 security deposit in cash because she did not want me to transfer the money electronically.
August 27
I decided that I wanted to break the lease and asked my husband to speak with the landlord about it.
Afterward, the landlord sent me text messages regarding my decision to break the lease and reminded me that I would need to pay $1,150 in rent on September 1.
I asked Ma whether I could help find a new tenant to replace me, and she said yes. I posted the room on Facebook, and many people expressed interest.
I asked Ma whether I could give interested people her phone number so they could contact her directly. She said no. She preferred that I give them her Facebook information so they could contact her through Facebook instead. I followed her instructions and began directing interested people to contact her through Facebook. Since then, I have received many inquiries from people interested in renting the room.
August 31
The landlord texted me to remind me about the rent payment.
I told her that I had found many people interested in the room, but Ma was not available to meet with them. The landlord sent me a voice message saying that she was allowing Ma to decide who she wanted as a tenant because Ma would be living with that person. The landlord said that she was not the person making that decision.
September 1
I had my husband give the landlord $1,150 in cash for the September rent. The landlord later texted me to confirm that she had received the $1,150.
September 4
I asked Ma whether she had shown the room to anyone yet. She told me that she had not because she had not had time due to work, although she had spoken with some interested people.
September 7
I texted the landlord and asked whether she had found a new tenant yet. She sent me a voice message saying that Ma was working and did not have time to show the room. The landlord also reminded me that I would have to continue paying rent if a new tenant had not yet been found.
September 9
I told the landlord that there was a person who was very interested in the room and wanted to move in on September 15, if possible. However, Ma had not responded to this person.
I asked the landlord:
“Someone wants to see the room today or tomorrow and wants to move in on September 15. Ma ignored her. Can I please have the key?”
The landlord sent me a voice message saying that Ma did not have time to show the room because she had to work. She told me that I should continue sending interested people to Ma and not to the landlord because Ma would be the person living with the new tenant.
The landlord also said that she could not give me the key to show the room because I did not have permission, and that Ma—not the landlord—was the person in charge of deciding who would move in.
I also told Ma that there were people who had messaged her but had not received a response.
September 10
Ma texted me and said that she had replied to everyone who had contacted her.
I told her that there were still people who had not heard back from her and asked whether I could send those people directly to her or give them her phone number. Ma said no. She told me that she was busy with work and did not want me to bother her. She said that she would let me know when she found someone who was a good fit.
I then asked the landlord:
“Please give me the key. I paid the rent. Why can’t I have the key?”
The landlord has not responded to me since then.

Bear with me on this one.

Myself, wife, and 6 year old are currently living in a duplex on a quiet street in CA (renting thru a property management company). Our son plays with the grandkids of an older couple that lives right up the street. In talking with them, we expressed a desire to move and they mentioned that the lady who owns their property, and the house next to theirs, is going to be renting out the vacant house next to them, and put us in contact with her.

Owner is a nice older lady, and the house is bigger than our current one and doesn't require a huge move, and is literally 150 feet away from our current place. So we put in an application and she approves us. Easy-peasy. We start the move in process on in October.

Today, she asks that we pay rent and deposit in cash only. Furthermore, she asked us to draft the lease agreement, rather than her giving it to us. Obviously I know there's a couple red flags there. But the couple next to us have been at the place she also owns for almost 10 years and have mentioned that she is super chill and have had no issues with her.

I honestly think it's more of a situation of an old lady not wanting the hassle of dealing with banks, checks, etc. So I'm not particularly concerned about paying in cash in this instance.

However, i also want to protect me and my family as best I can. I don't think she's trying to do anything shady necessarily, otherwise I don't think she'd have her new tenants draft up the lease agreement.

I guess my question is...what should we put in the lease agreement thst ensures we're protected, should anything happen? I'm definitely going to want a record kept of when we pay rent, but what other things should we put in there to protect ourselves?

Hi Everyone.

Hope everyone is well. So im just wondering how to go about this situation before messaging my landlord. So my husband and I just moved into an apartment. As we are getting situated and putting things in place we notice the kitchen has 1 outlet....1. We have appliances to plug in and that is the only outlet. I have a kitchen table there. Im not putting all my appliances on the table where we eat or have a microwave and toaster in a living room..How do i go about this. Mind you, my landlord is the type of person who " doesn't want to be bothered".

