Real Estate Term Glossary: Your Guide to The A to Zs of Renting

Navigating the world of real estate can reveal an abundance of terminology and phrasing around the topics of renting and buying that for some may seem like a brand-new language. From the letter A all the way to the letter Z, the Rental Term Glossary from the content team at ApartmentHomeLiving.com provides our visitors and shoppers with a little clarity and helpful guidance in navigating the real estate world through definitions and explainers for the top subjects and terms that someone may come across during the leasing, buying, or selling process.

Amenities

Amenities are features offered at a rental property that serve as extra benefits beyond the rental units themselves. Common amenities include swimming pools, gyms, pet facilities, common spaces, parking, etc. At the mid-market and upper end, apartment communities compete with one another for tenants by adding amenities to their offerings.

Amortization

Amortization is the sequence of payments charged by a lending institution like a bank for repayment of a loan such as a mortgage. Amortization is most often visualized as a spreadsheet showing the amount of each monthly payment, interest charges on each payment, the principle applied to each payment, and the remaining balance.

Application Fee

An ’application fee’ is a one-time charge associated with a lease application for an apartment or rental home. The fee is levied to help offset the processing costs of applications, and to discourage non-serious prospective tenants from applying. Application fees are typically not refundable, even in the case where a lease application is not accepted.

Assessment

In real estate, an ‘assessment’ has two common meanings and is used in two different contexts.

• This first is (A) An assessment is an official estimate of property value done by a taxing authority or homeowners association.
• The second definition is (B) A one-time charge from a landlord or HOA to a renter or homeowner who is a member of the association. In this use case, assessments are usually levied to pay for improvements such as roofing, foundation repair, utilities, pool repair, and parking lots that are not budgeted within the property or HOA's existing budget. These assessments are mandatory and can be significant in some cases.

Background Check

Background checks are conducted in conjunction with rental applications to help ensure that prospective tenants meet the qualifications for residency in a community (in the case of a home rental) or qualify for enrollment in a benefits program (in the case of a low-income application for housing). The check will commonly look at credit history, employment history, and criminal records. Certain rules govern how background checks are conducted to ensure fairness and non-discrimination.

Balloon Payment

A balloon payment is a contractually designated one-time lump payment due at the end of a lease or loan.

Build-to-Rent (BTR)

This term is mainly used concerning the construction of single-family dwellings when the developer intends to rent rather than sell as new construction.

Condo

Physically similar to apartments, ‘condos’ (condominiums) are a type of housing that is composed of several housing units that all share parking, pools, green space, and other amenities. Condos are commonly built as a ‘tower’, sometimes over 20 stories high, but can also be built in a ‘block style’ or ‘garden style’. A condo is often indistinguishable physically from an apartment, but with the key difference that condos have individual independent owners. Condos can be purchased with conventional financing just like a house, but they come with the added cost of an HOA or building fee that is levied on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis. These fees can be substantial as they are meant to cover the cost of active management and maintenance of the entire property including repairs, landscaping, insurance, and improvements. Additional fees called ‘assessments’ may also arise on occasion to cover HOA expenses not budgeted for but that are deemed necessary to complete.

Corporate Apartments

Corporate apartments are a type of rental apartment that comes fully furnished and ready to move in. Corporate apartments are most commonly placed strategically in major cities near corporate campuses and hospitals. They offer flexible short-term contracts and often come with a significant suite of add-on services such as housekeeping, and laundry. This type of rental is targeted at business executives who need to travel for work for periods long enough that it could be burdensome to stay in a hotel.

Co-Signer

A co-signer is an individual who assumes financial responsibility for a lease along with the primary signatory. In some cases, when a lease applicant cannot show sufficient income or credit history to qualify for a lease, one or more co-signers can help them to qualify. In the case where the primary tenant fails to pay rent, the co-signers are legally responsible for paying the rent.

Credit Check

A credit check is an official request for an individual’s financial history including loans, debts, payments, payment timeliness, history of successful loan repayments, and defaults. Credit checks are a routine part of applying for an apartment lease, home lease, or home loan.

Credit Score

A number between 0 and 850 represents how credit-worthy a person is based on the history of credit, on-time payments, repayments, late payments, balances over time, and bankruptcy. Also called a “FICO” score, any score over 670 is considered ‘good’. When purchasing a home, higher credit scores typically reduce the cost of credit, as the borrower with a better history of payments is a lower risk for the lending institution. When renting an apartment, higher scores do not typically result in lower rent, but a minimum score is usually required to let an apartment out to rent to an individual or family.

