How to Rent a Historic Home
Houses that are officially designated as historic are on the National Register of Historic Places. In order for a house to be officially recognized by the National Register, it must first be nominated by the State Historic Preservation Office. The NRHP then evaluates the house. It must be at least 50 years old, look the same as it did when it was built, and have a strong cultural or historical significance to a person or event in the past. Renting a historic house isn't easy, as such homes are rarely for rent, but it is possible.
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Instructions
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Visit the websites OldHouses.com, HistoricHouseSales.com, or PreservationDirectory.com. Choose the area of the country in which you would like to rent a house. Search for properties that look desirable.
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Contact the agent for each property that you'd like to see.Verify that the homes are on the National Register of Historic places, as many of these websites will list properties that are old but not necessarily historic. Schedule an appointment to visit each house that you're interested in.
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Tell the sales agent that you'd like her to contact the owner with an offer to rent the house out for a monthly fee. While the sales agent may tell you that's simply out of the question, be persistent. If the house hasn't been generating a lot of interest and the owner is having trouble selling it, he might consider your offer. On the other hand, there may be many people eager to buy the house, in which case you'll most likely be out of luck when it comes to renting.
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Sign the rental agreement, if the owner agrees to lease the home to you. Keep in mind that the owner will probably ask for an extremely large deposit, because of the historic value of the house, and that you'll probably be forbidden from making any changes to the house whatsoever--meaning no painting, wallpapering or remodeling.
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