Odd request from landlord

[Ed Banfield]

Looking for an apartment in MD for my daughter, we decided on one on September 30, we did not need it until November 1.  Real estate company sent forms to fill out for credit reference and all that, took a few days, came back fine.  Knowing we needed the place for November 1, the owner requested $1000 to compensate him for the fact that he could not rent it out for October (rent is $2250/month.)  Should we be penalized because we looked early, were we supposed to wait until the end of the month to avoid this?  Does not sound right to me. 

[JD Martin]

What you are asking is for the apartment owner to hold the unit without cost for you for an entire month. Asking for less than 1/2 month's rent actually doesn't sound unreasonable to me. I have rented out homes to people who didn't need it until X date, and I make it clear that if they are accepted they will be renting it beginning X date, I don't really care what date *they* need it by. If they are unwilling, no problem, I just move on to someone else. 

This depends on your market. If you are OK finding someplace else, tell them no and start looking elsewhere. If the market is despicable where you are, they may be willing to just eat the additional month of vacancy. If it is a good market, however, don't be surprised if they tell you "Sorry, we are moving on to another qualified applicant". 

PS: It also depends on timeframe. If they didn't approve your application until this morning, they don't have much opportunity to rent for October anyway. If they approved you 2 weeks ago, you are impeding on their ability to collect rent from another willing *and ready* party by asking them to keep the apartment warm and toasty for you for free for a whole month.