Deed

The official legal document attesting to ownership of a property by a person, persons, or entity. The sale of a property takes place through the transfer of the deed from owner to buyer. A deed is a physical document representing ‘title’ to a property, while the ‘title’ is the abstract legal term designating ownership.

Depreciation

A calculated decrease of the value of a property over time as defined by the IRS. Depreciation is used to reduce tax liability for property owners and is one of the primary reasons that the tax code is said to benefit real estate investors.

Early Termination

‘Early termination’ occurs when a tenant leaves (or attempts to leave) a lease or rental agreement before the end of the defined lease term. There is often a penalty for early termination of a lease, which in the worst case may be as much as the remaining rent due in the original lease term. Early Termination may be permitted by lease contracts in the case where the landlord agrees to it, or may be supported in the case of breach of contract - for instance, if the landlord fails to provide material elements specified in the lease.

Escrow

In real estate, 'escrow' is then a neutral 3rd-party not involved in a transaction that holds funds in place prior to the purchase of a home.

Eviction

Eviction is the legal process used to remove a tenant from a rental property. Local, state, and federal law governs how evictions are to be conducted. Laws governing eviction and its required processes vary greatly. California is widely considered to have 'pro-tenant' eviction laws, while Texas is considered to have 'pro-landlord' tenant laws. Eviction may result from a failure to pay rent, the termination of the lease due to non-renewal by either party or violation of lease terms such as property damage or excessive noise on the part of a tenant.

Fair Housing Act

Federal law prohibits housing discrimination based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, sex and sexual orientation, skin color, familial status (having kids), and religion. This law governs how landlords evaluate tenants for lease acceptance, and how real estate concerns can market available housing.

Fixed-Term-Lease

A fixed-term lease is a rental agreement with set beginning and end dates Fixed-term leases stand in contrast to 'month-to-month' leases with no set end date. In general, longer lease terms tend to have lower cost per month. Conversely, short-term leases tend to be more expensive per month. Additionally, longer lease terms offer the benefit of amortizing the application fee and move-in expenses over a longer timeframe, which is economical.

Furnished Apartments

A furnished apartment is provided with essential furniture already in place, typically owned by the apartment community, and included as part of the lease. Typically, furnished apartments will provide beds, bedside tables, a couch and chairs in the living room, a kitchen dinette set, and a television. Furnished apartments are usually significantly more expensive than identical non-furnished units, sometimes up to 1/3 more expensive on a monthly rate. A furnished apartment is a convenient option for students, short-term rentals where moving furniture would not be cost-effective, and in the case of sudden need of housing, such as during displacement after a natural disaster or unexpected move related to work.

Grace Period

A grace period is a defined window of time (usually several days) after an official due date that a payment can be received without incurring a penalty. With a '5-day grace period' and a rent due date of 'the first of the month', a tenant would have until the 6th to post a payment without penalty.

Guarantor

A guarantor is a person or entity that accepts responsibility for payment on a loan or a lease in the case when a borrower defaults on a loan. A guarantor, when added to a lease application can 'nudge' otherwise financially unqualified applicants over the threshold to acceptance. An example of a guarantor would be a parent signing as a guarantor for a lease taken out in the name of their child at college.

Homeowners Association (HOA)

Is a legal entity formed to operate on behalf of a condo building or neighborhood. Members of the HOA are the residents or owners of property within the building or neighborhood. HOAs typically assess dues or membership fees on an annual or monthly basis and use those funds to administrate the operation of the shared features of the building or neighborhood. These often include pools, parking areas, landscaping, signage, driveways, playgrounds, and green spaces. When a residence is subject to an HOA, a membership agreement is required as part of the process of purchasing the home. The agreement outlines the restrictions (often called 'restrictive covenants') that each resident must abide by and legally agree to. These restrictions may govern how property is fenced, landscaping, paint color, roofing color, noise, parking, supplemental structures like sheds, pets, and more. HOAs typically elect officers from amongst the members for yearly terms. HOAs often form committees of resident volunteers that serve functions such as review of applications for construction and landscaping, or administration of projects such as building a new park or pool. HOAs exist to preserve property value and quality of life but are seen by some to be onerous and restrictive.

