Disabling Seasions But Keeping its Stuff - Want to disable weather or make plants in season year-round? You can do so with my new Seasons Tuner Mod
Improving Sims 4: The past month, I've spent every day tinkering The Sims 4, making quality of life improvements, gameplay changes, and new difficulty settings for the game. If you'd like to learn more about my project, visit the post on Patreon where you can download it now.
Apartments and houses can have up to three lot traits. Check the traits of the apartment before you move in, but know that you can change some of them. Certain traits are locked in, such as historical, quiet, and one of the best: serviced apartment.
Lot Traits are a new feature given to all players upon the release of the City Living Expansion Pack. City Living includes apartments that have unique lot traits, but the others are accessible with just the base game. With these traits, you can further customize your Sim's home or apartment and give them positive or negative effects. Some of them create random events, while others provide nearly permanent boosts that greatly impact gameplay. Since some of these these are available to all players, it is separate from the City Living Apartments Guide. Below you'll find a list all the lot traits, what they do, and how you can use them to your benefit.
You can pick traits for your lot by going into build mode and clicking the button in the upper-left corner.
Enter build mode by pressing F2. Now look to the upper left corner for the icon in the screenshot above. Click it, and a menu will come down showing all of the selectable lot traits. You can hover over an existing lot trait and remove it if you don't like it, assuming it is not one of the apartment traits that you cannot remove. Those are unique to various apartments (some appear only once, like Serviced Apartment and Good Fireplace). You may pick up to three, and are not required to have any at all if you don't want to use them. Some Lot Traits can cause a lot of emotion-shifting which some players find annoying, so click the X to take off the trait if it's bothering you.
If you do not see the lot trait you're looking for in the list below, it is one of the traits that you cannot select or remove. You can find the list of non-removable unique lot traits further down the page.
| Image | Lot Trait Name | EP/GP? | Game Description | What it Does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Bracing Breezes | Base | Oodles of fresh air make for a bracing environment to exercise. | A 50% boost to Athletic and Wellness Skill gains. |
 | Breeding Ground | Cats and Dogs | Increases the chances for pets to have larger pet litters. | |
 | Cat Friendly | Cats and Dogs | Cat owners will visit this lot with their cats. | |
 | Cat Hangout | Cats and Dogs | Stray cats really love this lot. Meow! | |
 | Chef's Kitchen | City Living | Food prepared in this kitchen just seems to taste better and usually comes out better quality. | When you initiate cooking, you get a +1 Inspired Chef's Kitchen moodlet that lasts 2 hours after you finish preparing the meal. |
 | Celebrity Home | Get Famous | This residence is listed on the Celebrity Home Tours, granting increased fame gain, restricted access, and awe amongst welcomed visitors. Beware though! Those who live here but aren't actually very famous will be considered posers! | |
 | Child's Play | City Living | Kids just seem to learn faster here. | Children and Adults with the Childish Trait get a +1 Playful moodlet when using children's objects. |
 | Convival | Base | The spacious but intimate feel makes it easier to practice Charisma, Comedy, and Mischief to your heart's content. | +50% skill gains for Charisma, Comedy, and Mischief Skills |
 | Creepy Crawlies | Jungle Adventure | It seems that some creepy pests have taken up residence here. Be prepared; when they hit, you'll never see them coming! | |
 | Cursed | City Living | Lots of things seem to go wrong in this apartment | The game data tells me that Sims may pee themselves more often, food may spoil faster, fires are more likely to happen, death by exhaustion for elders, death by electrocution. Uncomfortable and stressed buffs may occur more as well. It's one nasty lot trait! |
 | Dog Friendly | Cats and Dogs | Dog owners will visit this lot and bring their dogs. | |
 | Dog Hangout | Cats and Dogs | Stray dogs will hang out at this lot. | |
 | Fast Internet | Base | A great online connection helps out those looking to improve their Programming, Video Gaming, or Writing Skills. | +50% boost to skill gains for Programming, Writing, and Video Gaming Skills |
 | Filthy | City Living | From clogged sewers to grimy counters, this place seems to get dirty really quickly. | Objects that can get dirty do so at double the usual rate. |
