12 questions to ask a landlord before you sign a lease

A lease viewing is a strange kind of interview. You are being assessed, so you behave like a candidate: polite, agreeable, reluctant to seem difficult. Meanwhile the person across from you holds every piece of information that will determine whether the next two years of your life are comfortable or miserable.

The questions below are the ones tenants tell us they wish they had asked. None of them are rude. All of them are answerable in a sentence, and how they get answered tells you more than the answer itself.

On repairs and maintenance

1. What is the typical turnaround on a non-emergency repair? A landlord who runs a tight operation will have a number. One who does not will change the subject.

2. Who actually does the work, in-house staff or a contractor you call? In-house maintenance staff usually means faster small repairs. A contractor relationship means you are queued behind everyone else on their books.

3. What counts as an emergency, and what is the after-hours process? Get the definition before the boiler dies in February, not after.

On access and inspections

4. How often do you inspect the property, and how much notice do you give? Inspection frequency is one of the most common complaints tenants raise on RentersBook. Some leases permit far more access than tenants expect, and the gap only becomes obvious once you are living there.

5. Will you give notice in writing? Verbal notice is difficult to dispute later. Written notice is a record.

On money

6. When was the rent last increased, and by how much? Past behaviour is the best predictor here. A landlord who has raised rent modestly and predictably for a decade is a different proposition from one who has not.

7. What is the average monthly utility cost for this unit specifically? Not the building average. The unit. Older units with poor insulation can run dramatically higher than the estimate you are quoted at signing.

8. What is the deposit return process, and what is your typical timeline? Ask for the number of days. Ask whether you get an itemised list.

On the building and the neighbours

9. Who handles snow removal and grounds upkeep, and how quickly? In a cold-weather city this is a safety question, not a convenience one.

10. Are the amenities under warranty or a service contract? A gym and a laundry room are only worth what their maintenance schedule says they are worth.

11. Has there been a noise complaint about this unit or the ones adjacent to it? You may not get a straight answer, but the hesitation is informative.

The one that matters most

12. Can I speak to the tenant who is leaving? A landlord with nothing to hide will usually say yes. If the answer is no, that is worth weighing, and it is exactly the gap real reviews exist to close.

Do the homework the other way round too

Every one of these questions is a version of the same request: show me the record. That record now exists. Before your next viewing, look the landlord and the property up, read what previous tenants actually experienced, and walk in already knowing which of the twelve questions you need pressed hardest.