Housing Authority

A housing authority is a public agency that provides affordable housing to low-income individuals and families. Housing authorities are typically created by local governments, but they can also be created by state or federal governments. Housing authorities offer a variety of housing programs, including:

• Public housing: Public housing is owned and operated by the government. It is typically reserved for individuals and families with very low incomes.
• Housing choice vouchers: Housing choice vouchers, also known as Section 8 vouchers, are subsidies that can be used to rent a home on the private market.
• Project-based rental assistance: Project-based rental assistance is a subsidy that is paid directly to the owner of a rental property. The subsidy is used to reduce the rent for low-income tenants.

Housing Voucher

Housing vouchers are subsidies granted by the government to individuals or families to assist with paying for rent. Often called "Section 8 vouchers" or "Housing Choice Vouchers". Housing vouchers are applied for and administered by local 'housing authorities'. Approval for a voucher requires an application, and qualifying factors such as income and other categories of need. It may take months or years to be issued a housing voucher in the United States. Once a voucher is issued, the recipient will in most cases be asked to find housing in their local market that will accept the voucher. With vouchers in hand, recipients are then responsible for finding housing that accepts vouchers, applying for a lease from one of those landlords, and being accepted. There is usually a timeframe in which voucher recipients are required to complete a lease, or they risk losing their voucher. This can be a challenge in markets such as Houston, TX where there is high competition for section 8 housing.

Income Property

A single-family home, townhome, condo, or multifamily property that is acquired and operated by an owner for the purpose of generating rental income from tenant occupancy.

Interest Rate

The percentage rate at which lenders (including banks, agencies, and private parties) change on an annual basis in exchange for granting of capital.

Joint Tenancy

Joint tenancy is when a property is titled in the names of 2 or more individuals.

Judicial Foreclosure

A legal process in which a lender takes possession of a property as a consequence of a borrower's failure to make payments (borrower default).

Key Money

A one-time payment is made during the hand-off of the key from the landlord to the renter.

Landlord

Property owner renting or leasing a property to a tenant.

Lease Agreement

The contract defines the rights and obligations of both tenant and landlord in a rental relationship. Renters are encouraged to read their lease agreements carefully. When leasing a property from a large community or from a professional management company, lease agreements are usually 'set in stone' and applied without edits, meaning tenants generally cannot 'redline' the contract and negotiate terms. When leasing from an individual, it may be more common to see some level of negotiation on the terms of a lease agreement. The important terms in a lease agreement include but are not limited to:

• Lease start and end dates
• Monthly rent and applicable fees
• Utilities (who pays)
• Rules regarding pets
• Rules regarding late payments
• Other terms that define who is responsible for maintenance and repairs
• Rules defining access to the property for maintenance
• Optional terms may define the transition of the lease to a 'month-to-month' arrangement if no notice of cancellation is provided by the tenant by a certain date
• Official mechanism to communicate between parties (phone, email, physical mail, etc)

Lease Expiration

The lease expiration date represents the end date of a rental lease. We recommend putting this date on your calendar and setting reminders for 3 months, 1 month, and 1 week ahead of time. In many cases, a tenant will have obligations to notify the landlord of their intention either to move out or to allow the contract to self-renew. Read your lease carefully, and set your calendar to remind you to consider what your options are (do you want to renew your lease or find a new place?). Setting these reminders also allows you to prepare if you are not going to renew the lease - you will need time to research where you will be moving to next, time to pack, and time to move out. Prior to your lease expiration, it is a good idea to contact your landlord and do a 'walk-through' of the apartment or house to identify any damage or repairs that might need to be handled prior to your exit. This gives you time to arrange professional cleaning or repairs yourself instead of leaving you exposed to loss of your rental deposit.

Lease Extension

A lease extension occurs when a tenant requests to stay in a rental unit beyond the lease expiration. A lease extension allows a tenant to remain in occupancy of a rental property but may come with an adjustment of the monthly rent. In the case of a lease extension, the one-time fees and move-in deposit made at the beginning of the lease usually cover the lease extension (no additional fees or deposit). allowing tenants to occupy a property longer under new terms. When negotiating a lease extension, consider factors like the extension length, rent amount, lease terms changes, and responsibilities of both parties during the extension period.

