Enrichment · Life Skills

Your first apartment,
set up right the first time.

Work through what has to happen before the keys, what to do the day you walk in, and what you need for the first week. The checklist adds up rent and bills, shows the share of your income, and flags anything still open as move-in day gets close.

Add your apartmentWhat you get

Apartments

The worked example is made up: an apartment ten days from move-in with three steps still open, and one lived in since August. Your records save on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · Life SkillsFree

What you finish with
A record per apartment with the move-in date, rent, deposit, lease and utilities in your name; six steps before move-in, six on move-in day and an eight-item first-week kit; monthly costs added to the rent and shown as a share of income; flags for open steps close to move-in, a missing walk-through and costs above the 30 percent line.
Who it is for
Students and young adults renting for the first time, families helping them move, and teachers covering independent living.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per apartment. Prints one record, all of them or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Life Skills space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add the apartment the day you sign the lease.
  2. Work through the six steps before move-in, starting with renters insurance and utilities.
  3. On move-in day, photograph every room before you unpack and send the landlord a dated list.
  4. Mark the first-week kit; anything you need becomes a shopping list.
  5. Add every monthly bill so you can see what the place really costs.

Add your apartment

What a first apartment really costs

Cash needed before the keys: an example$2,735 for a $1,150 apartmentFirst month’s rent$1,150Security deposit$1,150Moving truck and gas$120First-week kit$250Utility setup fees$50Renters insurance, first month$15Every month after: rent and costs against income$1,309 a month30% of $4,200 = $1,260Cash needed before the keys: an example$2,735 for a $1,150 apartmentFirst month’s rent$1,150Security deposit$1,150Moving truck and gas$120First-week kit$250Utility setup fees$50Renters insurance, first month$15Every month after: rent and costs against income$1,309 a month30% of $4,200 = $1,260
Example figures. The deposit and first month are the big ones; the kit and fees add up faster than people expect.

The 30 percent line

Federal housing programs treat a household that spends more than 30 percent of its income on housing as cost burdened. It is a rule of thumb, not a law: landlords often ask for income of about three times the rent, which lands in the same place. Count utilities and renters insurance, not just the rent.

Protecting your deposit

State and local law sets how much a landlord can hold, how fast it must come back and what can be deducted, usually with an itemized list. Your best evidence is the move-in record: dated photos of every room and a written list of damage that the landlord received. Take the same photos when you move out.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. Rental burden: households paying more than 30 percent of income for housing (huduser.gov).
  2. National Association of Insurance Commissioners. A Consumer’s Guide to Renters Insurance (content.naic.org).
  3. U.S. Postal Service. Change of Address (usps.com/move).
  4. National Fire Protection Association. Smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm safety tips: test alarms at least once a month (nfpa.org).

The worked example and the cost figures are made up. Deposit, notice and repair rules depend on your lease and on state and local law. This is not legal advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.