Renting a House or Apartment in English Vocabulary and Conversation
Hi, I’m Kasia.
Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn useful language
for renting an apartment or a house in English.
Before we start, have you been to our website?
Go check it out: Oxford Online English dot
com.
Do you find it difficult to listen to English
for long periods?
No problem – use the English subtitles to
help yourself understand!
Turn them on now; just click the ‘CC’
button in the bottom right of your video player.
Now, let’s look at the first step if you
want to rent a new place: phoning the estate
agent.
Hello, Broom Cupboard Real Estate, how can
I help?
Hello, I’m looking to rent an apartment.
A friend of mine told me about your agency,
and I was hoping you could help me.
Of course!
Do you have a specific property in mind?
No, not yet.
No problem.
First question: do you know which area you’d
like to live in?
Well, I work in Cowley, so somewhere in the
east would make sense.
Sure, and…
Are you looking to rent just for yourself?
I’m planning to share with a friend.
So, a two-bed?
Right.
And, do you have an idea of your budget?
You don’t have to be exact, but if you could
give me a range, that would be useful.
As cheap as possible, really.
I see…
Well, two-bedroom flats are generally around
eight to twelve hundred a month at the lower
end.
Hmmm…
OK.
One more important question: are you looking
for a furnished place?
Yes, furnished.
That’s fine.
Is there anything else you need?
For example, do you have pets?
Do you need a place with off-street parking?
Do you want a garden?
No, no pets.
I don’t have a car.
A garden would be a plus but it’s not necessary.
Got it.
I’ll take a look at what’s available and
get back to you in half an hour or so.
Can I just take a phone number…
Look at four questions you heard.
Can you remember how to complete these questions?
If you want, you can go back and watch the
dialogue again.
Ready?
Let’s see the full questions.
Next, do you remember the answers from the
dialogue?
Also, if you were answering these questions,
what would your answers be?
In the dialogue, you heard these answers.
Of course, you could give different answers.
For example: ‘I’m looking for something
in the northern suburbs.’
‘Yes, I’d like to rent a place just for
myself.’
‘My maximum is six hundred per month.’
‘No, I have furniture, so I’d like something
unfurnished.’
If you can talk about these ideas – area,
size, budget and whether you need a furnished
place or not – then you should be able to
tell an estate agent what you need in general
terms.
Try it!
If you were looking to rent an apartment – or
a house – what would you look for?
Try to make a few sentences describing what
you need.
Say your sentences out loud.
Pause the video and do it now!
How was that?
Remember that you can always review a section
if you need to.
Next, let’s see some useful language for
looking around a property.
Right, so this is the living room…
Is all the furniture included?
Most of it should be.
It’s possible that some items belong to
the current tenant, but I can send you a copy
of the inventory, so you can check for yourself.
That would be good.
The bathroom is through here.
It’s pretty mouldy…
Yes, it doesn’t look great, does it?
Don’t worry.
We’ll contact the landlord and make sure
that it’s dealt with before you move in.
I had a question: can we redecorate the place
ourselves, or paint a room, if we want?
Possibly, but you need the landlord’s permission
if you’re going to do anything which significantly
changes the appearance of the property.
Generally, landlords will be happy to let
you do things which improve the place.
I see…
Well, it looks OK, but there’s obviously
some work that needs doing.
The kitchen is filthy!
Yes, I understand.
It won’t be like that if and when you move
in.
If the current tenant doesn’t clean everything
thoroughly, we hire cleaners so that everything
is spotless for the new tenant.
OK.
Anyway, I’d like to take a couple of days
to think about it.
No problem, although if you’re interested,
I’d advise you to move quickly.
Places in this area get snapped up fast.
Let’s look at some key vocabulary from this
dialogue.
Could you explain what these words mean?
Or, can you guess the general meaning from
the context?
Think about it.
Before you move into a rented property, you’ll
do an inventory with the estate agent.
An inventory is a list of everything which
is in the apartment, and its condition.
If anything is damaged or dirty, you’ll
write it down on the inventory.
Then, when you move out, the estate agent
will check the property using the inventory.
If anything is missing or damaged, you’ll
usually have to pay for it.
Mould can be a problem in cold, damp countries
– like the UK!
Mould is something like a plant, which can
grow in dark, damp places, so it’s commonly
found in bathrooms.
It can make your bathroom look bad, and smell
bad.
If you redecorate your home, you change and
improve how it looks.
Maybe you paint the walls a different colour,
or change the carpets, or add some ornaments.
‘Spotless’ means extremely clean.
You heard an adjective with the opposite meaning
in the dialogue – ‘filthy’, which means
‘extremely dirty’.
