When should I begin my search for a rental apartment?

It is generally advised to begin your rental search approximately 4-6 weeks prior to your intended move-in date, since management companies / landlords are not notified by their current tenants of lease renewals (and non-renewals) until around that time.  If you’d like to start earlier than that, doing your research on neighborhoods, determining your budget and deciding on what type of building / apartment you prefer are a great first step in the process.  However, you probably will not be able to see many apartments until closer to your intended move-in date (e.g. if it’s still 2 months away from move-in, most will be available for a maximum of 2-4 weeks from that date).

There are many factors and various situations that influence the answer to this question.  Here are a few:

• Occupied apartments (no showings) – Some mgmt cos / landlords do not allow occupied apartments to be shown to prospective tenants (and tend to not publish availabilities until such apartments are vacant).  Therefore, these apartments can only be seen when unoccupied and generally require a fast move-in within 1-2 weeks.
• Occupied apartments (showings allowed) – Some mgmt cos / landlords allow leasing agents or supers to show occupied apartments during designated times and days, sometimes requiring a certain amount of notice.  These units are generally advertised as available once the current tenants inform the mgmt co / landlord of non-lease renewal, which could be a week to two months prior.
• Condo/Co-op rentals – These types of units can sometimes require a lengthy approval process (e.g. a few weeks to over a month), which would necessitate submitting an application earlier rather than later.

In general, 2-4 weeks prior is the sweet spot, when most rental applications are submitted relative to the intended move-in date.  During this time, the most inventory is available for viewings.