understanding the rental process
- Always consider the local amenities (transportation, grocery stores, schools, activities, and neighborhood life) when looking for a space.
- Always try to make an appointment to see the place.
- Check which utilities you are paying for and their average monthly cost.
- Check for insects and rodents.
- Check if there are working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors or fire alarms; consider elevator and stair safety.
- Go over the lease agreement with the landlord.
- Check for parking availability, if you’ll have a car.
- Security Deposit
- It is money a tenant gives to a landlord when first renting a unit to guarantee their lease. This is typical for rentals.
- Intended to cover possible damages caused by tenant during term of lease. If there are no damages and you have cleaned, you should get your security deposit back within 30 days of the end of your lease.
- Review the Terms of Your Rental Agreement:
- You have right to possession of a unit from the day it begins to when it ends.
- Common utility payments include gas, heat, electricity, water, and sewage.
- Check whether you pay your landlord money for utilities or you directly pay the utility company yourself.
- If you are paying for a particular utility, you are likely also responsible for contacting the appropriate utility company to turn on the services, or to continue the services at your address.
- Check the length of notice needed before a landlord can come inspect for routine maintenance.
- Check the building maintenance requirements (shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, etc.).
- Take photographs of any damage in the unit before you move in, in order to clear yourself of responsibility for repairs.
- Contact your landlord as soon as possible in writing and via telephone if there is any physical impairment of your space.
- For more information on searching for a rental unit, reviewing and signing your lease, moving into your new rental unit, living in your rental unit, and moving out, please view the following guide: http://www.nlsa.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Tenant_Guidebook_2010.pdf.
applications and websites for buses
- Websites:
- Port Authority: http://www.portauthority.org/paac/
- Cell phone mobile apps for transportation estimates:
- Transit Tracker - Pittsburgh (includes bus, T/subway, the Incline, and Amtrak railroad, and park and ride locations) - https://transitapp.com.
- Moovit - Pittsburgh: https://moovit.com.
- Pittsburgh Transit (available in English, Spanish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese).
common neighborhoods where graduate students live
There are many neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, and we listed some of the most common ones where Pitt grad students usually decide to live. Prices of the rentals change all the time, you should always check online for more information. A couple possible sources you can check, but please keep in mind that we do not take any responsibility about the accuracy of the information found here: https://www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-pittsburgh-rent-trends/. For further information about the buses that travel through the different Pittsburgh neighborhoods, please see Transit Overlay Map available at http://www.portauthority.org/PAAC/Apps/maps/SystemMap.pdf. www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-pittsburgh-rent-trends/
Oakland
Squirrel Hill
Shadyside
Bloomfield
Friendship
Highland Park
Garfield
Greenfield
Regent Square
East Liberty
Lawrenceville
Southside Flats
Oakland
- Divided into North Oakland, West Oakland, Central Oakland, South Oakland.
- Central Oakland and South Oakland mostly house undergraduate students.
- Buses:
- To Pitt Campus: 61 A/B/C/D, 71A/B/C/D, P3, 54, 65, 67, 69, 75, 81, 82, 93.
- Distance to Pitt: 1-15 minute walk depending on location.
- Trash pickup on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
Squirrel Hill
- Buses:
- To Pitt Campus: 61/B/C/D, 67, 69
- Other Neighborhood Buses: 74
- 15-35 Minutes bus ride depending on your location, with North being much closer than South.
- Trash pickup on Wednesday and Friday.
Shadyside
- Local Bus Routes
- To Pitt Campus: 71A/B/C/D 54, P3, 75
- 20-30 bus ride from Campus
- Trash pickup on Wednesday.
Bloomfield
- Local Bus Routes
- To Pitt Campus: 54, 93. Other Neighborhood Buses: 64, 87, 88, 86, 82
- Distance to Pitt: Roughly 20 minutes by bus.
- Trash pickup on Fridays.
Friendship
- Local Bus Routes
- To Pitt Campus: P3, 54, 71A/C
- Other Neighborhood Buses: P16, 89, 64, P17,86,87
- 20-35-minute bus ride to campus
- Trash pickup on Wednesdays.
Highland Park
- Local Bus Routes:
- To Pitt Campus: 71B
- Other Neighborhood Buses: 87
- Trash pickup on Mondays.
Garfield
- Local Bus Routes
- Other Neighborhood Buses: 88, 89, 87, 64, 86
- To Pitt Campus: Take one of the above buses and transfer to another.
- 30-50minute bus ride
- Trash pickup on Mondays.
Greenfield
- Local Bus Routes
- To Pitt Campus: 58, 93, 61 C/D
- Trash pickup on Fridays.
Regent Square
- Local Bus Routes
- To Pitt Campus: 61A, 61B, 69, 67, 71C, P3
- Other Neighborhood Buses: P7, 68
- 30-40minute bus ride from campus
- For the Pittsburgh portion, pickup is on Tuesdays.
East Liberty
- Local Bus Routes
- To Pitt Campus: P3, 71A Other Neighborhood Buses: 89, 88, 64, 74.
- 25-40minute bus ride from campus
- Trash pickup on Mondays.
Lawrenceville
- Local Bus Routes
- To Pitt Campus: 93, or take one of the below and transfer
- Other Neighborhood Buses: 91, 64, 88, 87
- 30-minute bus ride.
