Finding housing in a foreign city is a great reason to panic. Especially if we are talking about a metropolis, the choice of options in which the chances of going broke on this item of expenses are very large. Real estate in the big cities of America is not cheap. Many Americans and emigrants have lived here their whole lives without buying their own roof over their heads. But most of them do not focus on this issue at all and live peacefully in the rented space. Let’s try to find out in detail how to rent an apartment in New York in 2023 profitably and without incident.
How are the relations between the owner and tenant of housing regulated
In New York, there are many apartments that are rented directly, and not always by an individual, but by a company. When choosing tenants, both of them prefer people who have a stable income and a good credit history. The disadvantage of the arriving migrants is that they do not have such a history at all.
An income that is 4 times higher than the cost of rent (the so-called 40x rule) is considered sufficient. For example, to rent an apartment for $2,000, you need to earn at least $80,000 a year.
Before renting housing in America, you need to collect all the documents that can confirm stability and solvency:
- statements from bank accounts;
- tax certificates;
- confirmation of all available sources of income, etc.
The main task is to prove that you will not run out of money in a month. A good way out of the situation would be a guarantor from someone from the local area – a US citizen or a green card holder , or payment for half a year’s rent.
As an option, you can rent an apartment in New York for a week or two, while the search for a primary residence will take place. An important rule is to accommodate the owner of the apartment. Otherwise, even if you have funds and a good credit history, no one will rent you an apartment.
At the same time, the rights of tenants in America are protected by law. For example, a tenant can be evicted, even if he has stopped paying, only on the basis of a court decision. This process is very bureaucratic and expensive.
Measures in the form of changing door locks, turning off electricity and other techniques with the aim of evicting a resident are a violation of the law.
What documents are required to issue a housing lease
Renting real estate in New York involves signing a contract and providing a certain package of documents on the part of the tenant. Most often, owners request a standard set:
- Identity card – ID, passport, etc.
- Contacts at the previous place of rental.
- A letter from the company where the potential resident works. It should indicate the position, term of employment, salary level, bonuses and bonuses received by the employee.
- Paychecks for the last two months.
- Tax declarations for the previous 2 years.
- Bank statements for the last 2 months.
- Information on other income and assets.
All of the above should be prepared in advance and always have with you. To rent an apartment in the center of New York at an attractive price, you need to be prepared for tough competition, so it will be a shame if the deal falls through because of the lack of documents.
If the candidate meets all the requirements, he will have to immediately pay for the first month of rent and leave a security deposit with the owner, the amount of which is equal to the monthly rent.
If the tenant stops paying the bills, the owner of the apartment can turn to the person who acted as his guarantor to collect the debt.
We draw up a contract
The obligations and rights of the parties are fixed by the contract. It can be downloaded from the LegalTemplates website . The contract is an official document that regulates the relationship between the landlord and the tenant.
Having decided where to settle in New York, you can proceed to the question of what information should be reflected in the agreement:
- Signing date.
- Name and surname of the owner of the real estate.
- Personal data of the tenant.
- Type of housing (apartment, house, room, etc.).
- The address where the housing is located: state, city, district, street, building and apartment number.
- The term of housing lease, which will depend on the list of duties assigned to both signatories. Based on this criterion, contracts are divided into fixed and non-fixed. Fixed contracts are most often concluded for a year. Non-fixed contracts do not have an end date, are concluded for a month and are automatically renewed for a new monthly term.
- The amount of rent. Here it is necessary to indicate whether a price change is possible in the future.
- The amount of the deposit and the conditions under which it can be used.
- Who pays utility bills.
It is also necessary to include additional clauses in the contract, which will include:
- Can the tenant make changes to the interior of the apartment, such as repainting the walls or installing an alarm system.
- Is it possible to receive guests for a short time.
- How many sets of keys will each of the parties have.
- You can keep animals in the apartment.
- Can the owner make minor repairs in the absence of the resident.
- You can smoke in the apartment.
- The tenant has the right to sublease the apartment.
The dispute resolution procedure is a mandatory clause of the contract. The parties must agree in advance how they will get out of difficult situations – in court (Small Claim Courts) or through peaceful negotiations. It should be specified who will pay the court costs if the case does go to court.
Additional items include:
- Availability of furniture.
- Parking space.
- The possibility of buying a home in the future.
- How long must the parties notify each other if they want to terminate the relationship.
- The possibility of contract extension.
It is necessary to prepare 2 copies of the document, which must be signed by both parties.
Types of housing
In New York, it is customary to distinguish three types of apartment buildings by type of ownership:
Rental Building – a rental building. It is assumed that all apartments in it are intended for occupancy by tenants. Formally, the building may appear on the balance sheet of any company, but the actual owner may be either a private person or a group of investors, a foundation, and others. Such a house is managed and rented out by a company specially hired for this purpose. Considering the fact that the rental of housing is the main activity of the management company, the issue of choosing residents is resolved very quickly, which means that the whole process looks somewhat simpler. To apply for an apartment, you need to fill out an application form, attach the necessary documents to it and wait 2-3 days for a decision to be made. In addition, you will have to pay a credit history check (approximately $100-120 per person), in some cases there is a fee for reviewing a package of papers ($200-500).
