Apartment

An apartment is a multi-purpose residential lot, allowing multiple households to reside in the same building. This type of lot was introduced in The Sims 2: Apartment Life and returned in The Sims 4: City Living and The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle, and The Sims 4: For Rent. Apartments are arguably a semi-communal residential lot. In The Sims 2: University and The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, dormitories and hotels serve a similar purpose, but neither of these enable multiple households to stay at the same lot simultaneously.
In The Sims 3, penthouses from The Sims 3: Late Night and apartments from The Sims 3: University Life serve as semi-communal residential lots, but work differently from the apartments in The Sims 2: Apartment Life. Neither one allows the player to have multiple households residing on the same lot. A penthouse allows Sims to live in a designated space within a shell building, while an apartment merely allows Sims to have unselectable roommates.
In The Sims 4, apartments come in two varieties: in the worlds of San Myshuno from The Sims 4: City Living and Evergreen Harbor from The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle apartments are similar to The Sims 3: Late Night apartments in that they experience Sims in the hallway and each apartment is considered a separate lot and thus cannot enter another apartment without a loading screen even though unlike Late Night, multiple apartments can be in the same building. Apartments from The Sims 4: For Rent are similar to the previous expansion's apartments but are similar to The Sims 2: Apartment Life in that they can be created from scratch on normal lots as well as be customized for each unit and unlike apartments from the previous expansions, can be added to any world. 
==The Sims 2: Apartment Life==
===Overview===
In the neighborhood view, an apartment building can be recognized by the building icon that appears above the lot. If the icon glows bright, it means it has been occupied by at least one household. If it is dim, then it has not been occupied, or all playable households living there are saved on a vacation or an owned community lot. Apartment buildings can be placed in the base neighborhood, downtowns, and business districts, but cannot be placed or made in colleges or vacation destinations. Premade apartments can be found in the Lots and Houses bin under the specialty lots tab.
The players can see the price range of an apartment building by clicking on it in the neighborhood view. If there's a playable household living there, clicking it will show the family information. Pointing at the apartment building will only show which households are living there, and if Seasons is installed, the season of each household. Each household has separate seasonal conditions, so one household can be in heavy snow, while another might be in the middle of summer. This is similar to the traditional residential lots, where each lot has a different world, and all the playable members grow older while other families outside the lot will not change save for any relationship changes with the playable Sims. This mechanism works the same in apartment buildings, except the playable occupants now have neighbors who actually live next door and can be visited.
An apartment building cannot be occupied by more than four different households, no matter how many apartment units are available. This means, once all four slots have been rented by four playable households, the other units will be occupied by a social group townie. Individual apartment households can consist of 8 Sims or 6 pets, with no more than 10 household members total. Roommates will count as pets, so there can actually be 9 Sims in a household. Therefore, one apartment building can hold up to 36 player-controlled Sims. However, the more Sims there are living in an apartment building, the slower the game will perform.
===Moving in===
====Apartment hunting====
When a household has been moved onto an apartment lot, they will go apartment hunting until they rent an apartment. While apartment hunting, Sims can use any objects in any common areas or interact with the household members or the landlord. The landlord will remain on the lot indefinitely until Sims rent an apartment. However, there are many things Sims cannot do before they rent an apartment:
*Sims cannot knock on doors or ask members of other existing playable households to come out, and Sims already living in apartments will not come out.
*Sims cannot order groceries or hire services, except for adoption and matchmaking services.
*Sims cannot go to community lots. Sims can go on a date or outing, but are limited to the apartment lot.
*Sims cannot go on a vacation.
Fortunately, no social class townies will appear to rent any of the vacant apartments until the player selects an apartment for the household to rent. If, by chance, the player decides to quit or switch to another household from the apartment hunting household, players can still continue playing them later. However, if the players play a household that lives in the apartment where the previous one is still hunting, they will never see the apartment hunters anywhere on the lot. They are considered to be not yet living there, and all the vacant slots will be occupied by social group townies. When the apartment hunting household is played again, the slots will still be vacant for rent, though.
====Checking out====
Before renting, Sims can check out an apartment. While checking out, the inside of the unit will be visible to the player and accessible to the Sims in the household, and all other apartments except the one Sim is checking out will be dark. This helps players determine which areas belong to each apartment unit. This is just an optional procedure and Sims don't need to check out an apartment before renting it.
====Renting====
To rent an apartment, the player must click an apartment door and choose the Rent interaction. It will show the weekly rent price, which is based on the apartment size and the furniture in its unfurnished state (kitchenware, plumbing, etc.). If Sims can afford to rent the apartment, the renter will approach the landlord and sign the lease.
