We just found a place in Somerville for 11/1. We worked with a broker at Tory Row and she told us the same thing. Even though there isn't a lot out there, we were able to see 5 places in a weekend (2 with her, 1 with another broker, and 2 from Craigslist) and they were all pretty good. I would just push hard on the brokers to show you whatever they have. Don't lose hope!! There's good stuff out there, even though there aren't a lot of choices. Just be prepared for a short lease, since all the landlords want to be on the school cycle.

This has been a terrible source of stress for my son, who goes to school in Boston (and it's the universities that fill most of the housing stock with students). While he was fortunate to get on-campus housing for only the spring semester, we are still in a panic. We were advised to look outside of Boston in surrounding communities--about a 30-minute train from the Back Bay. The rents are reasonable and some areas are quite nice. So I'd say expand your focus to the outside (I do wish you the best of luck!).

I've moved twice in the winter in the Boston area, and I've found that rates tend to be a little bit less or at least more negotiable since its the off-season and landlords just want to get their apartments filled.

My advice would be to be open to various types of leases, whether its 12-month, 16-month or tenant-at-will. Also we had a lot of success using this tool: http://www.padmapper.com/ It's a map that pulls in apartment listings from various sources and you can set different parameters to search. I think its easier and more efficient to use than craigslist, even though its pulling in the craiglist postings.

Also agree with the poster above - Don't hesitate to look outside Boston either! Good luck!!

I know nothing about Boston, but I just want to add that padmapper is a godsend.

Thanks, Dunks. I'm going to use that, too.

I went to grad school at Northeastern (where the undergrads are encouraged to take semester-long internships three times while in school, so they're constantly moving in and out of apartments.) From what I hear, the best way to snag a great apartment at this time of year is to be open to subleasing.

Many times, people are moving out of Boston for a semester but they had no option except to stay in a lease that runs all the way to September. If you sublet from them for a few months, usually the landlord lets you have first dibs on signing a brand new lease when September rolls around, and you can continue on as though nothing ever happened. It's a great way to find really nice apartments at any time of year and possibly save some money too (since the subletter is usually desperate!) If you're anxious about it, find a subletter that's willing to get the landlord's permission or sign a document. I think most if not all landlords in Boston are completely fine with sublets--as long as they get the monthly rent check!

I live in Boston too. We just moved into a place on October 1st (and I moved a few years ago on March 1st) by taking over someone's lease who needed to move. I agree with Dunks, be open to leases with weird timeframes (ours is 11 months, through Aug 31st).

sorry to say I found both of these on craigslist, so no new ideas there. I would say though, keep an eye and ear out for any email lists you're on, at school, at work etc. LOTS of people around here have rental properties in addition to whatever else they do, and there's always people looking for roommates if that's something you're willing to do.

I worked in real estate for a few years, doing tons of rentals as well. My best advice is to try to get a short-term lease, maybe taking over a lease in mid-term, that would expire in August.

While you may not want to move so quickly after getting settled in, it would provide you with an opportunity to get "in sync" with the rest of the rental market, and provide you with a greater selection at more price points than the time frame you're working with now.

Check with local real estate offices that specialize in rentals (they're out there), see if there is someone trying to break a lease early, and negotiate a new lease with an expiration for August 31/September 1.

Maybe someone can explain this to me: in the US are required to move as soon as your lease is up? I had never heard of this before Apartment Therapy. Where I live (Canada) when your lease is over you just usually keep living there month-to-month; you still have to give 60 days notice to move out but you don't have to leave as soon as your year is over.

@heartdepauvera - yes and no. a lease is a legal contract, but other agreements can be worked out. also, the law varies from place to place, governed by state and local laws. even the eviction process varies from place to place. in nyc it can take quite awhile for a landlord to go to court and get a formal order for you to vacate. you could hold out for quite a long time. other places, if the rent is two days late you get a notice to be out in 3-days or pay up. i think that still requires a court action to bring the sherriff to force you out. so it wouldn't literally be three days time.

i rented a place, got robbed, decided not to renew, couldn't find a new place, asked the landlord to let me go month-to-month. the following year, they sent me a new lease and i stayed a few more years.

and we don't have to give 60 days notice anywhere in the u.s.

to Heartdepauvera:

Typically I have moved when my lease is up because my landlords have raised the rent dramatically.