Lease Terms

Lease terms are the point-by-point elements that together as a whole represent a lease contract. As with any contract, a lease agreement serves to define in clear terms the rights and obligations of both parties - in this case a landlord and a tenant. In most cases, lease terms are non-negotiable and presented as a 'take it or leave it' proposition by the landlord.

Lifestyle Ratings

ApartmentHomeLiving.com provides a detailed analysis of millions of data points to calculate the best-rated properties for your lifestyle. Rating categories include:

1. Pet Friendly - Finding the best apartments for living with and caring for dogs and cats
2. Family Friendly - The best apartments for raising kids.
3. Active Lifestyle - Apartments with access to gyms, pools, parks, paths, and trails.
4. Outdoors - Access to parks and outdoor amenities.
5. Student Living - Access to transit and amenities that appeal to students.
6. Accessibility - Disability-friendly accommodations.
7. Eco-Friendly - Buildings that follow green construction standards and efficiency.
8. 55+ Active Adult - Communities that best fit older adults and retirees.
9. Work From Home - Apartments best suited to working from home.
10. Transit Friendly - Apartments with rich options for transit nearby.

Low Income

Income below a certain threshold, determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), qualifies individuals and families for government housing assistance programs such as Section 8. Usually defined as an income at or below 80% of the median income for an area. Read more about Low Income Housing at Low Income Housing Guide.

Month-to-Month Lease

A month-to-month lease is a type of lease agreement that renews automatically each month. Month-to-month leases can usually be terminated by either the landlord or tenant with 30 days' notice, though this varies by state and local jurisdiction. Here are some other important things to know about this kind of lease:

• Month-to-month may be more expensive than year-long leases.
• Flexibility: This type of lease can be canceled at short notice, so maybe a good fit for situations where you don't know how long you will need to stay in a rental.
• Rent Increases: The landlord will usually have the right to change the monthly rent with 30 days' notice. While some states (like California) limit the amount the rent can increase, this variability is a true downside of the month-to-month approach to renting.

Mortgage

A house loan. Of all types of loans, a mortgage has several unique characteristics. First of all, it is a collateralized loan, meaning that the asset serves as collateral to help defray the risk of the lender. In the case of loan default, the asset (house, condo, townhome, etc) is subject to seizure by the lender in a process known as 'foreclosure.' Foreclosure is often accompanied by the formal legal process of 'eviction' as well - the removal of the tenant from the property.

Mortgage Insurance

Mortgage insurance (or Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)) is an insurance policy sometimes required by lenders to reduce their risk when underwriting certain transactions, such as when the down payment for a loan is less than 20% of the total asset cost. This type of insurance benefits the lender, not the borrower, and can represent a significant cost.

Notice to Quit

A legal notice informing a tenant that the landlord is terminating the rental agreement. This formal legal notice is required to be sent to the tenant before a landlord can begin formal eviction proceedings. A notice to quit may be sent for many reasons, including policy violations (having pets in a 'no-pet' rental), excessive noise, lack of maintenance, unpaid rent, property damage, or the simple case that a property is being withdrawn from the rental market.

Occupancy Rate

A measure of the number of units that are occupied in a multifamily complex. The occupancy rate is calculated by taking the number of occupied units and dividing it by the total number of available units. Across the nation, occupancy rates are usually about 94% in recent years. Occupancy rates were as low as 89% back in 2010, which was the lowest level on record.

Open House

An event, scheduled by a real estate agent or property owner where prospective buyers or renters are given free access to view a property. Many home shoppers like open houses because visiting the property does not need a formal appointment.

Pet Friendly

A designation used in real estate describing a property that allows pets to be kept within a rental. Pet guidelines are legally binding terms within lease agreements that address multiple aspects of pet ownership: Whether pets are allowed at all (yes/no) and whether dogs or cats are allowed. For those properties that do allow pets, there is often a limit count of 1 or 2 pets, and a combined weight limit (often 50 lbs or less). In most instances, there are breed restrictions that discriminate against breeds such as pit bulls and chow chows that have a reputation for being aggressive (so-called 'aggressive breeds').