Once rented, apartment doors can be locked to prevent lot visitors or neighbors from entering the apartment, in addition to the other lock options. Moreover, Sims can lock certain doors to prevent roommates from passing through them.
Apartment units are technically fully furnished for use by apartment townies; however, these furnishings will not appear for playable Sims when they move into the apartment. Players can rent the apartment unit fully furnished by enabling the testing cheats, shift-clicking on the apartment door, and choosing the Rent Furnished interaction.
===Apartment living===
====Landlord duties====
The landlord is an NPC who will come every morning and perform daily services and maintenance on the apartment lot.
*Landlords will clean up messes, exterminate roaches, and repair broken things in common areas.
*Landlords will tend all gardening tasks in the common areas as well as in Sims' apartments, even if they lock it.
*Landlords can be requested to repair and exterminate roaches that are in Sims' apartments.
*Landlords will come and complain if an apartment is dirty or noisy.
*Landlords will ask for overdue rent.
====Paying rent====
 
Rent is due every Monday. Sims can pay the rent by clicking the apartment mailbox near the street. If Sims don't pay the rent on Monday, the landlord will come to collect the overdue rent by knocking the apartment door. Sims will be forced to pay the rent and the relationship toward the landlord will decrease. If the Sims cannot pay the rent, the relationship damage will be worsened, and the landlord will come again the next day. If Sims don't respond to the landlord or are away while the landlord comes, no relationship damage will occur.
If the rent is overdue for three days or until Friday, the landlord will stop coming but the rent will be added to the bill, which will be sent on the next Tuesday.
The rent can be lowered by:
#Having a roommate.
#Befriending or being romantically involved (-10% reduction), or becoming BFFs (-25% reduction) with the landlord.
#A secret networking benefit (-10% reduction)
Additionally, Sims can get an extra +5% rent from a secret networking penalty. The rent price change will only affect the week after Sims receive the benefits or penalties. A roommate's share depends on how many Sims are in a household. For example, a household with 3 members will deduct one-third of the rent, or with 6 members will deduct one-sixth of the rent. Thus, the smaller the household, the more the roommate's share.
====Fire====
A fire that occurs in an apartment building will be noticed by all apartment tenants. Even if a room that is on fire lacks a smoke detector, a firefighter will eventually arrive to put it out, although the smoke detector will summon them more quickly.
When a fire breaks out, all Sims will leave their apartments, then panic. They will not gather around the fire, unlike Sims on normal residential lots. If there is a baby or toddler in an apartment, an older Sim will carry them out to the mailbox.
Neighbor's apartments cannot be set on fire. Evil witches can cast Inflammo, but the fire will not start.
====Apartment services====
Since most maintenance services are controlled by the landlord, some service Sims cannot be hired. The services or people that cannot be hired or called include:
#Gardener
#Exterminator
#Repairman
#Garden Club member
Since the apartment garden doesn't belong to the tenant, Sims cannot ask a Garden Club member to inspect or become a member of the Garden Club. Sims can buy the Planthopic-C from the gypsy matchmaker if they turn into PlantSims. Sims also cannot run a home business in an apartment.
Additionally, apartment dwellers have a special service: babysitting. Adults or elders can ask teen or older neighbors to babysit their child(ren) by using the "Ask to Watch Kids" interaction. The interaction is never rejected, and the neighbor serves as a babysitter until they are dismissed. Babysitters will have their needs frozen and will never tend to their own routines, like going to work or school. The only drawback is that they cannot track the Sims' schedule, so Sims must ask them every time they need their services. Sims must ask them in person to babysit, so if they are off the lot to work or school, or asleep, Sims must wait until they become available. Babysitters can also be asked to take care of the children and pets if the Sims are going on a vacation.
====Weekend parties====
Every Saturday, the landlord will throw a weekend party; this party is not a scenario event. In this weekend gathering, the landlord will announce it, turn on a communal stereo, make drinks at a communal bar, and grill or order a pizza.
Sims can throw a building party by using the phone. Sims cannot invite particular Sims in the party, but all neighbors count as the invited guests. This party is quite difficult though, because sometimes all the neighbors are away to work or just don't feel like hanging out with the host. They also tend to stay in their apartments, making it harder to socialize.
====Roommate====
 Roommates are an effective way to reduce the weekly rent. Roommates are treated like pets; they are selectable, but not controllable. Thus, roommates will act on their own free will. They will take care of themselves to replenish their needs, and if they have low enough needs, they will run some errands by going to a community lot, and all their needs will be full. Going to work will also fill up their needs to the top.