I had to move last March when my rent went from $1600-$2000 with no notice or explanation. My landlord got it too, there were several couples who wanted the place.

Rental prices in Boston are increasing, particularly now with so many foreclosures displacing homeowners into the rental market.

It is different in different cities, but with the colleges, universities, biotech and hi tech industries rentals here are in very, very high demand.

To the OP-

I found my current place on Craigslist even though it wasn't listed- I found one place that looked pretty good and then followed the links back to a RE office. They had some apts on their website that they hadn't put on Craigslist yet.

But I had to sign a 7 month lease to bring it to Sept 1st- then it self renewed to a year lease with no rent increase.

I moved out of Boston about 5 years ago. It is a vicious rental market...especially with the Sept 1 universal moving day (most ridiculous policy ever). Generally, significant rent increases are what drives you out of a decent apartment as soon as the lease expires. Odd term leases are the best option for an off-season move. I did it once as a 6 mo lease (awesome); then again as a 14 month lease (I was ready to move after 12 mos, but not terrible). Craigslist is key. I know it seems scary--but there will be December listings coming on now--as tenants moved in October, there was clean-up or renovation that had to be done...and now they are ready (and anxious) to list. Hopefully, you can find something close-in, rather than dealing with a commute!

We live in East Boston and love it. We've found that it's easier to find leases off the Sept 1st date and the rents are really reasonable for it's proximity to the city.

This is kind of an off the wall suggestion, but if you look outside of Boston in areas where people have summer homes on the beach, you can sometimes get a winter lease at a much reduced rate.

Look on the South and North shores where there is a good train service. Nahant would be one place to look, for example.

I agree with what other posters have said - Boston is a "September 1st" city, which can be a pain for those of us who actually WANT to get off that horrible cycle of crosstown U-Haul gridlock and abandoned mattresses on every streetcorner from the Fenway to Brighton.

I now live in Somerville, and managed to wrangle an August 1 lease through a good real estate agent (plug: if you're looking to live in Cambridge/Somerville/Arlington/Medford, check out Red Line Real Estate!). It was originally a July 1 lease, but he helped us negotiate because he knows his stuff and is tight with all the landlords whose places he shows.

So basically, subletting or finding a superhero broker are your best bets. You don't have to go out to the 'burbs unless you want to. (And you don't want to. The commuter rail sucks almost as much as the T.)

I don't understand what people are saying about Boston being a "universal" Sept 1 city. It's certainly not policy, even if it seems like that in student areas.

If you want to live where students live, expect problems finding places before the new year. You might sublet to bridge the gap, but a better option is to expand your search.

Try the Easts-- East Boston, East Cambridge, East Somerville. Or the Northern M's: Medford, Malden, Melrose.

If you take the T to work/school, try to avoid transfers. 30 min sitting with a book is a lot nicer than 20 min of rushing from orange to red to green.

The thing about Boston, is that it's not super important to live in the city proper. Don't be afraid to try the surrounding areas. Most have great access to public transportation or easy parking if you drive. Find realtors in Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline (of even further out like Medford, Woburn, Watertown or Newton). I've found that it's also worth looking into places further out in Brighton (still part of Boston). I found my current place on Craigslist and it's great (plus--no realtor fees).

One thing that I have found effective is instead of looking for apartment listings on craigslist is to post an "apartment wanted" ad there. I have found several great apartments, including my current place, that I would have never found otherwise, when I was contacted by landlords looking to fill vacancies.

I think it depends somewhat on where in Boston you're looking. The closer you look to a university, the more the apartments will be synchronized to the 9/1 date. However, we were able to find a 3/15 (!?!) apartment in Somerville, off Somerville Ave. The landlord said it was just inconvenient enough that there wasn't much demand from Tufts or Harvard kids. In general we had much better luck thru CL than agents.

Is someone already lined up to move in? If not, find out when Boston sees bigger rental turnovers and see if your landlord will extend your lease. For example, where I live I think May and October are the biggest months to start leases. With more people looking at a different time of year, the landlord stands to get better exposure for the unit, so it's a mutually beneficial situation.