 | Gnomes | City Living | Broken things just seem to get mended overnight. It's as if kindly Gnomes watch over the place... | While Sims are sleeping, gnomes may appear late at night to fix any broken objects. |
 | Good Schools | City Living | The local school is great! Kids seem to get high grades and usually do better at homework. | I could not get the confidence moodlet the game indicated would occur, but a 25% chance is rather low - this just a side benefit. It does speed up high school and grade school progression for teens/kids, by around 30%. Evidently it only sometimes happens, though (like half the time they are at school). |
 | Great Acoustics | Base | The acoustics are perfect here! A great place for any musician to hone their skills. | Boosts all musical instrument skill gains by 50% |
 | Great Soil | City Living | Gardening just seems to go really well here. | Increases the speed that plants grow. Does effect planter boxes. |
 | Gremlins | City Living | Stuff breaks here a lot. It's like there are tiny goblins who come out at night and smash things... but that's ridiculous, right? | If Sims are sleeping, gremlins may come out at night and break objects that can be broken (and thus repaired by handiness). |
 | Grody | City Living | Sims have a chance to get nauseous when eating, drinking, or using the bathroom. | There is a 33% chance Sims get a nauseous moodlet when doing the actions described. |
 | Haunted | City Living | Locals say this place is haunted. Pah! What do they know? | Around 10:30PM, things may get creepy in this house, causing Sims to get a tense moodlet. Naturally, you'll see more ghosts in a haunted apartment. |
 | Home Studio | City Living | The artsy vibe makes this a great place to be creative. Painting, Writing and Woodworking usually comes out better quality. | It would seem that Sims are more likely to get artsy whims in a home with this lot trait. It also raises the effective skill level of Sims using related arts skills - this means that at level 3, you could be functioning like a level 7 in terms of putting out high quality objects. |
 | Homey | Base | The homey vibe helps Sims quickly master the domestic arts of Cooking, Mixology, Handiness, and Gardening | Gives a +50% boost to skill gains for the Mixology, Cooking, Gardening, and Handiness Skills. |
 | Hottest Spot in Town | Get Famous | A place for the Superstars, the VIPs, those who've achieved victory over the commonplace! After all, who else could afford these hyperinflated lot prices? Not you... no. But at least the Starlight Accolades can only happen on Lounges with this trait. | |
 | Island Spirits | Island Living | Ancient Island spirits inhabit this lot, visiting frequently. How will Sims choose to interact with them? | |
 | Mean Vibe | City Living | The Mean Vibe makes it easier to get other Sims angry with Mean or Mischief interactions | Randomly, when using mean or mischief interactions, Sims will get a long-lasting angry moodlet. |
 | Natural Light | Base | The quality of light here makes Painting and Photography much easier to master. | The Natural Light Lot Trait provides a +50% boost to Handiness, Painting, and Photography. |
 | Oceanic Paradise | Island Living | This lot has an abundance of ocean life. Swimming in the ocean is an inspiring endeavor and dolphins and rare fish are easily found here. | Being on this lot makes Sims inspired by Oceanic Splendor, and the call over dolphin interaction can be called from anywhere while within the lot's water boundaries. |
 | On a Dark Ley Line | Vampires | The dark energy here has an impact on all nocturnal activities. You can expect babies conceived here to require extra care while teething. | Modifies the game's chances to produce vampire offspring. Children can be born a vampire even without vampire parents and are in fact 4x more likely to be vampire. |
 | On Ley Line | City Living | Full of funky fertile earth energy, twins are born here more often than not. | Does boost twin birth rates, but I'm unable to locate the percentage chance for that to happen. |
 | Party Place | City Living | Parties just seem to go well at this place! Meeting Social Event goals becomes much easier. | This, along with Ley Lines, stumped me. I can be contacted at [email protected] if you can find all the details on this one. The description would entail it somehow lowers the requirements for parties. |
 | Peace and Quiet | Jungle Adventure | Something about this lot makes it great for reading. Sims understand more, so they gain skill faster from reading, and Tense moods go away faster. | |
 | Penny Pixies | City Living | Sims often find loose change around the place. It's like there's a secret money fairy or something. | While cleaning, napping, rummaging and doing other interactions like that your Sim is very likely to come across some change in the form of a few Simoleons. This sometimes provides a happy moodlet for a brief time. |