PITI

PITI is an acronym used to describe the four figures that make up a mortgage payment - Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance

Property Tax

Property tax is a tax levied by officials at the local level against the value of property (houses, offices, apartment buildings, stores, etc) within their jurisdiction. The process of levying a property tax starts with the tax rate, set by state, county, or local government. The second part of the process it the assessment of the value of all the buildings within the jurisdiction. This can be a contentious process, as in many respects, the actual value of a building is disputable depending on many factors including the state of repair, improvements, occupancy, etc. With these 2 factors in place, the property tax is computed by multiplying the tax rate vs the assessed value. Special exceptions are made in some jurisdictions for senior citizens, disabled people, veterans, or families that use the residence in question as a primary residence (a 'homestead'). In these cases, the assessed value may be reduced, or the rate at which the amount due increases may be capped.

Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA)

Project Based Rental Assistance is a form of government support where subsidies are paid directly to property owners in exchange for units in the community being set aside for Section 8 participants. Tenants generally pay 30% of their income, or a minimum of $25 per month for housing in PBRA.

Property Management

Property management is the administration of all of the activities involved with leasing, maintaining, and running a rental property. These activities include rent collection, handling of tenant disputes and policy violations, maintaining facilities, landscaping, and monitoring for compliance with all ordinances and fair housing policies. Property managers act on behalf of property owners in larger properties, while the owners themselves may often be involved in communities with fewer units. It is generally accepted that a single manager can generally cover 100-200 units. Notably, communities with less than 75 units are not likely to have a manager 'on-site', but will depend on a manager who handles multiple locations and is only at the community on an as-needed basis.

Real Estate Agent

A trained and state-licensed person who serves as an intermediary representing the needs of property buyers or sellers. Real estate agents generally receive compensation of 3% of transaction cost in a purchase or sale of property, and 5%-15% of 1-month rent in the case of a home rental.

Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)

This is a special-purpose entity that secures capital and then invests in a portfolio of real estate, operates that property and returns capital to investors. A REIT is a way for investors to gain exposure to real estate on a share basis, in much the same way that they would purchase common stock. REITs are required to distribute 90% of their operating profits in the form of dividends to investors annually.

Rent Stabilized

A rental property is considered 'rent stabilized' under certain circumstances when local laws prevent the landlord from raising rental rates more than a certain percentage annually.

Rent Controlled

Most often seen in larger cities and applied to older buildings, rent control is a policy that strictly limits how much rent can be charged for a rental unit. This type of policy has been put in place in places like New York in order to limit the displacement that can occur when property values increase rapidly and risk the evictions of poor, disabled, and elderly tenants.

Rental Application

A rental application is a series of forms and authorizations that a prospective tenant provides to a landlord in order to gain tenancy at a specific property. Rental applications involve several types of information:

1. Identity - Establishing who you are through providing proper identification
2. Creditworthiness - Proving that you can accept the financial burden of the rental rate for which you are applying. This is usually covered through a credit check and proof of income like a pay stub.
3. Background Info - A background check may often be performed to uncover criminal history and any history of evictions.

Rental Property

Any real estate operated with the intent to lease the property out to tenants and to generate rental income. Property types include single-family houses, apartments, duplexes, tri-plexes, quad-plexes, condos, warehouses, retail buildings, office buildings, and even bare land.

Renters Insurance

A specialized insurance policy that protects a tenant's personal property from loss due to theft, fire, or disaster. Renters insurance may also provide coverage for liability in the case where a visitor is injured or suffers property damage (like a dropped laptop) at your property. A renters insurance policy may also cover legal fees if you are sued for injuries or damage sustained by others at your property.

Section 8

Section 8 is a program that helps people in need of secure safe and livable housing. Known as a 'voucher program', Section 8 is financed by the federal government and administered at the local level by housing authorities. To learn more, please see this article on Low-Income housing.

Security Deposit

Up-front money is required to be paid by a tenant and held by the landlord for the duration of a lease. The money is a hedge for the landlord against property damage during tenancy, or the possible failure of a tenant to pay owed rent during the lease. The average security deposit is equivalent to one month's rent, although the required amount can be up to 3x the monthly rent in some cases. The landlord is required to hold security deposit funds in an escrow account in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Kentucky. The security deposit should be refunded in full upon the completion of a lease if no damage or undue wear is found in the rental during the final inspection. For this reason, it is advised to do a walk-through with your landlord 2 weeks before vacating the property to identify any potential issues related to wear, tear, or property damage that you may be responsible for.

Senior Apartments

Senior apartments are age-restricted apartments geared to serving the specific needs of people over 55 years of age. These apartments provide housing as normal apartments do, but usually come with a complement of services such as meal service, laundry, activities, extensive social spaces, and transportation services. Search Senior Living Apartments in Top Cities.

