Home guide

Readiness for renters.

No garage, no solar, no drilling into walls, and you might move next year. Here is what still works.

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Readiness for renters. as one saveable image

Most readiness advice assumes a house with a garage and a yard. A renter has a deposit to protect, a landlord who will not fix the heat, and supplies that have to move when the lease ends. Everything on this page is portable, deposit-safe, and useful in the next place too.

1
Renters insurance, this week
- Covers your stuff and a hotel if you cannot live there
- Ask about coverage for evacuation orders
- Usually the cost of two coffees a month
2
A kit that moves with you
- One bin, one go-bag, nothing built into the unit
- Fits in the trunk when you move
- Counts toward the next place, not lost with this one
3
Water that fits
- Under-bed containers and the jugs you already buy
- A case in the closet, a few bottles in the car
- The tub when the notice comes
4
A power station, not a generator
- Silent, no exhaust, allowed in a unit
- Runs phones, lights, a router, a CPAP overnight
- Generators are for people with a yard
5
Anchor without losing the deposit
- Furniture straps into a stud leave two small screw holes
- Fill them with putty at move-out; that is normal wear
- Museum putty under the small heavy things
6
Heat without AC, deposit-safe
- Window film and blackout curtains on tension rods
- A battery fan, a spray bottle, the lowest room
- Know the nearest cooling center; libraries count
7
Know the building
- Where the unit's gas and water shutoffs are, and who may touch them
- The stairwell, both exits, the fire panel
- What floor the water pressure dies on when the power goes
8
Alarms you own
- A battery carbon monoxide alarm by the bedroom
- A fire extinguisher under the sink
- Both go with you when you move
9
The landlord conversation
- Heat, smoke alarms and locks are theirs to fix in California
- Ask in writing, keep the thread
- The county's tenant line if it goes nowhere
10
Neighbors across the hall
- Three units who have your number
- Who has a car, who has a kid, who lives alone
- A building that talks is the best alarm there is
11
Documents in the cloud
- Lease, renters policy, IDs, photos of every room
- A USB in the go-bag
- A move is the moment to update it
12
Where you go if the building is closed
- A friend, a relative, a pet-friendly hotel on the route
- Decided before the night it matters
- Written on the fridge in the kit