What is a good way to handle my bad credit when renting an apartment?

Best bet is to rent from a small, private landlord. There are many people with one or two apartments who will be willing to talk to you about it. If you give them an extra month's security deposit, that should seal the deal. Just stay clear of big, corporate apartment complexes and it probably won't even come up.

First, you should figure out if your credit score really is bad. Go tohttps://www.annualcreditreport.comand and pull your credit score from one of the three major credit report companies. If it is 680 or above, you're probably going to be fine where ever you apply to rent. If your credit score is lower, you have several options. You can try to have someone with a good credit score or financials co-sign your application. Your parents or a roommate with good income and credit would work. There are also many housing options that do not look at credit scores so closely. For example, private landlords who own smaller apartment complexes or single family homes usually do not put that much weight on the applicant's credit score.

Get a copy of your credit report.  If this is the only item it may not be as bad as you think.  Most landlords aren't so rigid that they wouldn't rent to you for 1 indiscretion.  However if there are more things wrong you may need a cosigner or roommates.

He isn't wrong that you've damaged your credit quite a bit. There are couple of ways of rehabing your credit, and asking to increase your credit isn't one as this will trigger a request on your credit score and can potentially knock your credit rating further down. You can ask for a referral from your current landlord to show that you are a good rentor. or you can put up a larger deposit when you settle for a new place if the owner on the other side isn't satisfied with your credit history. You can then ask for it back after a while when you've proved yourself. For the rest of credit history, I suggest slowly rehabbing your credit rating through paying off your cards on time and actually just leaving a small amount on your card to "rollover" and pay the interest on it. I'm not sure why but maintaining a balance on your credit card while paying off most of your bill and the minimum sum actually improves your credit rating.

You are right to think that this could be a problem: most landlords do a credit check as part of their application. I would recommend two things. 1. Rent from a smaller landlord, like a mom-and-pop that owns an income property or two. Typically these types of landlords don't have as sophisticated background checks as larger landlords. Larger landlords are also likely to be less flexible because they need to follow corporate procedures. Smaller landlords may willing to look more closely at your individual case. 2. Offer to get a guarantor with good credit to guarantee the lease. Bonus option: offer to pay the entire year upfront (if possible)

It's going to reduce your options, but try to work on making yourself as attractive as possible in other ways: Show that you now have a stable income that will cover the rent - pay slips, employers references Demonstrate you will look after the property - good reference from current landlord, turn up clean and tidy yourself Show that you will be a low-maintenance tenant - be easy to contact, turn up on time, show that you know how to maintain the bits you should be maintaining One alternative is getting a guarantor who will agree to guarantee the right, if there is someone who will do that. They will need a good credit rating themselves.

Your credit score will reflect your entire credit history, not just a single negative report. You can also request that the credit card company update your report to show it's been paid. There are several places online where your current credit rating. One negative on your credit history should not effect getting an apartment except in the most exclusive and expensive markets. The worse that will happen is you'll end up in a less desirable neighborhood until it's cleared up, but even that is unlikely from a single hit.

Sometimes (depending on how strict the renter is) having excellent references will counteract having bad credit.