Single Family Home

A single-family home is a standalone house designed for (as the name suggests) a single family to reside within it. Single-family homes typify what is called 'the American Dream' in which a family lives in a house with a white picket fence out front, and holds a mortgage to pay for it. Single-family dwellings differ from apartments in that they do not have shared living space or amenities like parking, and most usually have yard space in front and back, as well as a private garage. This type of housing typically provides more square footage per person in dedicated space compared to all other types of residence, though it is also the most expensive housing category to purchase or rent.

Short-term-rental (STR)

A short-term rental is a housing unit that is listed on a 'per night' basis, usually on platforms like VRBO or Airbnb. While STRs are increasingly popular, several stringent rules and regulations are designed to limit their use. Firstly, when you have a rental property yourself, whether an apartment or rental home, using the property as a STR to get extra income is usually expressly forbidden in your lease agreement. Additionally, STR use of a residence is more and more often restricted by cities (such as Austin, TX and Santa Fe, NM), ostensibly to prevent a further run-up of housing prices. STR's use of residential units in major cities and tourist destinations has been named a contributing driver of housing unavailability and sharp appreciation in housing costs in the last 10 years. See Short-Term Apartment Options in Top Cities.

Student Housing

Student housing is housing (usually dorms or apartments) specifically designated for college students. Student housing is geared to support students in a number of key ways: 1) Proximity to schools - student housing is always located near major universities and along key public transportation corridors. 2) By-the-bed pricing - Student housing often allows 3 or 4 students to rent a unit together, sharing common spaces like a kitchen and living room. 3) Amenities - Student housing offers recreation space like basketball courts and bike storage, as well as lounges and library-like areas where students can study together. Student housing comes in 2 primary types: On-campus and Off-campus. On-campus student housing (usually dorm-style) is directly affiliated or run by the university, and will typically have much less space per person. Off-campus student housing is run by private companies, and will look for all intents and purposes like a regular apartment complex, but will have details (as shown above) tailored to students' needs. See Student Apartment Options in Top Cities.

Studio Apartment

A studio apartment is the smallest of the classic floor plan types, composed of one room that serves as a bedroom, kitchen, and living space. While the bathroom space is partitioned off for privacy, all other functional spaces are clustered together in a studio apartment. Studio apartments are usually less expensive than one-, two, and three-bedroom apartments due to their smaller footprint. They are also less expensive in terms of utilities, as there is less air space to heat and cool. Studio apartments are typically favored by students, early-career professionals, and even young couples who are getting started together. Studio apartments can also sometimes be referred to as "efficiencies" or "efficiency apartments". See Studio Apartment Options in Top Cities.

Subletting

Subletting is the action of renting out a property for which you hold a lease. In simple terms, a sublease is 'leasing a lease', which can make sense under some circumstances, but comes with caveats. Subletting is common in commercial real estate when a lease term extends past the business use for a property. An office space that is unoccupied but under lease is often a prime candidate for subleasing, and there is a robust market in sublease space in most US cities. When it comes to rented houses or apartments, subletting can be more difficult as it is explicitly forbidden in most rental agreements. One reason subletting is usually not allowed is that the initial lease agreement involves a detailed assessment of a renter's risk (credit and renting history, and criminal record). In the case of a sublet agreement between a renter and a subletter, the owner of the property is 'out of the loop' in terms of who is going to occupy his/her property and has no way of directly mitigating risk.

Tenant

A person or entity (such as a company) that leases a property from a landlord. A single property can have multiple tenants, more than one of which may be signatories and financially obligated to the terms of the lease contract. However, all tenants in a rental property are usually required to be named persons on the lease agreement.

Tenant Improvements

Changes, renovations, updates, repairs, or improvements to rental property done by the tenant. Some categories of property improvement are permitted to be done by the tenant without landlord approval (which will vary by jurisdiction and will depend on the terms of each lease agreement.) Permanent changes like adding a ceiling fan or removing carpet are generally not allowed without the approval of the landlord. Temporary (reversible) changes are generally permitted so long as you can remove the alterations at the end of your lease. These types of changes might include changing a showerhead, changing light fixtures, adding shelving in a closet, or painting a room. Understand beforehand that you risk losing some or all of your security deposit if your modifications are left in place after your lease expires.