Sims can search for a roommate by using the newspaper or computer. Sims can also place an ad over the phone. Occasionally, Sims will receive phone calls from social group townies who want to become a roommate. The number of roommates available by newspaper and computer will decrease if the searching Sim's reputation is worse than Dubious Delinquent. Only social group townies are available as roommates through the newspaper or computer. Sims can ask any townie to become their roommate if their relationships are high enough.
Roommates are only available in an apartment. Roommates have jobs and go to work, but their salary will not contribute to the family funds. Their only contribution is to reduce the rent price. The player cannot access and see a roommate's inventory. The inventory tab will be replaced with Roommate Satisfaction tab. The roommate satisfaction will change depending on their mood and their relationship towards the household members. Unsatisfied roommates are likely to move out if their satisfaction is not improved.
===Building in apartments===
Similar to living in a dorm and hotel, some elements in Build mode are restricted. The noticeable difference is that players can use the Sledgehammer Tool and the Collections feature in apartments. Players are able to add and remove wallpaper/paint, ceilings, landscaping, gardens, and columns. Players cannot remove walls, doors, and windows. Sims can add flooring, but cannot remove it.
There are several objects that are not available to buy in apartments, including the iN Style v1.5/v.2 Closets by Simsational Inc., the built-in closets which Sims can use for a closet WooHoo, and the Very Mysterious Shelving, the secret door bookcase. The player cannot remove these items if they are in the apartment when a household moves in.
Additionally, players can buy some architectural parts, such as cornices and pipes in the Miscellaneous Decorative section. If Mansion and Garden Stuff is installed, the objects appear in the Architectural catalog in the Build Mode, thus disabling it from access. Players however can still buy them if they appear in the collections.
:To see how to build a custom apartment, see Game guide:Building an apartment.
===Neighbors===
One specialty of living in an apartment is that Sims now have visible neighbors that actually live next door. Sims can socialize with them and gain some benefits by befriending them, or even find a new romance. Vacant apartments are occupied by a selection of social group townies. Thus, neither townies nor downtownies will become apartment neighbors. The type of social group that will occupy the vacant apartments depends on the lot class. Low class apartments will be occupied by gearheads and bohemians, Middle class apartments will be occupied by bohemians, jocks, and techs; and High class apartments will be occupied by techs and socialites. Additionally, the player may move up to four households onto the lot, and each households' members can interact with the others in the same manner.
====Fog of privacy====
Apartments that are occupied by other households will turn dark with the fog of privacy, similar to dormies' rooms and hotel suites. This helps distinguish which part belongs to the Sims' apartment, as well as to reduce the loading time.
While the apartment is covered in a fog of privacy, the players cannot see objects or Sims inside it. To view the content of the apartment, Sims must knock on the door and be welcomed in. This is a bit different from dorm and hotel fog of privacy, because normally, the player can see what's inside by viewing the inventory or while in Buy mode or Build mode.
====Welcome wagon====
Newly moved-in households will be welcomed to the neighborhood, similar to when a household is moved into a single family house. However, in apartments, the welcoming neighbors are all residents on the same apartment lot. Additionally, the manner in which the neighbor Sims introduce themselves is dependent on where the household Sims are. 
*If all of the members of the household are inside the apartment, neighbor Sims will come in and introduce themselves.
*If a member of the household is in a common area, neighbor Sims will approach him/her and introduce themselves.
*If none of the members are present, a message will notify the Sims that they are off the lot.
====Visiting the neighbors====
 By default, neighbors will not invite themselves into Sims' apartment, unless the Sims unlock the apartment door. Neighbors can be invited into the apartment through a phone call, or by calling the neighbor Sim over if they're in a common area. If a neighbor Sim is in their apartment, they can be asked to come out, then led to the household apartment.
Sims can also visit their neighbor's apartments by knocking on the neighbor's door. If they haven't met, introducing to neighbors will always accept Sims to enter their apartment. Once accepted, their apartment will load slowly and their objects become visible. The neighbors are always in front of their apartment door.
When knocking, either to enter a neighbor's apartment or to call a neighbor out of theirs, the following conditions must be met:
*The neighbor must be on the lot
*The daily relationship score between the neighbor and the knocking Sim must be at least 30
*It must be between 6 AM and 10 PM.
