How to rent a house in America

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides official advice on rental housing in the United States.

Фото: Depositphotos

Find such housing in several ways:

• Pay attention to the Apartment Available (free apartment) or For Rent (rented) signs hanging on buildings.
• Ask friends, relatives, and colleagues — perhaps they know about rental housing.
• Look out for "For Rent" signs in public places, such as bulletin boards at your local library, grocery stores, and community centers.
• Search for rental information online. If you do not have a computer at home, you can use the computer at your local public library.
• Look for information in the Property Management section of the yellow pages of the telephone directory. These are companies that rent apartments and houses. These companies may charge you for help finding housing.
• View newspapers in the Classifieds section. Find the Apartments for Rent (Homes for Rent) and Homes for Rent pages. Information on rented houses and apartments will be presented here.
• Contact your local real estate agency.

For more information, call 311.

In many cities and small towns, you can call 311 to get information about non-emergency public services. For example, ask a question about garbage collection or ask your sidewalk site to be repaired. In some cities, 311 services are not provided. Contact your city office to find out if 311 services are available in your area.

How is the rental of housing

This section describes the various steps you may encounter before moving into your new home.

Statement of rental housing. People renting housing are called tenants. As a tenant, you either rent a house directly from the landlord (landlord, property owner) or through a property manager (property manager, person in charge of the property).

A landlord or property manager may suggest that you fill out a rental application form that confirms that you have the means to pay the rent. The application form may need to include your social security number and show proof that you have a job.

You can use your permanent resident card if you do not yet have a social security number or you can present a pay stub as proof of your job.

In addition, you may be asked to pay a small fee for submitting an application. If you do not have a job yet, you may have to ask someone to sign a rental agreement with you. This person is called a guarantor. If you yourself are not able to pay the rent, the guarantor will have to do this.

Signing a lease agreement (Lease). If the landlord agrees to rent you a house, you sign a lease.

A lease is a legal document. By signing a lease agreement, you agree to pay the rent in a timely manner and rent a house within a specified time. Most rental contracts are for one year. You can also find housing for a shorter period - for example, for one month. With a shorter term rental housing provides higher fees.

By signing a rental agreement, you agree to keep your home clean and in good condition. Damage to the accommodation you are renting may incur additional charges. The lease agreement may also indicate the number of people who are allowed to live in the room.

Security Deposit. When entering a new home, tenants usually pay a deposit. This deposit is usually a monthly rent. You will get your deposit back if you leave it in a clean and serviceable condition when evicting from the occupied housing. Otherwise, the landlord may partially or fully withhold the amount of the deposit to pay for cleaning or repairs.

Before you enter a house or apartment, inspect the new housing. Notify the homeowner of any problems identified.

Before you leave your apartment, talk to the landlord and find out what you need to fix or where you need to clean to get the full amount of the deposit back.

Payment of other expenses related to rental housing. In some cases, the rent for a house or apartment includes the cost of utilities such as gas, electricity, heating, water, and garbage collection. In other cases, you must pay these costs separately.

When looking for a home, ask homeowners if the rent includes the cost of utilities. If utilities are included, then by signing the lease, make sure that it is reflected in it. If utilities are not included in the rent, find out how much they will cost before signing the contract.

The cost of certain types of utilities may be higher in summer (for example, use of an air conditioner) or in winter (heating). Tenant insurance is also available, sometimes called tenant insurance. This insurance protects your personal belongings, offers liability protection and may cover additional living expenses if the accommodation you rent is destroyed or damaged.

Termination of the lease. Termination of a lease agreement is termination of a lease agreement. If you want to terminate your contract earlier than expected, you may have to pay a monthly rent until the end of the lease term, even if you don’t already live there.

In addition, if you leave your home before the lease expires, you may lose your security deposit. Before you move out, give your homeowner a written notice informing him or her that you are ready to move out.

Most homeowners require advance notice that you intend to leave your apartment no less than 30 days.

Before you sign a rental agreement, make sure that you understand all of its conditions, and specify how many days you must give notice to the landlord before you move out.

Contact your homeowner for home repairs

Homeowners are required to maintain a rental house or apartment in a safe and sound condition.

If the property you are renting requires repair:

1. Talk to your landlord first. Tell him or her about the nature of the problem and how to solve it. If your landlord is not responding, write him / her a letter telling you about your problem. Keep a copy of this letter with you.
2. If your landlord still does not respond to your request, contact your local housing office. Most city and local governments have employees who inspect homes for deficiencies. Ask the housing office to send an inspector to visit your home. Point out the deficiencies to the inspector
3. And finally, if the landlord does not fix the problem, you will have the opportunity to sue him / her.

Know your rights

Discrimination in the rental of housing is prohibited. Homeowners do not have the right to refuse to give you housing based on your personal characteristics.

The law prohibits homeowners from refusing to give you housing based on:

• your race or color;
• your country of origin;
• your creed;
• your gender;
• your physical disabilities;
• your marital status.

If you consider that you were denied the delivery of housing on the basis of any of the above reasons, you have the right to contact the US Department of Housing and Urban Development by calling: 1-800-669-9777 or 1-800-927- 9275 (for people with impaired hearing).

You can also file a complaint in the Fair Housing section of the website at www.hud.gov. Information is available in several languages.

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