What should I ask my prospective landlord?

Can you have over night guests or even day time guests?
How much refrigerator space do you get? (silly maybe, but I’ve seen judge shows where they fight over this stuff)
Are there specific times you can use the kitchen and bathroom?
edited to add:
Does landlord smoke or drink and would it bother you?

With so much common areas, I’d be wondering whether there are any expectations for you to clean and share household duties (other than picking up after yourself). I’d ask about proximity to transit and shopping. Maybe ask about neighbors and the neighborhood and cultural customs that might be unexpected.

Is she a light sleeper? Consider if you are. And whether you or her sleeping patterns are meshable.

Is she messy or anal or what level inbetween. Can you reasonably comply or live with the results?

Are you going to share foods or cooking or have maybe just one or two shared meals? How you plan to split bills on cleaning products tp and such household items?

Do you have adequate study work area? What would you need a desk and chair and filing cabinet… would those items fit in your room or can she you get the space and noise traffic level you need to be productive. (Assuming she already lives there and has everything set up and decorated.) What is her taste?

Will your name be on the lease? Is there a trial period to see how this works out for both of you?

How will you divy up phone cable electric and net bills?

How big is the room? How accesible is place you live to the rest of your needs?

Scheduling is important. What time are you both up and needing to do things?

What additional costs will there be over and above your rent and how will these be calculated.

Definitely clarify her position on you having friends stay over. You’re there for a year. You’re going to get lucky :-)

You’re studying, so you presumably would like quiet during the day (or at night depending on your normal study habits). Is she a fairly noisy or quiet person and as @Adirondackwannabe suggests what’s her schedule.

I agree on other suggestions about expectations regarding housework and fridge space. Will you be able to use her kitchen equipment and the like or will you be expected to buy your own? That used to drive my daughter mad because people would just take her stuff and use it and then not wash it or it would just vanish.

Number one issue is going to be house guests. Can you have over night guests and if so, for how long?
What about pets?
Can you sublet your room in the event you have to leave for whatever reason?
Since you’re going to be sharing the main parts of the house, it might be a good idea to buy your own cookware if you plan on cooking a lot. Just so you don’t misplace or even lose her things.

Just curious here and it would affect my answer. Is this a stay for the summer thing, or open ended? The reason I ask is that you can put up with shit for a few months, that after a few years would drive you to murder.

@chyna said what I was going to say.

High on my list would be (1) a comprehensive understanding about the shared common areas and (2) how you both feel about noise vs. quiet, not just during sleeping hours but anytime.

Will you be splitting the rent 50–50? If so, you should be on an equal footing with respect to housekeeping and use of space. You have to be clear on whether she expects you to share the place equally or she wants you to behave as her tenant while the place is really “hers”—subject to her rules, her consent, her decisions about access, etc.

Thank you, all jellies, for these great suggestions! I’m just prying my eyes open and preparing a list to go through for our phone conversation in a few hours.

@chyna: Thank you for those. All very important questions I might not have thought of.
@hearkat: Good point. I’ve never shared an apartment with someone before. I will definitely ask about the housekeeping duties. She’s an expat American, luckily, so I don’t need to ask about cultural customs :)
@rosehips: Great questions. Thank you for all of those.
@Adirondackwannabe: Good point. I’ll be sure to cover that one!
@Bellatrix: Thank you. I’d like to think I’ll get lucky a couple times in 6 months, but we’ll see… Thanks also for the questions about space sharing. I’ve definitely been a spoiled American the past three years, in my own one-bedroom apartment, so I need to get my head back into space-sharing mode.
@AshlynM: Thank you for the questions and suggestion. I’ll definitely ask about visitors, subletting, and cookware. She has two cats, which I love, but I won’t be picking up any pets while I’m in France.
@johnpowell: Very good question, and thank you. It had occurred to me as well. This would be a longish stay—from August to January or so, about half a year. She’s accustomed to renting out her room to visiting academics.
@marinelife: Thanks for passing through and agreeing ;)
@Jeruba: Thank you for the helpful questions. And asking about how the rent will reflect our roommate relationship is an excellent idea. I never would have thought of that!

@bookish1, my son found a temporary rental during an internship in the city in a place that really looked nice. He expected to enjoy equal roommate status with the lease-holder of the apartment. For what he was paying, he ought to have had the run of the place. Instead he ended up on a cot in the leasing tenant’s spare room, with no closet or bureau. The bookshelves in the room were all full of the other guy’s books. He literally had no space for his things but on the floor or the bed. His suitcase lay open on the floor for two months; he couldn’t unpack it.

In addition, he had a tight restriction on when he could shower, very limited kitchen privileges, and a no-guests-ever rule. He was expected to disappear into his room when the other guy had parties.

You can learn a lot from a nightmare like this. Luckily it was for only two months.

Very best wishes for your exciting new situation. If you and the roommate are both Americans, that does reduce the likelihood of a cross-cultural misunderstanding. I hope this works out.

@Jeruba, thank you for sharing that cautionary horror story. Eep.

I feel really lucky to have found this landlord out of the blue. We talked for over two hours and hit it off really well—it felt like chatting with an old friend! She’s a fellow academic, very explicitly queer-friendly, understanding of chronic illnesses, and loves cooking.

Everyone’s suggestions were very helpful, and we discussed almost every point. We are splitting the rent right down the line and she said she wants me to feel like a roommate and not a tenant. She mostly works in her room or on the patio, so I can work in my room or in the living room. There’s a weekly maid service, and thus minimal house chores to split each week, and we will probably be sharing cooking duties and expenses. And she’s very open about visitors as long as I notify her in advance.

I just mailed my security deposit today. Thanks again for the help, all. I really appreciate it!

Regarding cultural customs – I meant those in Paris and your neighborhood, in particular; not your landlady’s.

Sounds like you landed on your feet @bookish1. I hope you will end up making a friend.

@bookish1, I just read this column by an American who has lived a long time in Paris. I don’t know how street-savvy you are, but it can’t hurt to be aware of these cautions even if you look and behave like a native.

@Jeruba: I appreciate that. I will read it. This will be my third time living there, and so far, I have not been aggressé or robbed. I feel safer there than in comparable cities in the U.S. But a refresher course won’t hurt :)

Understanding of when the rent will go up. Also follow legal guidelines for rent control or lack of in your area.