All objects remain at the state when they were last saved if the neighbor is another playable household. For example, if there is a painting in an easel, the visiting Sims can scrap the painting and use it to paint a new one. Or they can steal a Thinking Cap by bringing it to their own apartment, or break things, or even leave messy trash. This state, however, will not be changed when the other household is played again. The easel remains intact, the Thinking Cap is untouched, things are not broken, and everything is clean, as if neighbors have never visited the place. This can be quite beneficial since neighbors can share things for their own good, such as career rewards.
Some interactions cannot be done while visiting neighbor's apartment. Fires cannot be started while visiting. Sims only have limited, if not at all, interactions to babies, toddlers, kittens, and puppies. Sims cannot pick them up and leave them outdoors. Sims can cook in a neighbor's apartment, but the food points are deducted from their own fridges, not the neighbor's, and they cannot eat at the neighbor's apartment; they will leave to eat after they finish cooking. Sims cannot pass through locked doors in a neighbor's apartment.
====Mingling in common areas====
Neighbors usually mingle around common areas and use communal objects. This is a good way to socialize with the neighbors. If the apartment door is unlocked to enable them to enter, they will be more likely to spend their time there. They will eventually return to their apartments if their needs become too low.
Neighbor toddlers and pets will never get out of their apartments by themselves. If they manage to get out, they can go back by themselves.
Neighbors will always return to their apartment at 10 PM and will stop almost anything they are doing to go back to their apartment including cancelling or stopping any upcoming and current social interactions with sims. The only exception to the 10 PM curfew is if the neighbors are in a hot tub, in which case they will usually stay in there and continue to chat or soak alone until their needs drop low or if they have to go to work or school.
====Errands====
Neighbors may or may not be available to interact with. Neighbors still have their own responsibilities. They will go to work and school, and their schedule depends on their career. They will depart as soon as the work hour starts, even if they're in the middle of conversation. Playable neighbors won't gain or lose any salary, work performance, school grades, career level, skills or enthusiasm when another household is being played.
Neighbors have a longer bedtime compared to that of other Sims. They go to sleep at 10 PM and wake at 6 AM, and Sims cannot visit nor call them during this time, compared to the usual calling hours for non-apartment Sims. Sims living in apartments can still be called during the usual times by Sims not living on the same lot.
If a child or teen lives on the lot, the school bus will always come for them and drop them off regardless of if there's a child or teen living in the players apartment or not. If there is, they will catch the school bus with them. Adults will always walk to and from work.
===Complaints===
When Sims make loud noises or too many messes, neighbors or the landlord will start complaining. These complaints pop up every 15 minutes and reduce the relationship between the played Sim and the complaining Sim. Receiving complaints drops the responding Sims' actions queue and disturbs sleeping Sims. Sims might respond well or shrug to the complainer. Both responses reduce relationship, but the latter is worse.
====Noise====
 Noise made by the playable Sims is cumulative. The more noisy activities Sims do, the more likely neighbors will come to complain. The types of noise acceptable during the day and during the night differ. Some activities can make noise and disturb neighbors at any time, including:
*Jumping on the bed or couch
*Playing instrument with low Creativity skill
*Drums
*Karaoke
However, there are several activities or noises that are prohibited only at night:
*Stereo
*TV
*Parties
*All instruments
*Toy or robot crafting benches
*Model train
*WooHoo
*Dog barking
*Fighting 
Throwing a party becomes more difficult if started in the afternoon, because it will usually end at nightfall, and neighbors will constantly complain about it. Try throwing one in the middle of the day.
====Neighbor noise====
 Neighbors can also produce noise through shared walls. Walls that are adjacent to neighbor's apartment are likely to cause noise, which will significantly lower the environment and disturb sleep. The probability of the noise production depends on the lot class and the average lifetime relationship between all members of both neighboring households:
Lot class 	Noise probability
Low class 	10%
Medium class	5%
High class 	2%
Lifetime relationship	Additional chance
-100 – 0 	+10%
1 – 50 	+5%
51 – 100 	+0%
When neighbors make noise, Sims can bang on wall or complain to the neighbor. Both ways will stop the noise, but complaining will reduce the relationship between the complaining Sim and the neighbor that answers the door.
There are several ways to prevent the trigger of noise. If apartments don't share the same walls, neighbors cannot make noise. Apartments that are separated by each story will never produce any noise. Technically, neighbor noise is an invisible object. This invisible object cannot be made if there's no free space adjacent to the wall, so placing objects against the wall will prevent noise from occurring.
