Renewal clauses and policies – some automatically go on a month to month basis after a year. Some automatically renew for a year. Make sure you know when your lease is up, if you need a 30 day notice, or if you are obligated into another term without termination notice.
Insurance – do you need to have insurance? Do you need a certain amount? Upstairs versus downstairs apartments. Do you need flood insurance with a waterbed? Does your breed of dog cause you to need extra insurance? You probably want to know this going in so you don’t get notice of termination.
Maintenance – What are you responsible for and what do they provide? If they expect you to do minimal items, do they provide items to help? Do they offer free air filters? Do you need to buy your own light bulbs? This can help gauge extra expenses if it turns out they don’t patch holes and you need to pay someone to do it.
What types of changes can you make? Can you paint? Can you wallpaper? Can you hang items on the wall? Most places will allow you to make your place your home, as long as you can undo what you did. Everyone wants to be comfortable, but landlords don’t want walls removed.
Make sure you take a look, a second look, and maybe have someone else read it over. You don’t want to miss anything that could cost you in the long run.