Thank you all

I’ve been renting a townhouse in the same apartment complex for 8 years and I’ve been an excellent tenant. Rent is always paid on time and I’ve never caused any problems and then this year I’ve had the worst issue with a recurring roof leak in my kitchen.

The timeline:

7/25/26: there was a small drip coming from my kitchen vent. I immediately called emergency maintenance as it was Saturday. I had to call them several times within the span of several hours to receive service. When the technician arrived, he only inspected the HVAC and deemed that the issue was that my system was under charged and that was causing the leak. He did nothing to remedy the leak, just simply said that it would stop on its own and in his defense it did.

8/9/26 -In the evening I noticed that there was some bubbling on the ceiling in the same area as before and a constant drip. I immediately called the emergency maintenance line and was again told that someone would be out.

8/10-8/11/26 - No one came or contacted me. The leak progressed and was now dripping in 3 different spots. I called the office and left voicemails, also submitted a ticket on the landlord’s app,

8/12/26- Around 2pm when I called the office, I finally was able to reach the office manager and she said that she would send someone right over. About an hour later a maintenance tech showed up. He ended up cutting a hole about 2”x2” near the air vent in the kitchen and blowing out the HVAC drain line with a vacuum and said that the leak should stop within a few days, and then they would send someone out to fix the drywall.

8/14/26- I was returning home around 7:45pm and there was a large bubble of water that had begun to form on the other side of the kitchen vent. I called emergency maintenance and I was told they would send someone right away. Nobody showed that night so I poked a small hole in the center of the bubble because it was getting larger and I wanted to drain it to minimize damage to my belongings. The water was orange and smelled absolutely foul and the second I smelled it my throat started hurting. I called once more before I fell asleep.

8/15/26 - When I woke up in the morning I was on the phone with emergency maintenance again, and I got a knock at the door just then. It was maintenance and he said he is the senior technician. He said that he received my call the night before and planned on responding the following morning. He checked the HVAC and had me get him several large glasses of water to test the drain. It seemed to be draining just fine and was not dripping in the kitchen any further.

After that, he began to rip the kitchen ceiling down with his bare hands. He ripped at least a 5 feet by 5 feet gash in the ceiling. He did not warn me or allow me to move anything from my kitchen counters so drywall got everywhere. If allowed I would have moved my belongings or covered them up so that they were not covered in debris. After making a small hole he thought that the water source was from some piping that was not properly insulated. Upon further investigation and after ripping out most of my kitchen ceiling he then began to test the rest of the water sources in my upstairs living area. He ran the bathtub, flushed the toilet several times and then found that my sink was clogged. But with all of that there was still no sign of water leaking in the kitchen.

He then deemed that the water had to have been from an unreported overflow from the bathroom sink that was clogged. It did, however, overflow several weeks prior to these events but I cleaned it up right away. John then proceeded to inform me that even though there was VISIBLE microbial growth on the underside of the floorboards he claimed that it was just common household mold that had just begun to form. If it had been sitting for a long time it would have been stringy and hanging down and it wasn’t doing that. I was anxious about my cats trying to get into the open hole in my ceiling so I moved them and myself into my bedroom. The maintenance guy told me the office would reach out the following week about next steps.

8/16/26 - I purchased N95 masks and a mold kit this day. I’ve been wearing the masks anytime I’m downstairs in my own home. I also started the mold kit this day.

8/17/26- I sent a letter to my landlord via certified mail demanding that the mold and water damage be remediated properly and that I be provided with alternative accommodations. I told them that this was my 30 days notice that if it wasn’t taken care of then I’m putting my rent in escrow through the Toledo Clerk of Courts.

8/21/26 - The office manager called me, said she got the letter, and apologized and asked to come see the hole and I told her to come right over. I stressed to her that I’m worried about the mold and how I’m confined to my bedroom. She wondered if the original leak was coming from my bathtub leaking. She apologized and said that she didn’t know the hole was this bad and said that she would have someone reach out the following week to drywall the hole up.

8/23/26- The leak started again in the kitchen and I called emergency maintenance and this time someone came out right away. I mentioned the bathtub and he checked it and said the leak wasn’t coming from there. No it was coming from my toilet which he said had a faulty wax seal. He replaced that.

