In recent years, rental apartments have soared in popularity. But along with the popularity have come rising rents and unwelcome surprises for renters who fail to ask the right questions or to get important details written into their leases.

Even with a detailed lease, there’s no guarantee that the other party will follow the agreement, but here are strategies to help renters avoid disputes with landlords…

Mention all parties who will be living in the apartment. Misrepresentation or omission of tenants can be grounds for a landlord to terminate your lease. Example: A couple signs a lease and fails to mention an adult son who will be living with them. For an apartment whose rent is limited by law, including him in the lease also may give the adult son succession rights, meaning that he might be able to take over the apartment when the parents pass on.

If your landlord says you can have pets and/or bring your own major appliances, such as a washer and dryer, make sure it is written into the lease. Also specify how many pets—say, two dogs or one cat and one canary…and/or which appliances you are adding so that you are not forced to get rid of them later.

Do research on the possible legal problems. Instead of taking the landlord’s word that there are no liens or foreclosures on the property, check that yourself. It is important because if the property is in foreclosure, the bank could evict the tenant and the tenant would not be able to recoup the rent paid even if he/she has a lease.

You might be able to look up property records on your municipality’s or county’s Web site to see whether the property is the subject of litigation, which could mean it is in foreclosure proceedings. If you find that the property is the subject of litigation, go to the county office and pull the “notice of pendency” for details.

However, a lien (foreclosure or otherwise) may not be listed on the Internet, so you may have to check the court system, your county’s register of deeds or the appropriate governmental agency. In lieu of doing this, you can ask any title company to run a limited search for any type of lien, which can cost $200 to $300.

Check the certificate of occupancy if you are renting a basement apartment. Illegal basement units are common in some municipalities. The certificate of occupancy tells you the number of families that can legally occupy the building.

The landlord might say that the house is a legal three-family home when it really is a two-family home with an illegal basement apartment. If the municipality sends out an inspector who finds the apartment to be illegal, a notice could be sent to the owner requiring that you be evicted.

Find out who pays for utilities. Your lease should state which utilities are your responsibility and which are your landlord’s. Example: Water and sewage typically are paid by the landlord of a multifamily building. However, if the water bill increases with a new tenant, landlords sometimes try to pass on that extra cost to the tenant. If your lease states that water is covered by the landlord, you are protected against this.

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