 | Private Dwelling | Base | A home lot with this trait deters all but the most determined visitors (it has little effect on commercial venues). | Modifies Sim behavior to make them less likely to visit. Good if you're annoyed by the frequency of visits! |
 | Quake Zone | City Living | Occasionally there's a minor tremble here. Probably nothing to worry about. | Earthquakes may occur, causing Sims to panic with the tremors breaking objects around the home. |
 | Registered Vampire Lair | Vampires | The lot registers as a vampire lair. The League will send various gifts from time to time. Through the mail, no less. Even the immortals use the public mail service. Only available on home residences. | Gain things like blood packs through the mail, but probably not garlic? |
 | Romantic Aura | City Living | Romantic Aura makes it easier to get other people in the mood for LURVE! | When using romance interactions, a bonus flirty moodlet will sometimes come up. |
 | Science Lair | Base | The secluded vibe means there's little to distract great minds from the study of Logic or Rocket Science. | Improves skill gains by +50% for Logic and Rocket Science. |
 | Study Spot | Discover University | A great place to enhance one's mind in pursuit of higher education. Not only will Sims complete their homework faster, but they can study longer without getting mentally exhausted. They'll also enjoy a slight bonus to all skill building. | Contrary to what this trait says, it's actually a 20% boost to all skills which is hardly "slight". Sims will complete homework 40% faster across all classes, term paper and presentation quality increases faster too! |
 | Sunny Aspect | City Living | The beautiful scenery really makes this place uplifting. When the sun goes down, Sims may get Energized, Happy, or Inspired | Starts at 6PM. The buff for Sims seems to last all night long, but it's randomly selected. |
 | Training Ground | Cats and Dogs | Sims gain Pet Training skill faster on this lot. | |
 | University Student Hang Out | Discover University | This spot has great prices on food and drink, so the university students are sure to flock to it. | Food and drink sold on this lot will only cost 70% of usual value. Conflicts with Hottest Spot in Town. Increases the chance of both Britechester and Foxbury students visiting the lot. |
 | Up-and-Coming Hotspot | Get Famous | At least your Sims can say they 'went here before it was cool'. Also, cheap drinks and eats for the super famous! Even better, Meet a Celebrity events can only happen on Lounges with this trait. | |
 | Vampire Nexus | Vampires | A dark envelopes this lot in the upside down. Vampires are more likely to visit the area. | Increases the likelihood of vampire visits across the board. |
 | Volcanic Activity | Island Living | This lot is near an active volcano! Beware of earthquakes, steam vents, and occasional lava bombs. |
The following are unique to apartments in The Sims 4 City Living's San Myshuno. Because of their nature, you cannot remove them. Some are great, so there's no reason to want to.
We now have a Youtube Channel with over 50 guides in video format to go along with the huge site I've already created. Check it out and consider subscribing if you like my style.
The Sims 4 Seasons expansion now has options! Want to disable weather or make plants in season year-round? You can do so with my new Seasons Tuner Mod
The past month, I've spent every day tinkering The Sims 4, making quality of life improvements, gameplay changes, and new difficulty settings for the game. If you'd like to learn more about my project, visit the post on Patreon where you can download it now.
Cottage Living Guide! Here is my guide to new features in the Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion
You can also find handy Cottage Living Cheats
I have much more to come, since you can actually write a few guides about this pack!
Blender has been incredibly useful in video production, so I made my own Physics and Simulation Improvement Addon that lumps a ton of unique tools into one compact interface.
Snowy Escape Cheats
Lifestyles in Snowy Escape
Climb Mt. Komorebi
Sentiments in Snowy Escape
Rock Climbing
Skiing Skill
Snowboarding Skill
I've released a guide to Sentiments in The Sims 4 & Snowy Escape.
There is a new platform tool in The Sims 4. There's also a new Sentiments system, but it'll take some time to create a guide to that. Players can also use rental lots in any world now by changing lot types of builds in manage worlds.
I've created a massive List of The Best Mods in The Sims 4 that should be very helpful to new players and those who have not yet explored modding and how much it can do for your gameplay.
New - Secrets I have a new guide to secrets in the game. If you prefer, you can also watch a video about secrets in Sims 4.
Nifty Knitting is now available. Learn all about the stuff pack on my guide page here.