- Trash pickup on Thursdays and Fridays.
Southside Flats
- Local Bus Routes
- To Pitt Campus: 81, 83, 54, 75
- Other Neighborhood Buses: 48, 51, 53, 43, 51L20-30 minute bus ride to campus
- Trash pickup on Thursdays.
finding housing
Here are some links to sources you can use to start your research in finding housing in Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Apartments & Sublets |
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Zillow |
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ROOM8, a matching app, utilizes social media to connect based on mutual connections, budget, location, lifestyle and interests. |
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Craigslist Ads |
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Facebook Groups (Requesting access is required but you will be accepted) |
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RENTAL AGENCIES
Note: Leases near Pitt usually begin either May 1, August 1, or January 1. Always ask around and read reviews online before signing a lease with any rental agency, and be mindful of lease dates and expectations.
Forbes Management
Forbes Management
- http://forbesmanagement.net/
- (412) 441-1211
- info@forbesmanagement.org
- Offers rental spaces from studios to four-bedrooms.
- Own locations in Shadyside, Friendship, Oakland, Polish Hill, Bloomfield, Highland Park, Morningside, Squirrel Hill, and Point Breeze.
- https://www.unionrealestate.com/
- (412) 288-7800
- support@Unionrealestate.com
- Both urban and suburban rentals. Urban apartments are primarily located in Oakland and Shadyside.
- https://www.rpmpittsburgh.com/
- Contact on site: https://www.rpmpittsburgh.com/contact-us
- Detailed room search function on website.
- https://mozartrents.com
- (412) 682-7000
- info@mozartrents.com
- Offers apartments in Shadyside, North Oakland, Highland Park, Squirrel Hill, and Frick Park
- Offers flexible leases
- 508 Rebecca Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15221
- Sherri Schack, (412) 371-8211
- Offers apartments in and near Regent Square
WASTE DISPOSAL
Garbage:
Yard Debris Collection:
○ Hazelwood Drop-Off Center, 40 Melanchton St., Pittsburgh, PA 15207, 412-422-6524
○ West End Drop-Off Center, 1330 Hassler St., Pittsburgh, PA 15220, 412-937-3054
Recycling:
Snow:
Collection schedules vary depending on street and zip code. To find out your collection schedule, visit https://pgh.st. Type in your street address and zip code, and the site will give you the month’s schedule for trash, recycling, and yard pickup. You can also sign up to get text or email reminders![1]
[1] Just note that standard messaging rates may apply if you agree to receive text messages or calls to your phone.
- No pickup on Holidays: New Year’s Day (January 1), Martin Luther King Day (January 21), Memorial Day (May 27), Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (September 3), Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday of November), Christmas Day (December 25)
- NOTE: When Holidays occur, this schedule will be offset by a day. For example, if collection is typically on Monday, it will instead be on Tuesday.
- City will not pick up:
- TVs, computers, carpeting, marble or stone countertops’ parts, bricks, cement, glass blocks or materials, car and automobile parts, hazardous, infectious or flammable materials, explosives, construction or building materials
- Appliances: refrigerators, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, etc.
Yard Debris Collection:
- Collects leaves, (small) branches, brush, and grass.
- Must be in paper bags weighing less than 35 pounds.
- Branches should be bundled together in lengths of 5 feet or less
- Must be set out before 6 am on the day of collection.
- If these guidelines are not followed, bags will not be picked up.
- Occurs twice a year
- This year’s 2018 dates: May 19th and November 17th
- Other disposals may occur at drop-off locations, open 8 am-2 pm
○ Hazelwood Drop-Off Center, 40 Melanchton St., Pittsburgh, PA 15207, 412-422-6524
○ West End Drop-Off Center, 1330 Hassler St., Pittsburgh, PA 15220, 412-937-3054
- Types of debris that can be collected:
- leaves, grass, plants, tree trimmings, branches, shrubs, and Christmas trees.
- Types of debris that will not be collected in yard debris collection:
- plastic bags, metal/wire, stones, dirt, rocks, manure, or garbage.
Recycling:
- Accepted:
- Paper, plastics (bottles, jugs and jars #1-5 & 7, glass (bottles, jars, and jugs), aluminum/steel cans, cardboard
- Cardboard must be flattened and bundled or put in another box to be placed curbside
- All recyclables should be clean and dry. Discard all lids and caps
- All recycling must be put in a blue bin or blue plastic bag and placed curbside to be picked up biweekly, falling on the weekday that the resident’s trash is collected.
Snow:
- Snow plows are typically administered on streets when there is a time of high snowfall.
- As for sidewalks, it is usually the property owner’s responsibility to clear them.
- Check your lease to see whether you or your landlord is responsible.
Collection schedules vary depending on street and zip code. To find out your collection schedule, visit https://pgh.st. Type in your street address and zip code, and the site will give you the month’s schedule for trash, recycling, and yard pickup. You can also sign up to get text or email reminders![1]
[1] Just note that standard messaging rates may apply if you agree to receive text messages or calls to your phone.
DISCLAIMER: The Pitt Grad Union (also known as the Graduate Student Organizing Committee or GSOC) takes NO responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on this website. The information on this website is only meant to be a collection of resources and information available through online research. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. The Pitt Grad Union does not endorse any of the organizations, mobile phone applications, or other names entities of people mentioned within.