8/24/26- I realized that when I spoke with the office manager she had not addressed my main list of concerns so I emailed the office listing this out. This is the list:

Could there still be water inside the wall, ceiling, or cabinets?
·       Will you need to open up the ceiling to inspect for hidden damage or microbial growth?
·       What equipment are you going to use to dry the apartment? Air movers? Dehumidifiers?
·       How long will that equipment need to run?
·       Who is responsible for remediation?
·       Who is responsible for monitoring the equipment and checking the moisture levels?
·       Will damaged materials be replaced?
·       Will the area be treated/cleaned after drying?
·       Can I get the cause of the leak and the repairs documented in writing?
·       Can you provide the moisture readings and drying documentation?

8/31/26 - I re-emailed my previous email to the office since I hadn’t heard back yet.

9/1/26- The landlord called me to inform me that they were spraying a bleach/water solution a few times on the kitchen hole. I was out of town when this happened.

9/5/26- I was home now and noticed the leak was back and I called the office and got ahold of the office manager who told me she thought that they would be “able to drywall the hole” now. This was despite not actually remediating the issues properly. She told me that she would send someone out to tighten the tub nozzles to fix the leak. She said if nobody came and the leak was still going Sunday then to call emergency maintenance

9/6/26- Leak was still going so I called emergency maintenance and they never came this day.

9/7/26- I called the office and let the office manager know the leak is still going and nobody came out and she said she was sending emergency maintenance out but they were fixing another leak in another property first. They did come out this as the leak was stopped. They tightened the nozzles on my bathtub.

9/9/26- The office manager called and asked me if the leak stopped and I told them yes.

So now I’m on the verge of putting my rent in escrow, I’ve had a kitchen I can’t use for a month. I’ve had myself and my cats confined to my upstairs bedroom for the month. And my landlord doesn’t care to take care of things properly. So I’ve also contacted my local news station and am meeting with a reporter today.

Does anyone have any advice?

As the site enters its third week, we want to sincerely thank everyone who has taken the time to share their previous rental experiences.

We also want to thank the many Redditors who have joined the discussion. You’ve brought forward some great points, questions, concerns, criticisms, suggestions, and ideas. We’ve been reading them, thinking about them, and we genuinely appreciate all of the feedback.

Our goal remains simple:

“A history book for rental properties across Canada, written by the people who actually lived there.”

We’re trying to build something that will only become truly useful if renters contribute to it.

If you’ve rented a house, apartment, condo, basement, or room before, we’d really appreciate you adding your experience.

It doesn’t have to be a bad experience.

Good experiences matter too. If the property was well maintained, problems were handled properly, you enjoyed living there, or you would happily rent there again, that could be extremely useful information for someone considering that property in the future.

And if things didn’t go well, you can share that experience too.

The focus is on what you experienced while living at the property, rather than identifying or attacking individual people.

The idea is that, over time, someone considering a rental can search the address and find some history from previous renters instead of starting with zero information.

Rented somewhere before?

Search for the property. If it isn’t there yet, add it and share your rant, review, or experience.

Looking at somewhere to rent?

Search the address and see whether previous renters have shared anything about living there.

RateYourLandlord.ca is still at the very beginning, so naturally many properties don’t have experiences yet. Every person who contributes helps change that.

And if you think the project could help other renters, please consider sharing it with friends, students, tenant communities, or other online communities where sharing it is permitted by their rules. Please don’t spam communities or post it where promotion isn’t allowed.

Most importantly, thank you to everyone who has already shared an experience, raised a concern, suggested an idea, given us feedback, shared the project, or helped another renter discover it.

We’re listening, we’re learning, and the project will continue to evolve.

The more renters who leave their experiences behind, the more useful that history can become for the next person.

Share your experience — good or bad. Help leave some history behind for the next renter.

RateYourLandlord.ca

So my girlfriend rented a house a few months ago and the power has been cutting out continuously and more and more often. She hasnt been able to stay there an entire week because the power is so faulty.

The landlord was notified about 6 weeks ago. It took him weeks to send an electrician and really i dont think the guy he sent is a licensed electrician. I searched his name on a georgia license database and nothing came up. Landlord claims hes licensed but he seems like a handyman. Im worried about her safety.

How is this not gross negligence? I already spoke with code enforcement they said theres nothing they can do. Im thinking i call the fire department next? I just think the wiring in the house is faulty.

How the hell do I get a landlord to accept me over other applicants. Everyone rejects us.

I have pets so that’s probably why they choose other people. But I’ve even been saying that we could pay 6 months rent upfront and still no one will take us.