If there's already a new renter coming in, see if you can set up a different move-out date with your new landlord to save yourself this headache in the future. If they know you want the place and that, say, a 14 month lease instead of 12 would seal the deal, a reasonable landlord would accommodate that.

I found my last place in Arlington, just outside of Cambridge, by finding realtors on Craigslist and having them show me everything in my price range that they had. (I had three weeks to find a new place and move.) The apartment I ended up renting had just come back on the market that day as the renter was moving to Europe. It was $100 over my top limit for rent, but when I told the agent that, he took $100 off the rent, with absolutely no haggling--sometimes it's worth more to them to get the place rented than it is to worry about the amount of rent. In the five years I was there, the rent went up a total of $75.

So even if the rental stock is limited, just make an appointment with a realtor and take a look at everything that fits your budget.

If you have any connections with any of the colleges or universities in the area, check to see if they have any apartment listings you can check. I graduated from BC 25 years ago, but as an alum I am eligible to use their housing resources.

I don't know what area you are looking for, but parts of Arlington are walking distance to the Red Line, and there's good bus service down Mass Ave to Porter and Davis, so do check out some of the more outlying areas.

This was several years ago, but I found a great apartment in Oak Square from, get this, the newspaper. The apartment building was owned by an old fellow, who used the old school way of advertising. You might want to check some newspapers in addition to online stuff.

I lived in Boston for two years and moved three times! Ugh. Not fun, especially in the winter. Definitely expand your search from the city if possible and check out Somerville, Southie, and maybe even Charlestown or Waltham for more options. I always found my places on Craigslist, though oftentimes the specific rentals were taken but the company/agent showing had other availabilities, so I saw those instead and a couple worked out that way.

Another alternative may be taking over someone's lease (subletting) while they study abroad spring semester--usually starting in January. If they go home for the holidays, you're golden! You may have to find a new place come summertime, but it's usually much easier then. Good luck! :)

Craigslist!!!

I went to school in Boston and only once moved into an apartment in September. Without exception, I found better, less expensive apartments with January 1st move in dates. Some I found on Craigslist, some I found through word-of-mouth (these were sublets).

When I lived in Boston, I rented a studio near Fenway startomg July 1; at the end of my lease, the management company let me extend by six months so I could move on December 31. This was three years ago, but you might want to call the company that owned my building directly --
Fineberg Companies (http://www.finebergcompanies.com/default.aspx?matrix=2). I had an excellent experience with them, and they told me that their tenants have leases that run on all sorts of schedules. Good luck!

Another vote for padmapper, but another thing to think about, if you find a complex you like, see if they'll wait-list you.

I live in Boston and if you're flexible, check around places like Somerville, Medford (pretty easy to get to the T via the bus) and other generally out of the way areas that are near the universities because many students go abroad in the Spring and need someone to sublet from them. Its not a long-term solution but it is an option. I would contact off-campus housing offices at different universities to see if anyone needs someone to cover their rent for the semester. Plus, that should get you to a June 1st move in date which does tend to be pretty popular (I've found it to be the second most popular after Sept 1st).

Keep at it - and wait til the last minute! I got my Back Bay 2br for February 1st - in the beginning of January because the prior tenants broke their lease. The landlord needed to find someone asap, so the rent was cheap. He asked us to re-sign in September to get us back on a September-August lease pattern, but we still got to keep the cheap rent price!

Don't lose hope! I spent quite a while looking for my July-start lease and I did eventually find an amazing place for a reasonable price. Depending on what area you're interested in, this might be no help at all (my place is on the border between Brookline and Boston, in the Fenway area), but I used Metro Realty and they were fantastic.

Bostonian here with lots of connections. The Kendall Square area (just after Beacon Hill) or South Boston are also good bets as both are MBTA accessible and just on the outskirts of Back Bay and the South End. I know as of recent there are still some good finds in these area's.

I echo everyone, keep looking and don't loose hope! Keep checking craigslist, keep in touch with your realtor, and be on the lookout for lease breakers. I just lucked up on an 11/1 unit about a week ago because someone broke their lease.