====Smell====
The complaints that are caused by smell is similar to noise. If the apartment is full of stinky objects, such as garbage, dirty dishes, or diapers, neighbors will start to ring the bell and complain.
===Notes===
*Death by flies is a tough way to die in apartment, because neighbors will start complaining before Sims can even step on the fly-infested objects.
*Sims cannot throw a new year's bash in an apartment.
*Souvenir benefits can be spread all over the apartment lot by visiting an apartment that owns souvenirs. After that, the benefit will stick to the Sims even after they leave the apartment.
*Genie lamp delivery can be intended for anyone who lives in an apartment building, but only the currently played household can accept it. This means the chances are greater because roommates and neighbors count as the eligible Sims.
*Date and outing rewards, as well as genie lamps will be stuck in front of Sims' apartments, but they won't appear if other playable households are played.These glitches have been fixed in the Apartment Life patch
*If Sims who live in an apartment have an outing in which one of the members is in a neighboring apartment, it will be tricky to go to a community lot. The neighbor must be present on the lot and must be available to go to the community lot. Otherwise, Sims must wait for them until they are present and available. For example, if the outing occurs after 10 PM and the Sims are leaving for the outing by taxi, the taxi will remain unmoved until morning when the neighbor is awake. If the neighbor goes to work in the morning, the taxi will have to wait until they get home. This will not count as standing up other members of the outing, but will waste Sims' time.
*The gift that bigfoot usually brings home from work will be stuck in front of the mailbox.
*Receiving a restaurant coupon from the apartment mailbox will cause an error.
*If Sims who live in an apartment have an outing in which one of the members is in a neighboring apartment, it may cause the game not to recognize the Sim who lives in that apartment. If the player hovers the mouse over the apartment door, it will just say "Unique Separator".
*Sims might occasionally be unable to use the spiral staircase, as if something is blocking in their way.
==The Sims 3 Late Night & University Life==
Apartments, although not explicitly defined, is a feature in The Sims 3: Late Night. Many of the apartments exist in the form of penthouses, although they can't be set up without out. Unlike in the previous game, the player cannot move in more than one household nor play as neighbors. Instead, a random towny is chosen to inhabit units that are built with the hidden room marker. NPC residents of the apartment can be asked to come out by clicking on their door or buzzing them with a callbox. However, the active household cannot visit the units of the resided NPCs.
Any residential lot with an apartment system can be built, via with the use of public and room markers. Communal areas (such as lobbies) need to be marked with the public room markers, so that visitors can interact in public spaces without having to be greeted. Rooms that are purposed to be apartment units for NPCs need to be marked with hidden markers. After marking, the doors of these then must be assigned as NPC doors by -clicking them. The hidden room marker can also be used to conceal up inaccessible rooms that serve no practical use. Rooms that don't have a public or hidden room marker in them are designate space for active household to live and refurnish.
With The Sims 3: University Life, an apartment is featured as a lot assignment for residential type. Much like dorms, Sims rent instead of buying it when moving in. Sims added to one will be considered part of the same active household and will be controllable by the player. When a household is moved in, it will automatically be joined by a number of NPC roommates, who will each contribute to the rent payment. Apartment households will be filled with roommates at 9 o'clock in the morning. Each individual rooms can be assigned to specific roommates with the new upgraded locking system, leaving room markers completely optional for incorporation in building the lot.
==The Sims 4==
Apartments are introduced in the The Sims 4: City Living, The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle, and The Sims 4: For Rent expansions.
Apartments from City Living and Eco Lifestyle are only available in San Myshuno and Evergreen Harbor respectively as they cannot be moved from their worlds. However, apartments in a residential rental lot from For Rent can be placed in any world as well as built from scratch. 
===Building in apartments ===
Apartments in San Myshuno and Evergreen Harbor are located inside shell buildings with other residents, some elements in Build mode have been restricted. Players can't remove outer walls or the front door. However, inner walls can be added and removed by the player, along with wallpapers, flooring, columns, and fences being modifiable. Basements and fountains can't be built in shell apartments, but pools can be.
Every apartment in San Myshuno has pre-selected lot traits that can be modified by the player. However, some apartments have special locked traits that can't be removed. This is because some shells have objects (or pests) in them that require these specific traits. These include special fireplaces, memorial plaques, sewers, mouse holes, pipes, and electrical wires. On the other hand, all normal build mode objects are available in apartments except for rocket ships.
Apartments within residential rental lots can be fully customizable as a normal lot, but players can designate rooms to become a separate unit as well as designate a public or shared space. Any part of a build can be designated as an apartment, including rooms, floors, basements, and attics as well as disconnected townhouse or terraced houses. 
