Conversation Topics / Renting
Renting Conversation Questions for Adult ESL Classes
Use these 20 discussion questions about Renting to run a full speaking lesson with adult learners (B1–B2). Each part opens with a vocabulary warm-up, every question is labelled with the thinking skill it practises, and each part fills roughly thirty minutes of class time on its own.
Reviewed by Brando · 12 Aug 2026
Part 1
Finding and Choosing a Place to Rent
Focus: sharing renting experiences, comparing homes, setting priorities, planning searches, and making practical choices
Think of one thing found in a rental home, one action connected to renting, and one person or place involved in finding a home.
Describe each word without saying it directly. Your teacher or partner must guess the word.
EXPERIENCE
What experience have you had with renting a home, apartment, or room?
DESCRIBE
Describe the kind of rental home that would suit your current lifestyle.
PREFERENCE
Would you rather rent a smaller place in a convenient location or a larger place farther away? Explain your choice.
PRIORITIZE
Which features matter most when choosing a rental: price, location, size, safety, furniture, or something else?
COMPARE
Compare renting alone with sharing a home with roommates. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
PLAN
How would you search for a rental home in a city you had never lived in before?
EVALUATE
What should someone check carefully before agreeing to rent an apartment?
PROBLEM-SOLVE
You find a great apartment, but the rent is slightly above your budget. What options could you consider?
ADVISE
What advice would you give someone renting their first home?
REFLECT
What makes a rented place begin to feel like a real home?
Part 2
Landlords, Tenants, and Everyday Renting Problems
Focus: discussing responsibilities, communication, rental problems, costs, rules, and fair solutions
Choose one word from each category: Person: tenant, landlord, roommate, agent; Action: pay, repair, inspect, complain; Place: apartment, house, office, hallway; Feeling: satisfied, worried, annoyed, relieved. Use your four words to describe a short scene in two or three sentences.
EXPERIENCE
What kinds of problems can people commonly experience while renting a home?
COMPARE
What responsibilities should belong to the landlord, and what responsibilities should belong to the tenant?
DISCUSS
What makes communication between a landlord and tenant work well?
EVALUATE
Which rental rules seem reasonable to you, and which rules might feel too restrictive?
CULTURE
How common is renting in your country, and how is it viewed compared with owning a home?
PROBLEM-SOLVE
A landlord is slow to repair an important problem in an apartment. What should the tenant do?
NEGOTIATE
If a landlord wants to raise the rent, how could a tenant discuss the situation calmly and effectively?
BALANCE
How can landlords protect their property while still giving tenants privacy and freedom?
EVALUATE
When does renting make more sense than buying a home?
RECOMMEND
What changes could make renting easier or fairer for ordinary people in your area?