For international students · NYU and Columbia

Find your first New York home

Answer ten short questions. We'll rank 28 neighborhoods and 66 rental buildings across Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Jersey City, show your top picks on the 3-D map, and email them to you.

Your answers are encrypted and saved only in this browser. You can delete them at any time.

Question 1 of 10Every question is required

First, a little about you

We use this to send your matches. We never share your age with anyone outside Rent Atlas.

First name

Age

Phone number

I agree that Rent Atlas saves my answers encrypted in this browser, emails my matches to the address above, and may use my answers (not my age) to write my fit summary with AI.

Field notes for a first New York lease

Plan for a guarantor

Landlords usually ask for yearly income of 40 times the monthly rent, or a US guarantor earning about 80 times. Without US credit history, most students use an institutional guarantor service, which charges a one-time fee often close to a month's rent.

Broker fees changed in 2025

Under New York City's FARE Act, in effect since June 2025, a broker hired by the landlord can't charge you their fee. That covers Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. Jersey City is in New Jersey and isn't covered, so ask about fees before you apply.

Two transit systems

Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn run on the MTA subway. Jersey City depends on PATH trains and NJ Transit light rail, separate systems with their own fares, so a commute that ends with a subway ride means paying twice.

See it before you pay

Rental scams aim at people who can't visit in person. Don't wire a deposit or send passport scans for a place no one has shown you, by video at least. Contact buildings through the official site linked here.