Welcome to adulthood. Your back hurts all the time, your glasses prescription keeps getting stronger and you now get to participate in the monthly ritual you’ve heard about your whole life: paying rent.

As glamorous as it all may seem, having your own place to call home comes with a lot of responsibility.

Here’s your guide to renting your first apartment.

It can seem like an impossible task to find your first place, but plenty of websites can help you sort through rental listings. Beyond Zillow and Redfin, try Southern California-specific sites such as Westside Rentals or neighborhood Facebook groups. Another idea: Walk, bike or drive around the area where you want to live and look for “for rent” signs. Not all landlords list online.

When it comes to finding a place to live, there’s a lot to consider. Here are a few things to ask yourself:

Lisa Richardson, hotline coordinator for Tenants Together, a tenants rights group based in Los Angeles, said an important consideration to make is what kind of landlord do you want. Do you want an independent landlord? Or would you prefer a management company?

There are pros and cons to each. Companies usually have set standards for maintenance, while a private owner might be more flexible about delayed rent payments.

Also consider what your long-term goals are, she said. Do you want to own a house in the next five years? Budget for how much you can spend on rent yet still be able to save for a sizable down payment.

To find the right roommate, you might first have to find yourself. Here are tips and strategies for making a roommate match and keeping the relationship healthy.

Once you’ve found the unit of your dreams, or at least one in your budget, it’s time to start hammering out the details.

“Don’t rush into it,” Richardson said.

Because of the coronavirus, in-person tours were limited, but many landlords still offered video tours. Seeing the unit in person, Richardson said, versus just looking at pictures can reveal things that are easily hidden by camera angles and photo editing software. So see a unit in person if you’re able, or take a live video tour.

If you can’t see the unit in person, do your research on the unit, the landlord or property management company and the area it’s in. “Know what you’re getting into,” she said.

Whether the visit is in person or virtual, there are a few things you want to check for:

What you can do before, during and after your tenancy to get as much of your security deposit back as possible, plus what to do in case of a dispute with your landlord.

Once you’ve done your own inspection, you can start asking the landlord some questions. Here are a few examples of some need-to-know information before making your decision on a unit.

Remember: This is going to be your home, so make sure it’s what you want and need.

Affordable housing, such as Section 8 and public housing, is available, but it often requires navigating applications and government agencies. Here’s what you need to know.

Step one is completing a rental application, according to the California Department of Consumer Affairs. There may be a fee to cover the cost of checking your credit, and in some cases, a tenant screening service that looks at your previous rental history. A landlord or property management company can charge up to $53.33 per application.

Proceed with caution. Rental listings can be used as scams to get you to send money for an application fee or a down payment when there’s no unit available. Never send money to someone via electronic delivery and always be sure to see the unit before signing any paperwork. If you can’t go yourself, ask for a virtual tour or for a friend to go in person for you.

In California it is illegal for a landlord to ask you questions or deny you housing based upon your “race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status or any disability,” according to Government Code Section 12955(b).

You can be denied a unit because of your credit score. If this is the case, the landlord is legally required to provide in writing that the cause for your application’s rejection was based on your credit and nothing else.

There are some exceptions to these rules. If you are renting a room in someone else’s home, they may set limitations on who they will and will not rent to. They cannot set these limitations publicly through advertisements or through oral statements, but they may do so in their decision making. Homeowners renting out a room still cannot discriminate against someone because of their age or medical condition.

Next up is the down payment, or a holding deposit. This payment ensures that the landlord won’t rent the unit to someone else and also can be used to cover costs of repairs when you move out (check out how you can make sure you can get it back). Be sure to ask if the down payment counts toward your first month’s rent, or if you’re expected to make separate payments.

For an unfurnished unit, a landlord may not charge more than twice the amount of monthly rent for a down payment. A furnished unit can cost up to three months’ rent.

Then there’s the lease agreement. These can be oral or written. Richardson said you should get it in writing. By getting the terms in writing, you’re protecting yourself from being taken advantage of in the future.

Make sure you understand what the lease agreement says, Richardson said. If you don’t understand, feel as if the lease is missing something, or has too many demands, you can negotiate.

Landlords may require their tenants to take out a renter’s insurance policy up to a certain amount. Renter’s insurance covers damage to personal property due to theft or fire.

If you are planning to rent an apartment or house and have a pet, here’s a guide to searching for the right place and negotiating with a landlord.

Once the paperwork is signed and the deposit is paid, it’s time to move in. Moving day can be extremely stressful, but to navigate it successfully, check out the Los Angeles Times’ guide to making a move with ease.

Your plants are in their new spot by the window, you’ve got your towels hung on the rack in the bathroom, and your unit is on its way to feeling more like home.

Now that you’ve sealed the deal, it’s important to remember that as a tenant in the state of California, you have rights.

Your rights include the following:

Withholding rent, lawsuits and evictions are complicated — seek help from a tenants’ rights group or a lawyer.

Knowing your rights, Richardson said, is one of the most powerful things you can do as a tenant. If at any point you feel that something is wrong, find out what your local protections are and exercise those rights.

Does your apartment have rent control? Does the rental you want to move to have it? Here’s how to find out in Southern California.

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Madalyn Amato is an editorial assistant at the Los Angeles Times. She began her tenure at The Times as an intern for the Utility Journalism Team. Amato has worked on stories answering questions about healthcare, religion and earthquake resilience. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.