Apartment checklist: what to check, and how to choose
Viewings go fast and every flat looks good with the lights on. Bring this checklist, take photos, and score each place the same evening while you still remember it.
Quick checklist
- Run the water. Turn on the shower and a tap together. Check pressure, how fast hot water arrives, and look under the sink for leaks.
- Listen with the windows shut. Stand still for a minute. Traffic, trains, neighbors' footsteps and a building's pipes are all easier to hear than to fix.
- Check light at your hours. Which way do the windows face? A dark flat at 8 a.m. can feel very different to one you only saw at noon.
- Look for damp. Black spots in corners, a musty smell, or fresh paint on one patch of wall are worth asking about.
- Test your commute. Do the trip at rush hour once. Ten extra minutes each way is more than 80 hours a year.
- Ask about the total cost. Deposit, agency fee, renewal fee, utilities, internet, and what happens when something breaks.
Make a must-have a must-have
Some things aren't trade-offs. If you need to have a pet, or can't do more than one flight of stairs, mark it as a must-have with a minimum score. Any flat below it drops out, however good it is otherwise, which saves you from talking yourself into the wrong place.
Deciding with a partner or flatmate?
Send them a link to weigh it their own way. You'll see your pick, their pick and the combined result, plus the criterion where you differ most, which is usually the real conversation to have.