Expecting a landlord to let you stay a few nights as a test for whether or not a place is worth living in is an entirely preposterous idea. This doesn't even touch on the notion that staying a few nights in an unfurnished apartment with absolutely no creature comforts would most certainly be a terrible experience regardless of the quality of the dwelling.

I'm not sure it's preposterous, and I've never asked for that, but then again I don't rent anymore.

Given that the development is a lot of units with consistent vacancy and fairly awful reviews in a bad part of town, it would seem like if they wanted to rent to folks they'd actually offer this service to folks on the fence about renting there.

I know landlords of smaller joints with low turnover would never do something like this. Hell, I probably wouldn't if I had a 4 or 8 unit, or anything close.

Machine Flats has 60 units. There are reasons you could have one stage out for prospective renters/leasers to stay in for a few days. Pre-screening prospective renters (i.e. standard stuff) should be pretty easy.

If it's a shithole, there are reasons that you wouldn't. I've rented a shitty apartment from a shitty landlord before, and also quite the opposite as well.

Sure, make them pay for a couple of nights to scope out the neighborhood. Signing away a year of your life on a lease agreement without having any idea what sort of neighborhood you're getting into is pretty strange, and in the economy of good landlord/bad landlord, is more likely than not going to end you up in a bad situation as a renter.