Getting your deposit back, and not being scammed.
Security deposits — limits and getting yours backUnlike the UK there's no national deposit-protection scheme. Most states cap the deposit and set a deadline to return it with an itemised list of any deductions — but the rules are your state's.
Renting safely and spotting rental scamsNewcomers are targeted precisely because they're desperate, remote and unfamiliar with normal practice. The pattern is always the same: a great price, an absent landlord, and pressure to pay now.
Roommates, joint leases and subletting legallySign a lease with roommates and you're usually 'jointly and severally liable' — legalese for: if they don't pay, the landlord can come after YOU for the whole rent.