Housing Search Checklist

What kind of rental unit do you want to live in?

• Studio, 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-bedroom apartment
• Apartment in a private home
• Room in a shared or private home

What are your transportation needs?

• Within walking distance
• On a Gallaudet shuttle route
• On a Metro bus/rail route
• Using carpool or vanpool
• Near a shopping center or job site

What amenities are essential?

• Furnished or unfurnished?
• Accessibility
• Private room
• Private bathroom
• Smoking or non-smoking?
• Dishwasher
• Washer and dryer in the unit
• Air conditioning
  • Window unit or central air?
• Parking
  • On-street or off-street?
• Pets

What is your budget?

• Sharing with others will lower your housing costs
• Rooms in a student or private house tend to be least expensive
• Do you need/want to buy furniture?
• Don’t forget to include utilities and other charges when working out how much you can afford to spend on rent

How long do you want to lease the unit?

• Longer leases reduce your flexibility but offer a degree of legal protection.
• Rooms that don’t carry a lease offer maximum flexibility, but you may find you are asked to move out with little or no notice

Housing Search

• Make sure you visit the unit before signing any rental agreement
• Consider asking the landlord to write any required repairs into the lease
• Check the security of the unit
• Check the fire safety of the unit and emergency exit routes (a smoke detector is required by law)
• Arrange for internet service and utilities to be connected and ready when you move in

After You Move In

• Complete a thorough inventory of the unit, and give a copy to your landlord.
• Make sure you buy renters insurance.
• Consider buying additional fire safety equipment, such as fire extinguisher and fire blankets etc.
• Always get a written or emailed receipt for your rent.