How many months does it take to rent an apartment?

Vacancy (I generally plan on a 1 month vacancy per apartment, per year. If I luck out and no one moves out that year or if the empty apartment gets rented quicker, I consider it gravy.) 7.

How long does a landlord have to fix a problem?

This may be a housing or building agency or a health or fire department. The inspector will investigate and give the landlord a notice of violation and a deadline, typically 30 to 60 days, to correct the problem.

What happens if you buy an apartment with a tenant?

Whether you buy a house or apartment building with tenants, the same rules apply. No one is going to throw you out in the street without due process, and if they attempt to do so, there are laws and tenant support agencies in place to protect your rights.

Can a landlord close a building on short notice?

The deadline may be shortened for extremely serious violations—and in some cases, health fire, or building inspectors may actually close your building on very short notice. A landlord’s failure to abide by the correction order might result in fines and even imprisonment.

What makes an apartment an illegal rental unit?

If the tenant is sharing the utility bills (gas, electric, water, etc.) with the landlord, or the landlord is paying for the utilities entirely, the rental unit may be illegal. This is a sign because it means that the rental unit is not being separately metered.

When does a rental unit have a plumbing problem?

In the context of a plumbing problem, your rental unit likely will be considered uninhabitable if it has inadequate sanitation, if the plumbing facilities are not in good working order, if you do not have hot and cold running water or if your system is not properly connected to a sewage disposal system.

Is it illegal to have a rental unit without an address?

No address or way of receiving mail. Most of the time, a rental unit that does not have its own address is illegal. Also, if there is not a method for the tenant to receive mail, like their own mailbox, then the unit is probably illegal. Make sure you are aware of landlords’ mailbox requirements as well.

What makes an apartment unfit to live in?

Residential landlords generally need to “maintain their rental units in a safe, operable, and sanitary condition,” explains attorney Stanley A. Brooks, who specializes in Boston, MA, real estate law. With that said, what makes a place unfit to live in varies from state to state, but there are some general rules of thumb.