Upload your apartment lease PDF to spot red flags before signing, uncover hidden monthly fees, translate dense legal clauses into plain English, and calculate your total move-in costs.
Instant results powered by automated AI — get answers in under 10 seconds, not days.
1st Scan is Free ($0) · Need unlimited scans for life? Just $3.99 one-time payment.
01 · Red Flags
60-day notice & repair traps
02 · Hidden Fees
Valet trash & move-in math
03 · Plain English
Clear summary + email draft
Drag and drop your apartment lease PDF here
Flags hidden monthly fees, 60-day notice traps, and calculates your total move-in cost in plain English.
How to Review an Apartment Lease Before Signing
See how LeaseCheck translates confusing rental lease legalese into simple, actionable plain English so you know exactly what to look for in a rental lease before you sign.
“Lessee covenants and agrees to remit monthly, as Additional Rent subject to late remedies under Paragraph 6, a non-optional Doorstep Waste Assessment of $38.00 and a Resident Benefit Package of $42.00 regardless of utilization.”
You are forced to pay an extra $80 every single month ($960/year) for trash pickup and a “resident package” you cannot cancel—even if you carry your own trash to the dumpster.
“Absent written notice of intent to vacate delivered to Lessor no fewer than sixty (60) calendar days prior to the Expiration Date, this Agreement shall automatically renew or convert to a holdover tenancy at Market Rate plus $300.00/month.”
If you don’t send written move-out notice a full 2 months before your lease ends, you are locked into another lease or charged an extra $300/month penalty.
“Lessee shall bear the initial $175.00 service dispatch cost per maintenance occurrence for appliance or plumbing repairs, and authorizes an automatic $350.00 deduction from the Security Deposit upon surrender for carpet sanitization.”
You must pay the first $175 out of pocket every time an old appliance or pipe breaks, and the landlord automatically takes $350 from your deposit for carpet cleaning even if you leave it spotless.
Renter Budgeting & Hidden Fee Calculator
Estimate your true upfront move-in cash and see how mandatory monthly fees like valet trash and resident benefit packages affect your real rent—or read our complete guide to calculating total move-in costs for an apartment.
Estimate your true upfront cash needed on move-in day and your real monthly rent after mandatory addenda.
Base rent listed on page 1 of lease
Upfront refundable security deposit
Non-refundable move-in & admin charges
Valet trash, benefit package, smart lock, pest
Estimated Total Move-In Cash Required
$4,710
Due prior to picking up your apartment keys
Not sure which fees are buried in your 35-page lease PDF? Let LeaseCheck extract every fee automatically.
Scan My Lease PDF for Hidden Fees (Free)Simple, One-Time Renter Pricing
No subscriptions. Your first full lease scan is 100% free, and unlimited lifetime scans cost a single $3.99 one-time payment.
Renter Education Library
Before you sign your next rental contract, check for these 12 common apartment lease red flags—from back-page fee addenda and automatic 12-month renewals to per-call repair deductibles.
Advertised base rent rarely tells the whole story. Learn where landlords hide mandatory monthly fees, upfront move-in charges, and automatic move-out deductions inside your apartment lease PDF.
Wondering how to review an apartment lease before signing and what to look for in a rental lease? Follow this 5-step plain-English workflow to audit any 35-page lease PDF in minutes.
Moving into a new apartment requires far more upfront cash than just the first month’s rent. Use this exact formula to calculate total move-in costs for an apartment before signing.
Many large apartment complexes advertise a competitive base rent, only to add $35 to $110 per month in mandatory valet trash, smart lock, and resident benefit fees inside lease addenda.
Missing a 60-day or 90-day notice to vacate deadline by even 48 hours can trigger automatic month-to-month holdover surcharges or lock you into a full 12-month renewal.
Click any question to expand
Yes. Your 1st apartment lease PDF scan is 100% free ($0) with no account or sign-up required. If you are comparing multiple apartments, subleases, or renewal addenda, you can unlock Lifetime Unlimited Scans for a single $3.99 one-time payment—never a recurring subscription.
When you pay $3.99 once for Lifetime Unlimited Scans, LeaseCheck instantly generates your personal Portable Pass Key (e.g., LC-8F4A-92C1-3B10). Because we never force you to create an account or share your email, you can copy this key and enter it on any other browser, phone, or computer to unlock your unlimited scans anywhere.
The most common apartment lease red flags include mandatory monthly add-on fees buried in back-page addenda (valet trash, resident benefit packages, smart lock fees), 60-day notice-to-vacate clauses with automatic renewals, per-incident repair deductibles ($100–$250), automatic security deposit carpet-cleaning deductions, and landlord entry without 24 hours advance notice.
Add your first month’s base rent, security deposit, upfront administrative or lease preparation fees, pet deposits, and the first month of any mandatory addenda (valet trash, pest control, package lockers). Uploading your PDF to LeaseCheck extracts and totals these costs automatically in under 10 seconds.
In most US states, landlords can only deduct unpaid rent and actual tenant-caused damage beyond normal wear and tear. Watch out for leases that insert automatic flat carpet-cleaning deductions or $100–$250 per-call repair deductibles when aging appliances or plumbing fail.
A 60-day notice clause requires written move-out notice 60 days before your lease expires to avoid auto-renewal or holdover penalties. For privacy, landlords may enter during true emergencies, but routine inspections or showings should require at least 24 hours advance notice.
Lost your Lifetime Pass Key, found a scan issue, or have a question?
Recover your Pass Key by email in seconds or send a message directly to our support team.
In-Memory Privacy: Uploaded lease PDFs are transmitted securely for automated AI analysis and processed strictly in memory—never stored on disk or sold.
Educational Tool, Not a Law Firm: LeaseCheck helps renters read lease agreements in plain English and does not provide formal legal advice. Landlord-tenant laws vary by US state and city.