When you visit a rental unit and submit an application to rent, the landlord may respond to your concerns about the condition of the apartment with promises to fix, clean, paint and replace worn appliances torn carpets, broken kitchen cabinets, etc.
You may ask if a shorter lease term is possible and the landlord will say that you can talk about it later, there should not be any problem, leading you to believe that the possibility exists to negotiate the length of the lease. The lease says that pets are not permitted but the landlord assures you that it would be ok for you to have a dog or a cat. Subletting is not permitted by the lease but the landlord assures you that it would be ok for you to sublet. These are just some of the promises landlord/property managers can make to you when you apply for the apartment. If you base your decision to rent a place on such promises you may be in for a big disappointment later on.
Any promises that you are relying on in renting the apartment and signing the contract must be written into the contract, before you sign it. When you have a written lease, verbal promises, made either prior to lease signing or after lease signing, are rarely enforceable.
May be the landlord will keep his/her word and perform all the promised repairs/improvements but if the landlord does not, there is no way for you to enforce a verbal promise and you will have to rely on the rights you have as a tenant, according to the landlord tenant law and the lease.
Remember, however, that the landlord must keep the property up to code and perform maintenance and repairs, as provided by the property maintenance requirements of the housing code. Once you have possession of the unit, you should document the condition of the apartment and request repairs in writing. This is the only way to ensure that the repairs are done and that you can resort to legal remedies open to you, if they are not.