And have everything you need ready so that when you find a unit you can submit your application right away. I missed out on a few units because other people were able to get applications in and approved faster than me. I used Charlesgate Realty and they were really helpful. GOOD LUCK!!!

Hi there, where abouts in Boston are you looking? I lived in an apartment in Chestnut Hill right around the Comm Ave BC area. Throughout the whole year they always had a sign up advertising open apartments in the building (not sure if they just never took the sign down). Ask your broker to look into that area. And, it's only about 10 minute or less walk to the BC green line stop. Very pretty area!

We liked using http://www.BostonsRentals.com (part of <B>The Avenue Group</B>) because they list their available properties PLUS other offices and private landlords.

I would say (as a landlord who demanded a Sept 1 lease) that a good way to get a deal is to post an apt wanted in addition to looking on craigslist. I know someone already said it - but I really want to suggest it to you. When our month-to-month tenant gave us less than 30 days notice (which was required by her lease) we were able to fill the apt in 4 HOURS on craigslist for a sublet til Jan 1. And then when I posted it from Jan 1 to Sept 1 (at a 250 a month increase on the sublet so we were closer to market) a few weeks later after we decided we weren't selling it, I filled it in less than 24 hours. The rental market in town itself (we are in Fenway) is brutal. Post a wanted and hunt the craigslists ads and you will find something. Paying a realtor is not needed if you are willing to deal directly with small landlords who only own one or two properties and who get shafted by students all the time...

I had a horrible time looking for places in Boston this year as well. Here are some helpful agents and websites I found:

Agents:
Zach Monroe at Copley RE Group - zach@copleyre.com
Jared at Gibson Sothebys- jared.kurker@gibsonsir.com

Websites:
http://hotpads.com/
http://www.padmapper.com/
http://www.bulfinchbostonrealty.com/
http://fairfieldrealtyboston.com/

Another alternative will be to find a roommate, I know most people don’t like this option but you can get into an apartment and later on went you roommate move out you may keep the apartment or you can save some time until you find the perfect apartment home. If you want to know more about how to rent an apartment in Boston I will be happy to help you.
Carlos M Moreno, Leasing Consultant at Peninsula apts. 617.436.0005

Have you looked at a Managed Community? Yes 9/1 is a big date around Boston but it's not the only date. A short walk from JFK/UMass on the redline is Harborpointonthebay.com and peninsula-apts.com. You can get MBTA bus 8 to Kenmore or Northeastern or if you work in the Longwood Hospital area the masco.org bus from JFK brings you there free. There is always something avilable in a managed community.

2 suggestions:
1. try bostonapartments.com
2. renew your lease until sep?

You should try RentalBeast - they weren't able to help me because I have a dog which complicates things to the millionth degree, but they were very pleasant seemed to have a lot of listings when I was looking. Also, Ian at Preservation Properties in Newton is great!

We found our first apartment in Allston when we moved to Boston through a real estate agency. My husband just walked in off the street in June asked to see apartments in our price range. We got lucky because we were moving up in July, but we found an apartment that had been renovated, so the landlords were willing to push the rental time up two months, especially since they didn't want to rent to BU undergrads anyway. Our second apartment we found on Craigslist, and we moved mid August. We just paid an extra month on our Allston apartment so now that landlord was synced with the September 1st schedule and luckily the old tenants in the new apartment were moving out before their September 1st lease was up, so we just prorated half a month before our lease officially started. I'd see what's out there and if you find an apartment you like with a starting lease date that's not convenient, just see if you can work something out with the landlord.

Two other comments from reading those above: 1) we never had our rent raised in 5 years living in Boston. 2) Our second apartment was in East Arlington, and it was awesome. My husband's work was right off the red line, so he walked in the bike path to Alewife and had a straight-shot commute (much nicer than the green line and having to switch from Allston). Walk the bike path the other way and you're in downtown with lots of nice shops, restaurants, the library, etc. We were also near the Captiol Theatre, and our neighborhood was ideal.

I've been a real estate agent in Boston for years, and know how frustrating Craigslist is for both renters and agents.

I recently built a solution that makes apartment hunting easy for renters.

Check it out and see how you can get the best listings the minute the hit the market!

www.rentalreverse.com/