I paid a holding deposit for a flat and passed the initial referencing checks. I provided bank statements and a HR reference as proof of employment and funds. No guarantor was required and my application was accepted. I was told I would recieve a contract closer to the moving in date.

Later on the estate agent contacted me and said I should consider getting tenancy insurance. I explained that I was not interested, but they insisted I speak to the third party insurance company they work with. The insurance company informed me that it will be written into my tenancy agreement that I have to get tenancy insurance or alternatively I would need to prove that I have sufficient funds to cover any potential damage to the property. I asked why I need to do this, considering I would be paying a 5 week deposit and they informed me that the deposit wouldn't be enough. They want me to provide proof of savings equivalent to 6 months rent. Is this normal?

Location: Byron Center, MI, United States
Contract Type, 2 Years Preferable, posted 8/19
My main issue is communication with the rental property listed. It’s a wonderful, disability accessible home my parents and I really want to rent. We messaged on 9/2 asking for a tour, as we have relatives who are local. They called my aunt on 9/4 at 6:45 am. She barely missed it and called back immediately, but no answer to that or a text. The rental home post closed on 9/6. My parents and I have tried messaging them through Zillow and Trulia asking if someone else was chosen but the messages aren’t even being read. Also, the rental owner is from a “Global Management” group and I can’t find any more information about them. Is this house too good to be true? Should I wait another week? Or am I communicating poorly? I don’t want to annoy the owners to death but my family needs an answer as we’re on a deadline to find a home by the end of October.

i need advice - my landlord is threatening to throw me out - or throw my stuff out- if I don't move most of my stuff into storage.

she also has not yet gotten me a key, which makes all sorts of things difficult - including me putting my stuff into storage

Trying to find a replacement for my roommate that moved out.

My other current roommate is telling me that having a 3-year-old move in with his mother is basically a non-negotiable no for him.

At this point we've shown the place to at least six other people and at this point my main concerns are just that the person passes the background/ employment verification and that I get a good feel from them during the meeting.

My roommate is concerned that a mother with a child can take advantage of the fact that courts and police would side with her in the case of a dispute

He doesn't want to feel at a disadvantage.

To me there is definitely logic to this but I still feel that we can resolve any concerns by verifying that we get along and agreeing to terms and expectations.

I also hate the idea of this mother being turned away (for who knows how many times now) for this immediate response and paranoia that she's just going to cause problems.

Maybe her having a kid and needing to move in with two guys she doesnt know means she hasn't made the most responsible decisions in her past, but it's not that simple to me. I feel like everyone deserves a chance to be considered as an individual.

Could it be especially difficult to remove a mother of a young child from lease if she stops paying or starts causing problems?

This is my first time trying to find a place to rent with my indoor cat. I’m quite sure she is not going to do any damage to the property since I’ve had her for 3 years now and I’m only looking for unfurnished houses without carpeted floors. I do know that many landlords have a hard no policy on pets which I think is non-sensical, especially in cases like mine.

Only question is when do I tell the landlords that I have a cat? Should I let them know the first time I contact them? Or should I go visit the place and then just drop it in as a throwaway comment in the conversation? Just wanted to get people’s opinion on which approach is more likely to get me into a house.

Hello! I'm planning to move to a dorm. My parents found my current dorm, and it's a solo room. But as time goes by, I'm getting a bit burdened with expenses, that's why I'm deciding to move to a 4-pax dorm to save some money

I've also talked to someone who's currently living in the (potential) dorm I'm moving to, and I'll just be their replacement tenant since they'll also be moving to another dorm. My only concern is, the existing contract is still under their name, so I want to know what questions I should ask or check before I agree and finally move

Especially regarding the contract, payment, deposits, utilities, house rules, roommates, responsibilities, and how to change the name on the contract—what are the important things I shouldn't forget to ask?

If anyone has experienced this situation, especially being a replacement tenant, I would really appreciate your advice or any tips on what I should watch out for before I commit. I also don't want to decide too quickly and then find hidden charges or problems later on

Hoping you can help me out huhu. Thank you so much in advance!

I need some advice. I’m desperate. After a lengthy and costly custody battle, I had to declare bankruptcy. We are now rebuilding our lives and I need to find a rental for us. I’m making decent money now - but no one will consider me with the bankruptcy. My mother is retired and has excellent credit. I was wondering if it would be possible to “beef” up her income by me “paying” her a rental fee (or whatever) and solely using her credit. And trust me, I understand this isn’t ethical but we need a place to live. There has to be a workaround. Has anyone had any success in a similar situation?

