Apartment credit checks: what landlords see and how to prepare

A rental credit check shows a landlord your credit accounts, payment history, balances, collections, public records like judgments and bankruptcies, and recent inquiries, and often a credit score. There is no legal minimum score for renting; each landlord sets its own bar, so the best preparation is to check your reports for errors a month before you apply.

Below: exactly what a landlord sees, whether the check hurts your score, what New York lets a landlord charge for it, and a step-by-step plan to get your credit ready.

What a landlord sees

A credit report is the record a credit bureau (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) keeps about how you borrow and repay. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it typically contains:

A credit check is often one part of a broader tenant screening report, which can also include eviction filings, criminal records, identity checks and a risk score or recommendation based on criteria the landlord chose. Some rent payment history can show up too: the CFPB's list of consumer reporting companies notes that Experian includes some positive rent data from Experian RentBureau in its standard credit reports.

Does an apartment credit check hurt your score?

It can. The CFPB notes that landlords may request your credit report as a "hard" inquiry, and hard inquiries can lower your score because scoring models weigh how often and how recently you apply for credit. Checks you run on yourself are soft inquiries and never affect your score.

The practical point: if you apply to many apartments, each landlord's check may add an inquiry. Apply where you have actually checked the building and the numbers, and in New York use your own recent report to avoid repeat fees (below).

What credit score do you need to rent?

No law sets one. Each landlord or management company chooses its own criteria, and many weigh the whole file (income, debts, collections, rental history) rather than a single number. Ask the leasing agent what they require before you apply; a reputable landlord will tell you.

What New York lets a landlord charge for the check

• No more than $20, or the actual cost if lower, for all background and credit checks combined.
• The landlord must give you a copy of the report and the invoice, or it can't charge you.
• If you provide a background or credit check done within the past 30 days, the fee must be waived.

Details and how to report an overcharge are in the $20 cap explained.

Get ready: a one-month plan

1. 4–5 weeks before applying

   Pull all three reports for free

   Equifax, Experian and TransUnion let you check each report free once a week at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only site authorized for these free reports. You can also call 1-877-322-8228. Checking your own report is a soft inquiry.

2. Same week

   Mark every error

   Accounts that aren’t yours, debts shown unpaid that you paid, duplicate collections, wrong late payments, old addresses you never lived at. Errors that look like fraud can be reported at IdentityTheft.gov.

3. 4 weeks before

   File disputes

   Dispute in writing with the bureau and with the company that supplied the data. Furnishers generally must investigate and respond within 30 days of receiving your dispute.

4. 2–3 weeks before

   Pay down cards and avoid new credit

   Lower balances help how your credit looks, and new credit applications add hard inquiries right when landlords are looking.

5. 1 week before

   Lift any credit freeze

   A freeze is free to place and lift and does not affect your score, but a new landlord generally can’t see a frozen report. Ask which bureau the landlord uses and lift only that one, then refreeze afterward. Phone and online lifts must be processed within an hour.

6. At application

   Bring a short written explanation if needed

   A medical collection, a one-time late payment after a job loss, or a paid-off judgment is easier to accept with a short, factual note and proof.

How to dispute a credit report error

1. 1

   Write to the credit bureau

   Explain what is wrong and why, list each disputed item with its account number, ask for correction or removal, and include copies (not originals) of supporting documents and a marked copy of the report page.
2. 2

   Write to the furnisher too

   The furnisher is the bank, card issuer, collector or landlord that reported the data. Send your dispute to the address on your report or the one it lists for disputes.
3. 3

   Use certified mail and keep copies

   A return receipt proves delivery. Keep copies of everything you send.
4. 4

   Check the result

   If the information is wrong or can’t be verified, it must be corrected or deleted and the bureaus notified. If it’s confirmed, you can ask the bureau to add a statement about your dispute to your file.

If you have thin credit or none

New graduates and people new to the US often have no US score at all, which is different from bad credit. Landlords commonly ask for a guarantor in that case. See guarantor requirements, institutional guarantors and renting without US credit history. In New York, offering a bigger security deposit isn't an option: deposits are capped at one month's rent.

If your credit gets you turned down

Federal law requires a landlord that denies you, or approves you on worse terms such as a co-signer or higher deposit, based partly on a consumer report to give you an adverse action notice. It must name the company that supplied the report and tell you that you can get a free copy if you ask within 60 days and can dispute errors. If a credit score was used, the landlord must also disclose the score and the key factors that hurt it. Next steps are in application denied: what to do next.

Finally, make sure the rent itself is affordable. A good credit file won't help if the rent leaves no room for your other bills: try the rent affordability calculator.