In this article, one of our Buddies explains the 5 most important questions that one should ask and clarify well before signing a contract with the landlord

1. How is the rent split between all the utilities and expenses?

One must be aware when looking for a room in different platforms, on the types of rent mentioned – Warm or Cold. Warmmiete (Warm rent) includes heating expenses. In some cases, it also includes water and electricity expenses. 

2. Should I make a separate contract for electricity with a provider?

If electricity is not included in the rent, then you might have to take a new contract with an electricity provider. In many cases, the contract will be already made by the owner’s name and the expenses will be transferred to the owner. If you are renting from a company (which manages the apartment/building), they might have specific providers for the whole building and you might have to make a contract with them.

3. Will the room/apartment be rented furnished?

Most of the pictures you see in the offers are with furniture. But you have to be very sure whether the previous tenant or the owner will leave ALL or SOME or NO furniture for you. You can also notice a cost for buying the old furniture in the offer. This could be later transferred to the new tenant once you move out.

4. Proof of the owner and apartment

It is very essential to see the documents (ID Proof) of the landlord as well as the apartment registration documents. Since there are quite a lot of scams in this ecosystem, one must ensure that the apartment belongs to the landlord (or an authorized person).

5. Cooking style

Ensure that your cooking habit/style is ok with your landlord and/or your flatmates. We have already shared the experience of one of the newbies in which he had to leave the apartment in a week because of his cooking style. 

MyHelpBuddy is a trusted community marketplace for newbies to ask any help in day-to-day activities like visa mentoring, relocation, supermarket tour, assistance in room search, city tours, translation, accompanying someone to the Foreign Registration Office, technical work, application preparation, airport pickup and orientation, and many more. If you would need help in any of the categories you can join us and share your request.