===Map View===
In City Living and Eco Lifestyle within the map view of San Myshuno and Evergreen Harbor, an apartment complex can be recognized by a building that has a light grey outline for unaffordable apartments and green outlines for affordable apartments, when hovering over non-occupied apartments will be outlined in grey/blue or green depending on it's affordability; when viewing from manage worlds all apartments have a blue outline. On top of the building, there is a grey/green icon with a white plumbob indicating that there are residents in the building. If there is no plumbob icon, there are no households living in the apartments. When selecting one of the buildings, a new view of the building is shown with all of the apartments and their interior.
In For Rent, residential rentals are available as normal lots with a house and a key icon displaying above, when hovering over the lot it will showcase how many units there are, if they're occupied, and how much rent is as well as the number of beds and bathrooms. When selected a view of the building similar to previous apartments is shown and theier interior, this is where it's shown which household occupies which units with an icon of a plumbob on played households and a house with a key icon for a rentable unit.
When hovering over an apartment in the special view, it will show the cost of the furniture, the deposit/rent, the lot traits and the household that lives in the apartment, if any. Apartment buildings in San Myshuno usually have 2-4 apartments per building and up to 4 families can live in the same complex, apartments in Evergreen Harbor both have 2 apartments in each building with up to two families living in the same complex, and apartments in residential rentals can have up to 6 units in each building (this can be extended with the bb.increaserentalunitcap cheat). Clicking on one the apartments shows the description the apartment has and more information on the lot traits. The options the player can use such as moving households in and out or going to build mode is the same as with normal lots.
TS4 City Living Apartment Map View.png|Apartment selection in San Myshuno
TS4 Eco Lifestyle Apartment Map View.png|Apartment selection in Evergreen Harbor
TS4 For Rent Apartment Map View.png|Apartment selection with Residential Rentals
TS4CL Apartment building.png|Aerial view of an apartment building in San Myshuno
TS4EL Apartment building.png|Aerial view an apartment building in Evergreen Harbor
TS4FR Apartment building.png|Aerial view an apartment building in Tomarang
===Apartment living in City Living & For Rent===
City Living and For Rent expansions give the roughly the same experiences as living within an apartment.
====Landlord duties ====
Landlords are NPCs who the Sim has to pay the rent for. Sims can call landlords to help on things such as clearing out pests, repair broken objects and fix plumbing or faulty electrical wires. A Sim who has a good relationship with the landlord will have them wanting to fix broken objects more frequently. If the landlord is called excessively, they will refuse to fix whatever problems are in the apartment.
In For Rent, tenants have the social interactions of "Rental..." which is available for when selecting property owners. These rental interactions are:
*Ask to Inspect... 
**Shared Space Object...
**Unit Object...
*Compliment Rental Conditions
*Complain About Rental Conditions
*Give Notice (§500)
Asking to inspect shared space objects brings up the water heater and electrical fuse box, and asking to inspect unit objects brings up a selection of the plumbing and kitchen appliances. Giving a notice allows for the tenant Sim to move their household out of the unit to another lot, moving households without giving a notice will automatically charge the Sim on top of the price for moving to the new lot.
Also in For Rent, Sims can become landlords themselves as property owners owning residential rentals, and players can set how much rent their tenants pay for as well as manually have to solve their tenants problems and issues.
====Paying rent====
Rent is due on a weekly basis. Sims can pay the rent by clicking their apartment mailbox located in the common area, on the computer, or on their personal cellphones. The amount of the rent depends on the apartment. Some low-end apartments have very cheap rent and richer apartments will have more costly ones. If the rent has not been payed by a Sim who is a teen or older, their utilities will be turned off one by one until the rent has been payed, similarly to bills.
Being a property owner for a residential rental, you can set the rent due from Sims, you can negotiate and comprimise for rent as well. Landlord Sims can and will repossess items from tenants who don't pay rent like the repo-man.
====Pests/Filth====
In San Myshuno, some apartments have a special lot trait that can't be removed by the player. This lot trait adds special pests and filth to the apartment such as cockroaches, mice and sludge filth that leaks through the sewers. These pests will give Sims tense and uncomfortable moodlets. Sims can try to exterminate them by themselves, but there is a chance of a failure and making the pest even worse. The landlord can easily destroy them, but it is depended on the relationship the Sim has with the landlord. Cats can also hunt mice.
In For Rent, it is possible for apartments to have a pest problem, become filfthy, and develop mold which have a chance to kill Sims.