Condominium or condo – condominium. Such houses are very common. Each apartment has its own owner (most often a private person), which means that he makes the decision about who will live on his living space. Communication with the resident and resolution of organizational issues is carried out through an agent. A feature of this type of housing is the need to negotiate not only with the owner of the apartment, but also with the condominium council. This procedure is formal in nature (the council cannot refuse), but it is mandatory. To go through the procedure, you need to fill out a special form and add your documents to it. The process can take from 7 to 30 days. Additional fees: credit check – $100-120, review of documents by the management company – $300-800, review of documents by the condominium board – $300-800.
Cooperative or coop – cooperative. The owner of the house is the company, and the owners of the apartments located in it own the shares of this company. The process of renting housing in such a building is very similar to that typical for a condominium. The difference is that the board has the power to refuse. In addition, there will be a larger package of documents required for consideration, and a personal interview will be required. Everything can take several weeks. The total amount of additional payments is $700-1,500. If you are interested in a studio apartment in New York in a cooperative, you should remember that the period of residence may be limited, for example, to two years, if the owner of the apartment has owned it for no more than 5 years.
How to look for housing
There are many ways to find suitable housing. In this case, all means to achieve the goal are good:
- groups in social networks and forums;
- announcements in newspapers;
- personal acquaintances and connections;
- specialized sites on the Internet.
You can find a lot of electronic resources online. These can be sites of real estate companies, as well as sites of residential complexes, condominiums, rental houses.
If you know exactly where you want to live, send a request to the council of a particular building. For those who have not yet decided, general bases, where information from landlords from all over the city is posted, are more suitable.
Here are some popular resources:
- streeteasy.com is a popular real estate site in New York. Here you can find offers from owner agents, as well as the most current and exclusive options. Information is updated very quickly, so there are almost no outdated ads;
- craiglist.org – all types of real estate are represented here: apartments, penthouses, apartments in condominiums, private sector. Filters allow you to sort ads by publication date;
- The myspacenyc.com site has ads for renting apartments, rooms, and selling housing.
To receive a newsletter about new options, you need to register on the resource. This will allow you not to miss good offers.
Whether this search will be your first experience in New York or your fifth, it will not be superfluous to start working with an agent. It will help you go all the way without unnecessary mistakes, nerves and money costs.
But do not forget that the owner of the apartment also often has an agent. There can be several scenarios for the payment of commissions:
- did not use the services of an agent, found housing without a commission – do not pay anything to anyone:
- do not use the services of an agent, but found an apartment whose owner works through an intermediary – you will have to pay about one month’s rent;
- you use the services of an agent, but found housing without a commission – in this case, you will also have to give your assistant an amount equal to the monthly rent;
- both parties work through agents – in this case, the tenant pays 15% of the annual rent (this is a payment for 1.8 months). Brokers will split commissions 50/50.
Overview of the city districts
Districts of the city are called “boroughs”. This concept is much broader than just “district”. It provides for a completely independent administrative unit that is part of the New York conglomerate. There are five such boroughs in the city.
For those who are interested in the prestigious areas of New York, it will be important to know that the primacy in terms of standard of living and well-being belongs to Manhattan. The most expensive homes here are located in the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, which are two areas near Central Park.
- Former residents do not recommend the Bronx. He is considered the poorest not only in New York, but also in America as a whole. It is dangerous to walk its streets at night.
- But there is such an area in Manhattan, it is called Bower. City lodgings, bars, dens are concentrated here. There are almost no locals here, and migrants, even if they get here, try to leave as soon as possible.
- The golden mean between the Bronx and Manhattan is Brooklyn. This is what made it one of the most densely populated areas on the map of the Big Apple. There are many emigrants here, who are attracted by affordable housing prices. This area was initially inhabited by Jews, and later migrants from the CIS began to come here, who chose the street of Brighton Beach.
- The best areas of New York for living in terms of real estate prices are Queens and Staten Island. And although these places have little resemblance to the New York that you are used to seeing in the movies, you can rent housing here at reasonable prices.
How long can you rent a house?
Renting apartments is conditionally divided into 2 categories – short-term and long-term. A period from one day to a year is considered short-lived.
You can also consider the option of renting for up to 30 days: it is regulated by law. After 2016, it became possible to rent housing for a period of up to 30 days, provided that the owner will live in the same apartment.
Renting apartments for a long term involves contractual relations from 12 to 24 months. The possibility of further removal of housing should be discussed with the owner at the stage of contract preparation. Otherwise, you may face the fact that the owner did not plan to rent out the apartment for a long period.
