This is an attempt to start a FAQ on housing.

I know many folk here may not be able to sign a lease until they are 18, but its never too soon to make plans, and hopefully this info will be helpful someday.

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Housing

Housing is, basically, a building, or a part of a building, that someone lives in. If they own the building, or that part of the building, no problem. If someone else owns it, they must get their permission to live there.

If an agreement is reached with the owner, the person may live there. But, people have had problems with these agreements and business relationships, so now there's government regulations on this.

For the agreement to be legal, basically there must be a written Contract. These contracts are commonly called Leases, or Rental Agreements.Both the owner and the renter must sign.These contracts have terms, sometimes, a lot of terms. So - Always Read Them. Always, Always, read everything you sign, well before you sign it.

Some important terms are

1. how much money is paid in exchange to live there
2. the length of time this contract for (1 month, 6 months, or a year, etc.)

Payments are usually made on a monthly basis, and called Rent.

However, Security Deposits are also usually required.

A Security Deposit is additional money paid to the landlord who holds onto it, and is supposed to pay it back to the renter at the end of the contract if everything goes right. If something goes wrong,the landlord will keep some, or all, of the security deposit to cover the costs. This includes:

1. If the renter fails to pay their rent, and has to be evicted, the landlord then cannot rent to a new renter fast enough that they do not lose money on incoming rent for a period of time. They use money from the security deposit to help make up for this loss.
2. If the renter damages the apartment while living there, and does not pay the cost to fix it. The landlord will take money from the security deposit to fix it.

If the renter always pays rent on time, does not have to be evicted, and does not fail to pay for any damages caused, the renter gets their deposit back (usually when they move out). This is ideal.

Be careful. Often landlords and renters get into disputes over who is responsible for a repair: whether the damage is new, or was there before the renter moved in, or whether the renter caused the damage, or something the landlord was supposed to maintain broke because he wasn't performing adequate maintenance. e.g. Did the new lock break because the renter was too rough with it, or because it was a cheap lock that wasn't installed correctly?

Always sign contracts with trustworthy, reliable, responsible people who are honest. This is the single best way to avoiding problems like these, and other many problems. Do not sign contracts with someone who might screw you over for money. You may be in the right, but taking them to court over any problems is a huge pain.

Applying for housing:

Because renting housing is such a trust requiring business, there is an extensive application process. Basically, housing owners want more than a renter's word that they will pay their rent, and be responsible with the housing.

Landlords often ask for proof of income: they want to see that the renter has steady income such as a job, retirement benefits, social security, or something similar, so that there is a good chance they will be able to afford all the ongoing rent payments.credit checks: landlords will check renters credit score, and use that to evaluate whether or not they are financially responsible

rental history - landlords will ask where you used to live, and ask to contact them and interview them as to whether or not you paid your rent on time and were responsible with the apartment / housecriminal background check - landlords will do background checks including checking for a criminal record.

People who are young often haven't a chance to build much credit history and good credit, nor much rental history. This leaves them vulnerable to being rejected from better housing opportunities in favor of renters who have more history.

Often young people are then pressured into settling for low quality housing, where the landlord may not really care who lives there, because he doesn't care if the property gets damaged very much, because he hasn't been properly repairing it for years, its already damaged, and more stuff is about to break anyway. This is a very bad thing. Beware, and stay safe. Do NOT get suckered into risk your health and well being, and financial disputes, with slumlord landlords.

Applying for an apartment can almost being like applying for a job. As with a job application its important to have a good resume, and references, a rental application its important to have good financial history and renters history, and references. There's plenty of people these days looking to rent housing. Landlords get to pick and choose, and they are careful who they trust. Prepare yourself, this is an important business relationship. Make a good impression, and do the work to submit a good application.

Often, for young people needing housing, its easier to rent a room in someone else's housing than to secure a lease of their own.

Also, young people often find it easier to get safe housing by contracting with an educational or occupational opportunity that has housing attached to it. This can include college (including some community colleges) and other vocational training programs, the military, jobcorps, and some jobs that have live / work arraingements (such as ski resorts, which often provide dorms for their seasonal employees).

Do what you have to do to get a safe place to stay. And, make sure that it is safe.

Take care!