====Fire====
A fire that occurs in an apartment building will be noticed by Sims living in the building. When a fire breaks out, Sims will leave their apartments, then panic. They will not gather around the fire, unlike on normal residential lots and some Sims in the household will immediately extinguish the fire. If there is a toddler in the apartment, an older Sim will carry them out.
====Bulletin board====
In San Myshuno only, apartment buildings have a bulletin board that can be used by Sims. They are usually used as a way to check out the latest festival and to leave either a passive-aggressive note or an affirming note based on the Sims' mood. Neighbors will occasionally leave notes on the board that Sims can read. If a Sim reads a note left by their neighbor, a notification will appear telling the notes content and the Sim will gain a happy moodlet.
====Neighbors====
Living in a San Myshuno apartment or a residential rental, Sims can find their neighbors using the communal and shared areas where they can socialize and be befriended, become enemies, or even find a new romance. Apartment buildings in San Myshuno and Tomarang come with pre-made households in them, but the player can add as many households the building can occupy. Unlike other residential lots, the game will not create random townies to live in the apartments. Instead the player can manually add their own neighbors if the pre-mades have moved out, been deleted, or died.
Sims who have high friendly relationships with their neighbors or any other Sim can give them the key to their apartment, allowing them to walk into the household apartment anytime they like. The key holders come out randomly in the day starting a social event, which is usually things such as pop ins, game nights, and normal hangouts. Players can cancel the Sims' social event whenever the player wants. After doing that the key holder will disappear, with no relationships being reduced. Additionally, Sims can revoke the keys from the key holders.
While Sims are cooking or doing something "cool", neighbors will knock on the Sims' door and ask if they can come in. Sometimes neighbors will be bored and ask the apartments Sims to do something interesting, and sometimes they might ask to use the shower if their apartment is having water problems. Sims can deny and accept all of these requests and when accepting the neighbor will come in, do the things they want to do, and leave.
With an update accompanying For Rent, players will be able to switch their active household to their neighbor's household from their doors.
In For Rent, tenant Sims have unique interactions with neighbors under the "Rental..." social category, the options unique with rental neighbors are:
*Complain About Rental Conditions
*Compliment Rental Conditions
*Incite Tenant Revolt
*Neighborly Chat
*Suggest Hosting Charity Drive (If Unit Rating is high enough)
*Suggest Hosting Maintenance Day (if Unit Rating is high enough)
=====Fog of privacy=====
Apartments in City Living and Eco Lifestyle occupied by neighbors will turn grey with a ceiling type texture on top. This helps distinguish which part of the building belongs to the players Sims' apartment. While the other apartments are covered in a fog of privacy, players cannot see objects or Sims inside it, but can see the layout of the apartment. In order to view the content of the apartment, Sims must knock on the door and be welcomed in.
With residential rentals in For Rent, apartments occupieed by neighbors will display no objects inside only the wallpaper and flooring.
=====Welcome Wagon=====
Newly moved households will be welcomed to the neighborhood, similar to when a household is moved into a normal lot. The neighbors will come to greet the new residents with gourmet fruitcake and they arrive about 3 hours after the household has moved in. If the neighbors are not greeted within a couple hours, the welcome wagon event will end and the neighbors will leave with a decrease in their relationships with the members of the household.
If there are no neighbors in the apartment building, Sims from other apartment complexes in the neighborhood will come instead. If there aren't Sims living the neighborhood, there will be no welcome wagon at all.
=====Visiting the neighbors=====
Neighbors will not invite themselves over to the Sims' apartment, unless they have the goofball trait. They can be invited into the apartment through the cellphone, by talking to them when they're in the common area, or by knocking on their door. When a neighbor is visiting, they will autonomously try to enjoy themselves. The neighbor will leave on their own sometimes later, or Sims can just ask them to leave.
Sims can also visit their neighbors apartments, but when doing so a loading screen will appear. After that, Sims can knock on the door and if the neighbors are in the apartment, the Sim will usually be invited in. While visiting the neighbor Sims can do pretty much the same things as in their own apartments, but they can do inappropriate actions such as sleeping on their beds, cooking food, or taking a shower. The neighbor will warn the Sim from doing these actions and if it's continued, the Sim will be kicked out and can't go in again for a while. This can however be avoided by purchasing the "Always Welcome" aspiration reward trait.
