Why Is Good Credit So Important When Renting an Apartment?

M

Michael

Member
I’ve been apartment hunting recently and noticed that just about every landlord or property management company runs a credit check. Some even mention a minimum credit score requirement. I get why credit matters for loans or credit cards, but I’m curious why it plays such a big role in renting an apartment.

Does a lower score automatically mean you’ll be rejected, or does it just affect the size of the deposit you might have to pay? And what exactly are landlords looking for when they pull your credit report late payments, debt amounts, or just the overall score?

For people who don’t have great credit (or maybe no credit history yet), what options are there to still get approved? Is having a cosigner or paying a bigger deposit usually enough?

I’d love to hear others’ experiences, both from renters and maybe even landlords if any are on here. Just trying to get a clear picture of how much weight credit actually carries in the rental process.
 
As a landlord, I can tell you the credit check is basically a quick risk assessment. It is not just about the number..... i look at payment history, collections, evictions, and how much debt you carry. A low score does not always mean an automatic no, but if I see multiple recent missed payments, that is a red flag. A higher deposit can help, but some property management companies have hard score cutoffs they cannot override.
 
From the renter side, I once got approved with a 580 score just by offering a double deposit and showing solid income. They cared more about stability than perfection. My landlord even said, “I do not care about your old medical bills; I care that you pay your rent.” So yeah, not all low scores mean rejection.
 
It is mainly about trust. If your credit shows you pay bills late, landlords assume you might also pay rent late. They are protecting themselves because eviction is expensive and slow. Imagine owning a property worth hundreds of thousands and letting a stranger live there..... you would want some reassurance too.
 
My first apartment out of college? No credit history at all. The landlord let me rent because my mom cosigned. Honestly, without her, I do not think they would have taken me. Cosigners are a huge help, especially if they have solid credit and income.
 
Yep, I got rejected once for a place even though i made 4x the rent. My crime? An unpaid $50 cell phone bill from 3 years ago that went to collections. The property manager said it showed a lack of responsibility. I was so mad like, it is fifty bucks!
 
Honestly, some landlords take the credit score way too seriously. Life happens.... people get sick, lose jobs, go through divorces. A single bad year can wreck your credit for a long time, even if you are now totally reliable.
 
I am in Canada and it works similarly here, but I have found smaller landlords more flexible than big corporate property managers. Private owners are more likely to look at your whole situation instead of just a number.
 
As a landlord, i once took a chance on a guy with a low score because he was upfront about his financial past. He showed me proof that he had paid off his debts and was rebuilding. Ended up being one of the best tenants i ever had.
 
Some landlords actually pull a tenant screening report rather than just a raw credit score. That can include criminal background checks, eviction history, and even employment verification. So if you think they are only seeing your Experian number, think again.
 
My credit was destroyed in my early 20s. When I applied for an apartment last year, I included a letter explaining why my score was low and what I had done to fix it. The manager said that letter helped sway them to approve me.
 
Minimum score requirements are a bit of a lazy shortcut IMO. They are easy to apply, but they do not tell the whole story. Like, if you have a 650 score because you have literally no credit cards, that is not the same as someone with 650 from defaulting on loans.
 
Some landlords also want to avoid tenants who might file bankruptcy. If you declare bankruptcy, your lease can get complicated, and they might lose rent. So yeah, your credit score is kind of a shorthand for .............Will this person keep paying me even if times get tough?
 
I had a landlord who did not care about credit at all, but he did want 6 months rent upfront. That was… a lot. I ended up not taking the place because I would have been broke after moving in.
 
Credit also affects your utility hookups in some places. I had to pay a $300 deposit to get electricity because my credit was under 600. That was on top of my rental deposit. Moving is expensive if your credit is not great.
 
For students, some landlords will waive credit checks entirely if your parents are paying the rent directly. My first student apartment just wanted my dad’s bank statements ....... they did not even run my name.
 
One trick if you have no credit: get a roommate with good credit who is willing to be the main leaseholder. You can still live there and split rent, but the landlord is only officially approving them.
 
Not to be cynical, but sometimes credit checks are just an excuse for landlords to cherry-pick tenants. If they have multiple applicants, they will pick the one with the cleanest profile.
 
My friend worked at a luxury apartment complex where the minimum score was 700. If you did not meet it, you could not even apply. She said they still got tons of applicants, so they had zero incentive to relax the rule.
 
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