English for Talking to Your Landlord

Talking to your landlord doesn’t need to be a painful affair. Learn these common phrases by heart and learn them well for when you need them!

When you are first organizing an appointment to look at a room, house or apartment to rent

“My name is… I saw your advertisement of a room/house/apartment to rent and I’m very interested.”

“When would it be convenient for me to view the room please?”

“I’m sorry I am only able to view after 6 o’clock (or 6p.m.) in the evening or at weekends due to my work commitments.”

“I could view the room in my lunch break between 12 and 2p.m.”

“So that’s Wednesday evening at 6p.m? I look forward to meeting you.”

When you meet the landlord and view the room/apartment

“Does the rent include the costs for water and heating?”

“How much are the electricity/gas/water bills for a year?”

“Is there a telephone connection? I need to be able to get internet access.”

“How many other rooms are let in the building?”

“How many people share the bathroom/kitchen?”
br> “Is there a laundry room?”

“So this studio apartment has an open plan area which is for living, sleeping and cooking with a separate bathroom?”

“So this apartment has an open plan living area with kitchenette, a separate bedroom and a bathroom?”

“Do you have an apartment available with its own separate kitchen, bedroom and bathroom?”

“Is there a washing machine/dishwasher in the kitchen?”

“Do any of the other tenants have children?”

“Am I allowed to redecorate the rooms?”

“How long is the rental lease for?”

“Do I have to pay a security deposit?”

“Have many other people viewed the room already?”

“When will you decide who gets the room?”

“When would I be able to move in?”
br> “How much notice”

“Am I allowed to use the garden at the rear or does that belong to the ground floor apartment?”

Once you move in you may have some problems or things that go wrong in the room/apartment

“The heating/air conditioning/washing machine/dishwasher isn’t working.”

“I’m having a problem with my key and lock. It is difficult to unlock the door.”

“The timed light always goes out before I can reach the landing.”

“Could you organize for it to be repaired please?”

“I’m sorry but I have to complain about the neighbors upstairs/downstairs/on the other side of the hallway.”

“They are very noisy.”

“They leave their garbage in the hallway which leaves an unpleasant smell and attracts cats, mice and rats.”

“They leave bicycles in the hallway and it is difficult to open the door and get into the hallway.”

“The children leave toys on the stairs and it is very dangerous.”

“Could you come and look at the problem(s) for yourself and speak to them please?”