When the estate agent said ‘places in this
area get snapped up fast’, he meant that
there is high demand for apartments in this
neighbourhood.
‘Snap something up’ literally means to
eat something
very fast, like a crocodile; here it has the
meaning of getting something before anyone
else can.
What next?
Well, if you look around a property and you
like it, you’ll need to pay a deposit and
sign a tenancy agreement.
Let’s see how that works.
Hello, Broom Cupboard, Daniel speaking.
Hello, yes, this is … I’m calling about
the flat on Wesley Close?
Ah, yes!
Hello.
What can I do for you?
We’ve decided to go ahead.
We’ll take a 12-month lease.
That’s great!
So, what are the next steps?
The first thing is to pay a holding deposit.
It’s two hundred pounds, and that lets us
take the property off the market while we
process your application.
Do we get that back?
If your application is successful, then it’s
offset against your rental deposit, so generally
yes.
If your application is not successful, then
you won’t, but that’s rare.
What else do we need?
You need to supply at least two references,
either from landlords or from employers.
There are two of us; does that mean we need
two references each?
Yes, you do.
The sooner you can get them to us, the better,
but we must have them by the end of next week.
OK, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Anything else we need to do?
Not right now.
Once your application is processed, you’ll
need to pay the tenancy deposit and the first
month’s rent, and sign the agreement.
How much is the tenancy deposit?
It’s one month’s rent, so nine hundred.
So we need to pay eighteen hundred?
That’s right.
Right…
And, assuming everything goes smoothly, when
could we move in?
It really depends on you.
Once we get your references, we can have the
agreement drawn up within one working day.
Then, as soon as you sign it and make the
payment, we can give you the keys.
OK, well, thanks for your help.
I’ll try to get the references to you as
quickly as possible.
In your country, what do you need to do before
you can move into a rented house or apartment?
Of course, these things can be different depending
on where you live.
In the UK, you generally have to pay a deposit,
pay the first month’s rent, provide references,
and sign a contract.
In most cases, you get your deposit back when
you move out, so long as you haven’t damaged
anything.
Once you’ve provided everything you need
to, you can sign the agreement, pick up the
keys, and move into your new place!
Now let’s look at some questions:
Try to answer these questions by speaking
out loud, in full sentences.
Pause the video and do it now!
Could you do it?
If so, great!
If not, we suggest you review the dialogue,
and try again.
Try as many times as you need.
Finally, let’s imagine that you’ve come
to the end of your contract, and it’s time
to move out.
Hello?
Hi, it’s Daniel, from the real estate agency.
I just wanted to confirm a few details about
your moving out date?
Oh right, sure.
So, are you definitely planning to vacate
the property on the last day of your tenancy?
Probably one or two days earlier.
OK, no problem, but can you let us know when
you know for sure?
Yeah, can do.
Either when you move out or shortly afterwards,
we need to do the final inventory.
Do we have to be there for that?
No, but it’s advisable.
OK, what about our deposit?
When do we get that back?
Well, we need to do the inventory first, and
then you’ll get your deposit back within
about one week.
Have you read the information on our website
about cleaning?
No, I haven’t.
Well, you’re responsible for cleaning the
place before you leave.
If anything isn’t clean when we come to
check, we hire a cleaning company to come,
and the cost is taken out of your deposit.
I see.
One tip: pay extra attention to the oven.
It can be really difficult to get an oven
clean.
You might want to get a cleaner just to do
that.
It might be cheaper if you do it on your end,
rather than paying for our cleaning company.
OK, got it.
So, could we arrange a time for the final
inventory now?
I need to check my work schedule.
Let me call you back.
Look at some sentences from the dialogue.
Can you remember how to complete these sentences?
And, can you explain what they mean?
Let’s check the answers.
‘Vacate’ is a more formal word for ‘move
out’.
You can say ‘vacate the property’ or ‘move
out of the property’ – the meaning is
the same.
You learned about the final inventory earlier.
Do you remember what it means?
During the final inventory, the estate
agent will check that nothing has gone missing
or been damaged since you moved in.
In the UK, you need to clean a rented property
before you move out.
Is this the same in your country?
Finally, ‘the cost is taken out of your
deposit’ is another way of saying ‘you’ll
have to pay for this’.
You won’t get the full amount of your deposit
back.
Now, you should understand how to deal with
estate agents and rent an apartment or house
in English.
Have you had any interesting, funny or terrible
experiences when renting a place to live?
If you want to practise your English, please
share your experiences with us and other learners
in the comments!
Thanks for watching!
See you next time!