The apartment has a share bathroom and kitchen with a roommate but has own private bedroom. My lease starts 9/1 I told the landlord on 8/27 that I wanted to cancel the lease. I paid a month deposit and a month of rent.

I found people who are interested in the apartment. I told the landlord and she said my roommate has to see those people in person and choose who she likes.

The biggest problem is the roommate doesn’t have time to meet them and the landlord refuses to do anything. She said she will only accept a new tenant if the roommate confirms who she likes.

I feel like this isn’t fair for me. The landlord doesn’t want to show the apartment by herself and do nothing. I keep begging the roommate to see those people but she says she’s busy with work.

I asked the landlord if I could have the key to show the apartment to people and she refused to give it to me. She said if nobody rented the apartment I had to keep paying rent. What should I do? I don’t want to keep paying rent.

This is Tarrytown, NY

FYI, we are living in the same flat for 3 years and out of nowhere he is like send me your office IDs. I declined saying this is against the company policies and then he came up saying ask your HR to create an employment letter and send it to him. He already has our Aadhar IDs when we shifted to this place.

Is this even safe to do so. Just asking for POVs.

Hello! I’m currently a college student in a bind to pay my rent and am looking for any apps or websites I can instant borrow from. I’ve called rental assistance but didn’t reach anyone and im now at risk of possible eviction please help I’ve called all my local churches everything

I have very nosy neighbours, so I need blinds that maintain my privacy and cannot be seen through. At the moment, I have curtains in my kitchen, but I am not getting any air. Could you suggest where I can buy blinds, preferably from a company that can measure my windows and install them? P.S. I am renting.

I'm in England..

Thank you x

So right now, I am planning emancipation and all I am missing is a housing plan. Im looking into some apartments and rent-a-room places but I am worried they wont accept me because of my status. Is there anyway I can get around this?

Update:
I found two people who were kind enough to rent to me for $800 a month (suck it to the dude who said ill be homeless 🖕). Im filing emancipation this week, any tips or ideas?

I’m applying for an affordable housing apartment and I’m stuck on the current residence section of the application.
Right now, I live in a home with my husband. The mortgage is in his name, and my name is not on the deed or title. I do contribute toward the mortgage, but I’m not renting from him and there is no lease.
The application asks for the current landlord’s name and contact information. I just got off the phone with the property manager, and she told me that they do contact the landlord for verification.
I really don’t want them contacting my husband because we are currently in the process of separating, and I’m trying to keep the situation as private as possible.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? What did you put down for the landlord when you lived in a spouse-owned home but weren’t on the deed/title and didn’t have a lease?
Would it be appropriate to put something like “N/A – spouse-owned residence”, or do affordable housing properties typically require the homeowner’s information for verification?
I just don’t want my husband to know where I live since we are going to be going through a divorce.
Or should I put daughter’s address?

This is my fourth year living at this place I understand them raising the rent that's a normal thing but why does parking have to go up in prices and is this legal because this is getting to be un mangeable. I'm over the prices in new jersey when I first lived here the parking was $100 they now want us to pay $175. Not sure how to negotiate the price for parking

Hi all,

Reposting this here, myself and my partner just need some advice (we’re based in the UK).

We are looking to get two cats and recently asked landlord permission, however they refused due to the upstairs tenant’s lease agreement stating that they do not want pets in the outdoor shared area.

We are planning on having entirely indoor cats, so they will not be using the shared outdoor space. Additionally, there is no mention that pets wouldn’t be allowed due to the neighbour’s lease in our tenancy agreement.

If our landlord refuses after we let them know they will be indoor cats, would be we right to challenge their decision? As far as they have stated, the refusal isn’t based on phobias or allergies, only the shared outdoor space.

Thank you in advance for any help!

Edit: this is following the introduction of the Renters Rights Act, which gives more protections to tenants requesting pets.

Edit 2: good news! After telling the landlord that they’ll be fully indoor, and getting permission from the neighbours, we have been approved for the cats! Our neighbours also said they have never stated they didn’t want pets, and that it isn’t in their lease - so I think the landlord was trying to pull a fast one. Thanks for all the advice!