When trying to visit the neighbors or ask them to hangout, the following conditions must be met: 
*The neighbor must be on the lot
*The Sim hasn't been kicked out of the neighbors apartment recently
If a visiting Sim leaves trashes on the ground, unfinished paintings on the easel, dirty and broken objects, or steals objects in the neighbors apartment and leaves, when the player switches to play as the neighbors, everything will remain in the same state as they were when the visiting Sim left. If the Sim visiting is still in the apartment when the player changes to play as another household, the visiting Sim will still be there, but in a different position.
=====Mingling in common areas=====
Neighbors usually come out from their apartments into the common area to pay rent, take the trash, or go to work/school. It is a good opportunity for Sims to socialize with them. The neighbor(s) will eventually return to their apartments. Neighbor toddlers will never get out from their apartments, if the Sim isn't visiting them.
In For Rent, shared areas in a residential rental are where parties take place.
Neighbors aren't always available to be interact with as they will still have own responsibilities. They will go to work and school, and their schedule depends on their career and the career level. They will depart as soon as the work hour starts. Playable neighbors won't gain or lose any salary, work performance, school grades or career level when another household is being played.
Neighbors seem to never go to sleep and are usually available at any time of the day or night, unless everyone is at work or school. If Sims call their neighbor in the night, the neighbor will answer and say that they are sleeping, even though they're completely awake when visiting them. Sometimes the neighbors aren't also available when Sims try to ask them to hangout.
====Complaints====
As Sims live in close quarters in apartments, a lot of the things they mostly do is everybody's concern. If Sims make noise very late in the evening, at night, or very early in the morning, a neighbor might come to the front door and ask if the Sim could be quiet. Sims might respond willingly or shrug to the complainer, with both reducing the relationship. If the Sim who made the noise won't answer the neighbor at all, they will call that Sim a horrible neighbor and walk back to their own apartment.
===== Maintenance Events =====
Within residential rentals in For Rent. Landlords and tenants can experience limited time emergency events where they can experience all sorts of troubles such as electrical failures, cursed books, pool algae, etc. And can lower the unit rating if left unchecked, tenants and landlords can help out fixing the troubles or call for services such as repairment or exterminators.
These maintenance events can be applied to other residential lots as a "Maintenance Troubles" lot challenge.
=====Noise=====
Noise made by the playable Sims can be annoyingly loud for the neighbors. The more noisy activities the Sims do, the more likely neighbors will complain. The types of activities that can create noise are: 
*Playing stereos in the loudest option
*Playing an instrument
*Using the microphone
*Singing in the shower
*Singing karaoke
*Playing the DJ booth
Throwing a social event such as a house party or a costume party in the evening can be very hard for the Sims to achieve, as the party can easily end at night, and neighbors will likely complain about it. It is suggested to throw these parties in the afternoon for no neighbor complains.
=====Neighbor noise=====
 Neighbors will also produce their own type of noise. The probability of the noise production can also depend on the lot traits of the apartment. If the quiet lot trait is locked into the Sims' apartment, the noise will never happen. Apartments locked with the lively neighbors lot trait will instead cause the neighbors to produce noise even more frequently.
When neighbor noise is produced, all sleeping Sims in the apartment will wake up and everyone will gain either an angry or a tense moodlet. Sims can either knock or pound on the neighbors door to make them answer. Sometimes the neighbor will not hear a Sim knock on their door, but will react immediately when a Sim is pounding on it. When a neighbor answers the Sims complain, they will either accept it or just shrug it off, both reducing the relationship between the neighbor and the complaining Sim. 
One of the noises neighbors can produce while partying is "Turgid Apocalypse", a metal song from The Sims 2.
In For Rent, if there is a rule against noise, Sims living in the complex can be fined.
=====Eviction=====
In For Rent, tenants can face eviction if they break rules too much or leave too much of a nuisance for their neighbors. Landlords can justly or unjustly evict tenants based on if they have broken rules or cause issues with neighbors.
====Tenant Revolt====
With residential rentals, if the unit ratings for the lot get too low, tenants can cause a revolt out the front of the lot. This is experienced as a landlord and playable tenant Sims can even enact a revolt.
===Apartment Living in Eco Lifestyle===
In the world of Evergreen Harbor. They work very similarly to those in San Myshuno, but there are some differences. They do not feature noisy neighbors, one apartment lot has no elevator, and neither of them are owned by landlords. However, if City Living is installed, there will be landlords.
==References==
es:Apartamento
pt-br:Apartamento
pl:Apartament
ru:Квартира
Category:Lots
Category:Types of lots
Category:Architecture
Category:Apartment Life
Category:University Life
Category:City Living
Category:Eco Lifestyle
Category:For Rent