Prices for rented accommodation
The cost of renting an apartment depends not so much on its size, but on the area where it is located and on the type of building. It can happen that a room in Manhattan will cost about the same as a two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn.
The price can also be affected by:
- number of rooms;
- orderliness;
- availability of heating;
- floor;
- infrastructure of nearby neighborhoods;
- proximity of transport junctions.
The cheapest apartment in New York can appear in inexpensive areas – Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island. For example, a bed here today can cost $300-400, a room – from $600.
On average, prices by district look like this:
| Area | The price for a one-room apartment, in $ for 1 month |
|---|---|
| Brooklyn | 600-900 (the closer to Manhattan, the more expensive) |
| Queens | 1,000-1,300 |
| Staten Island | from 1,700 |
| Bronx | 300-1000 |
| Manhattan | 1,800-15,000 |
You can rent an apartment in Manhattan inexpensively closer to the neighborhood – the average price is 1,600-1,800 dollars. In the area of 34th Street and 7th Avenue, prices can jump to $4,000.
The most expensive housing in the Central Park area is from $12,000.
Individual houses in the private sector are of interest to those who move with their families. You need to be prepared for the fact that you will not have to live in the city center, and for movement it is best to immediately think about cars.
Many migrants move to Staten Island, which today is a relatively quiet place with green streets and parks. How much it costs to rent a house in the USA, in particular in New York, depends on its size and orderliness. The monthly fee starts at $2,000.
Questions and answers
Already at the stage of searching for tenants, there are many questions about renting a house in the Great Apple. Let’s consider the main ones:
- What will have to be paid in addition to the rent? The rent usually does not include: metered gas and electricity, Internet, TV, maintenance of order and mowing of lawns in the area adjacent to the house. In some cases, they charge money for a place to store a bicycle. Parking is almost always paid separately.
- Does the apartment have a kitchen and furniture? Kitchen in New York is a very conventional concept. It is usually located in a large room, which is divided into zones: living room, dining room and kitchen itself. There is usually no furniture. Even if you saw it in the photo, most likely it belongs to the previous residents. Furnished apartments are usually rented out in cooperatives and condominiums.
- Is it possible to negotiate when concluding a contract? Bargaining is appropriate. It is important that, while the owner is thinking about your offer, there is no other resident who is ready to rent the apartment at the initial price.
- How long does the search take? The apartment is usually put on the market a month before the residents move in. It is better to start the search at least 1-2 months before the expected date of entry.
- What is better to buy on credit or rent? Buying and owning your own home will be slightly cheaper than renting an apartment. But you need to be sure that your income will always remain stable, that you will not lose your job and will be able to meet your monthly obligations.
It doesn’t hurt to know
It is better to go to see the options in person. Do not trust photos on the Internet too much – they can be fake. If the real photos are not presentable or they are not there at all, agents can use other people’s pictures to sell the house faster.
A foreigner who is not familiar with the specifics of life in New York can easily fall into the hands of fraudsters. If you are offered to transfer some amount to the card as an advance payment, and the keys will allegedly be delivered later, do not agree.
It would be ideal to sign a contract directly with the owner. If not, then you need to find an exclusive agent. He usually has a special right to dispose of apartments in certain buildings: it means that you can try to knock down the price and the amount of commissions.
After choosing a place to live in New York inexpensively, be ready to sign a contract and pay a deposit. It is important that the owner gives you a receipt, which will indicate in writing the contribution received by him, the address of the apartment, the surnames and first names of both parties.
It is also necessary to specify whether the apartment has furniture and air conditioning. You can take photos of already existing malfunctions and breakdowns. Ask about the neighbors in advance – sometimes this moment can play a decisive role in making a decision.
Useful vocabulary
In the search process, you may need the following words and expressions:
| English version | Translation |
|---|---|
| Lease | Rent from the owner |
| Sublease | Sublease |
| Sublet | Short-term rental |
| Studio | Studio apartment |
| 1,2,3-bedroom apartment | 1,2,3-room apartment |
| Basement | Semi-basement |
| Brownstone | The house, the facade of which is made of red-brown brick |
| Renovated | After repair |
| Unfurnished | No furniture |
| Laundry | Laundry |
| Utilities | Utility payments |
| Amenities | Amenities |
| 420 friendly | Tolerant attitude to the use of cannabis |
| Pet-friendly | It is allowed to live with animals |
| Short term rent | Short-term rental |
| FOOD | Air conditioning |
| Roommate | Neighbor in the apartment |
| Queer friendly | A gay couple is allowed to move in. |
Results
The issue of housing in New York must be decided a month or two before the intended entry. But in order to rent an apartment, you will have to show your credit history and income, which should be several times higher than the rent.
The relationship between the resident and the lessor is prescribed in the contract. The lease term is usually 1-2 years. The price depends on the area. The most expensive housing is located in Manhattan.