Avoiding Apartment Transfer Fees: Your Rights & Strategies

Transfer fees on apartments are usually charged when a resident chooses to move from one apartment to another during the course of her lease. The fee is justified by the landlord or leasing company as a way to recover the costs of preparing the new apartment and having to set up the old apartment for rent. However, if the reason you are changing apartments is beyond your control or your lease term is almost up, you may be able to have the fee waived. Before renting an apartment in a complex, always find out how much the transfer fee is ahead of time.

Step 1

Find out the reason the transfer fee is being charged. In some cases the fee can be waived if you provide a reason for the transfer.

Step 2

Ask the landlord or leasing company to provide you with a state statute that allows it to charge the fee.

Step 3

Find out under what conditions the fee can be avoided. For example, in some apartment complexes, an apartment transfer fee is charged if you change apartments during the course of your lease; however, if you wait until the lease is almost up, you can avoid the fee.

Step 4

Ask for a fee waiver if there is a reason you have to switch apartments that isn't within your power. If your apartment was particularly noisy or had other issues, you can tell the landlord that you would have stayed except for that issue. For that reason, a landlord may waive the fee.