Tenant Rights

Tenant rights are the rights and protections guaranteed by law to those who occupy space under a lease agreement. This includes individuals and families in a rented dwelling as well as corporate entities in a commercial space. The specific rights tenants have will vary (sometimes greatly) depending on the location. For instance, Texas is generally seen to be ‘landlord favoring’ in its tenant laws, and California is generally seen to be ‘tenant favoring’ in its requirements. While the specifics of tenant rights will depend on location, all jurisdictions generally grant these rights to tenants:

• Healthy, safe, habitable conditions. This would include requirements for smoke alarms, mold-free walls, non-leaking roofs, all doors and windows functional, etc.
• Privacy. Landlords cannot generally enter a property without proper process and notification to a tenant.
• Non-Discrimination: Landlords cannot discriminate based on race, color, gender, sex, country of origin, familial status, or disability. This applies particularly strongly in the lease approval process. For instance, a landlord in a predominantly white neighborhood cannot decline to lease a property to a financially qualified black family because of race.
• Due Process for Evictions: A landlord cannot arbitrarily remove a tenant without following proper procedures, although not all jurisdictions require ‘just cause’ for a landlord to file for an eviction.

Title

The legal concept of ownership in a piece of real property. One is said to 'hold the title' to a property when they own the property (usually through purchase or inheritance) and are the named person or entity on the deed. The deed is the physical document stating ownership, bearing the official seal or signature representing the agency issuing the deed.

Townhome

A townhome is a residential property type that has the characteristic of sharing yard and parking maintenance with other properties nearby as part of a complex of similar units. Townhomes usually share at least one wall with a neighboring property and tend to be smaller than free-standing single-family homes, and have smaller yards. Townhomes are chosen by people who want to have a single-family lifestyle (privacy, dedicated parking, and outdoor space) but don't want to be responsible for the maintenance of their outdoor areas (yard, landscaping, etc). In a townhome community, each unit pays a fee (usually called a "Home Owners Association fee") on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis. That fee pays for maintenance of the common areas of the community which may include signage, green spaces, tennis courts, walkways, and a pool. Townhomes are also known as 'townhouses' or 'row houses' depending on the area.

Utilities

Water, gas, and electricity are provided to the property. Some rental apartments bundle these services with rent, with a feature known as 'Utilities included' which will provide some or all of these services without separate billing. In apartments, when utilities are not included, each unit has its meter for the services in question and is billed separately from the utility provider.

Vacancy Rate

Vacancy rate has 2 meanings in multifamily real estate, which are related to one another. The first meaning is taken at the individual unit level and is the percentage of time that a particular apartment or rental home is unoccupied vs the number of months it has a paying tenant. The 2nd meaning is taken at the community level and is the number of unoccupied units divided by the total apartment count for the complex, multiplied times 100.

Walk-Through

In the context of home rentals, a ‘walk-through’ is an official inspection of an apartment or home by the tenant, representative of a housing authority, and/or the landlord (or their representative) to catalog all visible issues with the property, making an official record that has legal importance with regards to the rights and responsibilities of both landlord and tenant via the mechanism of the lease and of local, state, or federal law. So what does this mean? It means that in a walk-through before occupancy, if a tenant finds cosmetic damage, they will notate it and inform the landlord in writing that the damage exists, prompting a repair or at the very least an exception from liability for that damage when they move out. In a more extreme case, damage that could threaten health (like water damage, damaged roof, damaged windows, asbestos, lead paint, etc) may force a rejection of the property by the tenant (or by the housing authority it is Section 8 housing), or a mandate for the landlord to repair the damage before occupancy. Upon end-of-lease, a ‘final walk-through’ occurs in which the landlord documents any property damage beyond ‘normal wear and tear’ and will use this information to deduct an amount from the tenant's security deposit to make the repairs.

Zoning

Zoning is a set of local regulations (set by city or county) that dictate that potential uses a parcel of land can be eligible for. Typical zoning designations include ‘residential’, ‘residential/multifamily’, ‘industrial’, and ‘commercial’. Zoning decisions can be appealed in certain cases. In Austin, TX for example, a developer or property owner can appeal the zoning of a parcel to the ‘Board of Adjustment’ and present evidence of why it would be in the public interest for a zoning change to occur. This type of change is called a ‘zoning variance’. When making a case for a variance, developers will sometimes designate part of their design plan to publicly accessible park space or low-income housing to make the case that a zoning variance is in the public good.