75 Rental Experiences So Ridiculous People Couldn’t Keep Them To Themselves

Finding a good place to live or stay can feel like a challenge all on its own. Whether you're searching for an apartment to call home, booking a vacation rental for a few days, or looking for a comfortable place to work remotely for a while, there's usually a lot more to consider than simply finding somewhere with four walls and a decent-looking kitchen. You have to think about the location, the condition of the property, what’s included, how trustworthy the listing seems, and, of course, whether you can actually afford it. And then there's the biggest question of all: how much is it going to cost? Rent and accommodation prices can be especially difficult to manage in major cities, where demand is high and good properties can disappear almost as quickly as they're listed. Sometimes, it feels like you have to be ready to apply the moment you see a place you like—only to discover that five other people have already beaten you to it.

One explanation for this comes from Matthew Yglesias' book The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About America's Housing Crisis. Yglesias argues that one of the fundamental problems is that demand for housing in productive, high-wage cities has grown faster than the supply of homes. Cities such as New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., attract people because of the jobs and opportunities they offer, but building enough housing to accommodate everyone can be difficult. When new construction is restricted while more people continue moving in, competition for the homes that already exist becomes much more intense. That can leave renters competing for a limited number of properties while landlords have greater leverage over prices and requirements.

The competition doesn't end there. High mortgage rates and expensive homes have also made buying increasingly difficult for many would-be first-time homeowners. As a result, some people who might otherwise have moved into the housing market remain renters for longer, adding more demand to an already competitive rental pool. That means renters aren't simply competing with other people who are happily choosing to rent; they're also competing in a market where many people have few realistic alternatives. The result can be a frustrating cycle in which finding an affordable home becomes increasingly difficult.

And even when rent increases aren't accelerating as quickly as they once were, that doesn't necessarily mean renting has become affordable. Darren Baxter, principal policy adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, told the BBC that rents have remained “persistently high compared to renters' incomes for the past two decades.” He also noted that even relatively small increases can make housing unaffordable for people who are already stretching their budgets. Rent increases can also vary considerably from one property to another, and renters who need to move may discover that their next home costs even more than their previous one. For someone already living close to their financial limit, even a modest increase can make a significant difference.

Then there are the screening processes. Landlords often have to choose between large numbers of applicants, and some increasingly rely on third-party tenant-screening services to help make those decisions. Automated systems can assess credit histories, eviction records, background checks, and other information within minutes. While these tools can make the process faster, they can also leave applicants frustrated when an old discrepancy or piece of information affects their application without much opportunity for context or explanation. For renters, that can mean spending time and money applying for multiple properties without knowing whether they'll even make it through the initial screening.

And just when you think you've saved enough for the monthly rent, there can be another financial hurdle waiting for you. Getting the keys to a new home often requires a substantial amount of money upfront. Housing research from Fannie Mae has identified upfront costs as an important barrier for renters, and those costs can include non-refundable application fees for each adult applicant, the first month's rent, a security deposit, and sometimes the last month's rent as well. In certain major cities, renters may also have to pay broker fees, which can add thousands of dollars to the initial cost of moving. For someone already trying to save money while covering everyday expenses, coming up with that amount at once can be a major challenge.