What is the minimum credit score for an apartment rental?

What is the minimum credit score needed to be approved in an apartment?

• I wanted to rent a one bedroom if that matters.

• Answer:

  There is no set answer. Different landlords/companies will have their own standards and criteria. Some may be very strict, others may be lenient. I worked for many years in property management and my company did not even look at a credit "score". However we did check credit reports to see a general history. We would generally turn people down if they had lots of bad marks on their credit (late payments, defaulted loans, repo'd cars, etc.) Some people had zero credit history and we turned them down too. We would mostly ignore medical debts. Do not be concerned about your credit getting dinged by multiple landlords pulling your credit. Rental companies are seen as a different category by the credit bureaus. It is a "soft inquiry" (sort of like a read-only version), as opposed to a "hard inquiry" (in which you are applying for say a credit card.) Do you know what's on your credit report? If not, go to annualcreditreport(dot)com, it's the only truly free site. If you think your credit is going to be a problem in getting an apartment, go to a rental AGENCY, where they represent multiple landlords. There will be a finder's fee when they successfully find you an apartment to rent and you sign the lease (it's usually 1/2 months rent finders fee) but it is helpful because they will be better able to match you with a landlord who likes your application. They will work on your behalf to find you something you like and qualify for. They also will know smaller landlords who own say, duplexes or three family homes and don't advertise. This is helpful because: Landlords who own less than 5 rental units and live on-site are subject to different, less stringent housing laws. Essentially, they are free to discriminate. This can be a good thing for renters because these kind of landlords are more likely to accept you just because they "like you", rather than looking at your paper credentials only. Larger apartment complexes and companies cannot discriminate based on personal preference and larger volume means more deadbeats, etc. so they tend to be stricter in their criteria (credit, income verification, references, etc.) Hope that helped.