As a potential renter of an apartment, do I have a right to preview a?
You have the right to walk away from any deal you dont like. Which means that they can tell you that you wont see the lease until the time you sign it, and you can say, that doesnt work, give me back my security deposit and find a different apartment. Since you havent signed anything that says otherwise, I hope, you should have a right to your deposit back. It is pretty typical to hand over the security deposit at the time you sign the lease. If you need time to review the lease with a law...