NEW - Nifty Knitting CheatsNew features in the Sims 4 June 2020
The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Guide
Eco Footprint: How it Works
Neighborhood Action Plans
How to Cheat in Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
Civil Designer Career
Insect Farms & Bio Fuel
Fabrication Skill in Eco Lifestyle
Juice Fizzing NEW
Traits and Aspirations in DLC
Gameplay Ideas for Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
Updated
Trait Cheats Updated
Traits List Updated
Aspirations List Updated
Readers who use adblock or those who'd like to thank me for my efforts can now pledge $1/$5 monthly via Patreon. This helps a lot with server costs and provides some stability for my business.
This is inspired by a new series in which I start at toddler and gradually take on the major bonuses. Here's a link to the full playlist!
I now have a guide page to Tiny Living Stuff where you can learn about Murphy Beds, the new death, as well as the lot bonuses you'll receive if you manage to keep the size of your lot down with this new pack's Tiny Home Lot Type.
New I now have a guide to Making Super Sims in The Sims 4. Look for a text version within the next 72h. It won't have THAT much more info but it will help out as a checklist.
This was inspired by a series, "Let's Play a Super Sim" in which I start at toddler and gradually take on the major bonuses. Here's a link to each part for people who are interested. You can also see the Let's Play as a Playlist on Youtube.
The Sims 4 Discover University has been announced for November 15 for PC/Mac and December 17 for Xbox and Playstation 4 consoles. Click to learn more about the pack, see my summary of the livestream or read our FAQs below.
Other Guides to Discover University:
New Lot Traits: Study Spot and University Student Hang Out
New: Discover University FAQ: Gameplay Features
New Video The Sims 4 Discover University Gameplay Tips Video
More videos coming soon!
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Comments (20)
Other than that maybe just google and see what you come up with. There isn't much more that can be said about it really, the screen shakes and your sim will react and get a moodlet.
There is a mod that allows you to place these spawners on any lot and a link to the debug enabler mod/cheat that allows you to destroy them. I have not had a chance to play around with this so use them at your own risk!!! Make a back up of your save first.
CL Apartment Problems for Regular Lots
Are most of them from DLC, do they unlock or is it just a glitch?
Cursed causes debuffs similar to those caused if a Sim is targeted by a Voodoo Doll: +2 Dazed and +2 Angry are the two that appear most frequently. I find that they usually appear when the Sim returns to the home lot after travelling elsewhere, or when loading into the lot.
Gremlins is very severe - 'Stuff breaks here a lot' is an understatement. From what I have experienced, the damage happens overnight (between 12am and 2am most frequently), and only if all Sims on the lot are asleep. You do not see the Gremlins, but they break everything that can be broken, all at once. Everything. Fantastic if you want to level your Handiness Skill, but otherwise, can become incredibly stressful. A list of the items on my lot that would all simultaneously break: Computer, TV, Game Console, Radio, Fridge, Dishwasher, Kitchen Sink, Stove, Tea Brewer, Toilet, Bathroom Sink, Shower, Bath. I have had the Gremlins visit 2 or 3 nights in a row, as long as everyone was sleeping, and even if some items are still broken, they will break everything you fixed. I had no idea how bad this trait would be when I decided to use it, and I am still testing. I want to see if the Gremlins will break items with the Unbreakable upgrade.
Again, I hope this information is helpful.
Well done, Carl.
Just had a new sim move in, two repairmen have died fixing items while my sim was asleep within days of each other.
I'm trying to combine a gremlins and a gnomes lot trait now to see what will happen!
I think you missed the Off-the-Grid lot trait from Island Living.
Your guides are an invaluable and trustworthy resource.
Please consider adding the following:
Clothing Optional, Off-the-Grid and Teen Neighborhood were added via patches and are available in Base Game.
We're having issues with this page, those lot traits were in the table. This page is on our to-do list.
Firstly I love your guides, they are always my go-to for Sims info, so keep up the great work, you're legends!! I wanted to know if anyone has worked out what, if any of the lot traits affect the Eco Lifestyle skills? Does Home Studio affect the quality of fabricated/candles? Happy Simming
Jenny Bisbee
You can get On A Ley Line Trait from the Sims 4 pack: City Living.
Does "Great Acoustics" work on singing too?
The Sims Wiki says it does, but Wiki isn't 100% reliable. ¯\(°_o)/¯
Is there a cheat to add as many lot traits as you want or will I have to use a mod to get what I want?