Stories4 min read
Renting a flat in a city where you don't speak the language
Questions about deposits and bills, asked and answered at the kitchen table.
The Nualingo team ·
You've found a flat you can afford, in a city where you can order a coffee and not much else. The landlord speaks their language and very little of yours. The viewing is your one proper chance to ask everything: how much the deposit is, what the bills cover, who to call when the boiler stops. A phrasebook, or an app that needs a button pressed for every turn, makes that conversation feel like filling in a form.
This is an illustrative scene, not a report about a real tenant. It shows how that kitchen-table conversation can go with one phone between you, and where the phone should stop and a professional should take over.
Before the viewing
Write your questions down in your own language, so you don't lose them while you're looking round. A short list covers most of what matters:
- How much is the deposit, and how and when is it returned?
- Which bills are included in the rent, and which do I pay separately?
- How long is the tenancy, and how much notice does either of us give to end it?
- Who do I contact when something breaks?
- Can we read the meters together on the day I move in?
Open Nualingo in your phone's browser and choose your language and the landlord's. Then set the pace. Balanced waits for a natural pause and suits most conversations. If the landlord tends to talk in long runs, or you both need to stop and think about figures, Patient waits longer before translating, so answers aren't split halfway through.
At the kitchen table
Tell the landlord what the phone is for before you start. When you press Start listening, a short notice appears in both your languages saying that an AI voice is interpreting, which does some of the explaining for you. They don't need to install anything. They only need to talk.
Lay the phone flat between you with the speaker on. If you're sitting across from each other, turn the far half of the screen to face them so they can read their captions the right way up. Ask one question, pause, and let the answer come back. The phone works out which language is being spoken, so nobody has to press anything to take a turn.
Go one person at a time. If you both talk at once, the result is muddled on both sides. And don't rush the list. A viewing that takes a little longer because every answer was understood is better than one that ends with a polite smile and a question you never asked.
Check every number twice
Names, places and numbers are where translation slips most, and in a rental conversation the numbers are what you'll be held to. When the landlord gives a figure for the rent, the deposit or a date, read it on screen, say it back, and ask them to confirm it. Better still, ask them to write it down. If a figure looks wrong in the captions, type the correction and it is spoken to them.
Saving is off by default. If you'd like to read the answers again later, switch saving on before the conversation starts (this needs an account), and tell the landlord. The notice will say the conversation is being kept on your account. Only the text is kept, never audio. It makes a handy note of what was said, but it is no substitute for terms written into the agreement.
The contract is a different matter
A tenancy agreement is a legal document. Nualingo helps with the conversation about the flat; it is not the tool for the contract itself. Before you sign, read the agreement in a language you understand, which may mean asking for a translated copy, or have it checked by a professional such as a solicitor, a tenants' advice service or a qualified translator.
The same goes for anything official around the move: registering your address, a dispute over the deposit, a meeting at a council office. For legal or official matters, use a professional interpreter. Nualingo can make mistakes, and a misunderstood clause about the deposit costs real money.
Where it earns its place
Once the contract is signed and checked, the phone comes into its own for the everyday questions: how the heating works, which day the bins go out, whether you can put up shelves, why the washing machine is making that noise. Short, practical conversations you would otherwise try to mime.
Before the viewing, try the three free minutes at home, so the screen is familiar by the time you're sitting at someone else's kitchen table.
Nualingo can make mistakes. For medical, legal or official matters, use a professional interpreter.
