Landlords can charge prospective renters a screening or application fee, but there are limits to just how much. Prospective tenants ought to get a copy of their credit report if the proprietor obtained one, an invoice showing the cost of the screening, and a refund of any unused portion of the cost. To learn more, consisting of the existing screening fee limit, see our Tenant Screening Fees page.

Make certain you can afford the lease

Signing a fixed-term lease may obligate you to pay the rent for the whole term, unless there is a truly excellent reason to leave, like significant habitability issues. If you leave before the lease ends, you might be delegated paying lease if the owner can not re-rent the system before the lease period ends. See our Lease Breaking page for additional information.

Check if the system has defenses under the Rent Ordinance

Most rental systems in Berkeley are either totally or partially covered by the Rent Ordinance, but some units are completely exempt from any defenses. It is necessary to know what rights you'll have as a renter. Check our Is Your Unit Covered by Rent Control? page for information about protections and different exemptions for different kinds of systems. You can also contact us to ask about a specific unit.

Understand the regards to the lease before signing

It's important to clearly understand what you are accepting before accepting the terms of a lease. While sometimes just the property manager can clarify what a proposed lease term implies, we can help identify issues so that you are able to ask the ideal questions. Common concerns are:

Last month's lease: Ask the proprietor if the last month's rent will be used. Be clear on what the property manager's intentions are with all money gathered (beyond the very first month's rent) at the beginning of a tenancy. If you have actually a composed lease, this ought to be clearly spelled out.

Discounted rent: For systems with lease control, reduced, complimentary, or marked down rent must be factored into the base lease ceiling for a new occupancy. For example, if a property owner and tenant consent to a lease of $2,000 monthly for a new occupancy with a 12-month term, but the tenant gets one month of complimentary rent, the base lease ceiling for the unit would be $1,833.33, which is the average of the payments made for the preliminary lease term ($ 22,000/ 12 months). In this example, beginning the month following the expiration of the preliminary lease term, the maximum lease the property manager might charge would be $1,833.33.

Paying for utilities: For occupancies that began on or after February 6, 2024, a property owner might charge a renter in a totally covered unit for energies only if either: the cost of the utilities becomes part of the base rent, or the energy service is separately-metered and the lease requires the renter to position the utility in the occupant's name. A landlord who is charging an occupant for energies independently from lease on or after February 6, 2024, may submit a petition with the Rent Board to add the typical cost of utilities to the lease ceiling. Rent ceiling boosts should be made through the petition procedure, however the celebrations can ask to waive the hearing if they agree on the increase, and the agreement and proof sent with the petition fulfill particular standards. See our Rent Adjustment Petitions page for information.

Get a signed, composed copy of your lease and invoices for all payments

California law needs your landlord to offer you a copy of your lease, so you should ask for a copy of the property owner hasn't offered you one. It's also crucial to get receipts for any payments that you make, particularly if you pay in money.

Notice of Tenant Rights

For occupancies that started on or after December 20, 2024, within fifteen days of the start of the occupancy, your proprietor needs to provide you a written notice including the following info: The presence of and scope of the Rent Ordinance