Credit scores and renting: what landlords see and how to get approved

An expensive renting mistake has nothing to do with your score. It’s applying blind: paying application fees at three buildings without knowing what any of them will see, getting a vague “we went with another applicant,” and never learning that an old eviction filing, one you won, was the thing that sank you.

Renting runs on a different set of reports than a car loan or a credit card does. Once you know which ones, you can check them first.

What a landlord actually pulls

A small landlord might just run a credit report through a bureau’s landlord product. Larger property managers usually buy a tenant screening report from a specialty company. According to the CFPB, a tenant screening report can include any or all of:

• A credit report
• Rental history, including eviction actions and lawsuits
• Employment verification
• Criminal history
• Sex offender registry and terrorist watchlist checks
• A risk score or recommendation based on criteria the landlord picks

That last item matters most. Some screening products don’t hand the landlord a raw credit score at all. They return a recommendation, such as accept, accept with conditions or decline, based on criteria the landlord picked in advance.

Some products add a rental-specific score. TransUnion’s ResidentScore, for example, runs from 350 to 850 and, according to TransUnion SmartMove, was designed to predict eviction risk. That’s a different question from whether you’ll repay a credit card, so your ResidentScore and your FICO Score can disagree. TransUnion’s own landlord guidance says it’s hard to name a single score that should cause a decline, and that the decision belongs to the landlord.

The screening companies that already have a file on you

These are consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, with the same accuracy and dispute duties as the big three bureaus. The CFPB’s 2024 list of consumer reporting companies names these in its tenant screening category:

• AmRent
• AppFolio
• Contemporary Information Corp. (CIC)
• Experian RentBureau
• First Advantage Resident Solutions
• RealPage (LeasingDesk)
• RentGrow
• SafeRent Solutions
• Screening Reports, Inc.
• TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions (SmartMove)

You don’t know in advance which one a given landlord uses, and the CFPB list isn’t exhaustive. If you’ve had an eviction filing, a judgment or a dispute with a past landlord, request your file from a few of these before you apply. Our guide to specialty consumer reports covers how to request them.

Credit is one screen out of several

A landlord’s decision often rests on a combination of score, income and rental history. Income rules are common and easy to calculate for yourself.

Example: say a building requires gross monthly income of three times the rent, and the apartment is $1,800.

• Required monthly income: $1,800 x 3 = $5,400
• Required annual income: $5,400 x 12 = $64,800

If you earn $58,000 a year, you fall about $6,800 short ($64,800 minus $58,000) no matter what your score is. In that case a cosigner or guarantor is usually the fix the landlord will ask for, and a better score alone won’t change the answer.

Housing court history is the other big screen. The CFPB describes tenant screening reports as including “eviction actions and lawsuits,” which is wording about cases filed, not only cases a landlord won. A filing that was later dismissed can still show up. If one is reported wrong (for example, listed with no outcome when the court dismissed it), that’s an accuracy problem you can dispute.

Conditional approvals: deposits, cosigners and guarantors

“Approved with conditions” is a common outcome for applicants with thin or damaged credit. The FTC lists the typical conditions as charging more rent, requiring a cosigner, and demanding a larger security deposit. Each one has a different cost.

Example: on that $1,800 apartment, a one-month extra deposit is $1,800 you get back if you leave the unit in good shape. A $100 monthly rent premium on a 12-month lease is $1,200 you never see again. When a landlord offers a choice, the refundable option is usually the cheaper one if you can raise the cash.

Many states cap security deposits, and the limits differ, so check your state’s rule before agreeing to an unusually large one. If a family member is considering signing for you, send them what cosigning really commits them to first. A lease guaranty can outlast the original lease if it covers renewals.

If you’re denied, or approved with strings attached

When a landlord turns you down or imposes worse terms based on a screening or credit report, federal law requires them to tell you. According to the FTC, the notice can be written, electronic or oral, and it must give the name, address and phone number of the company that supplied the report. The CFPB adds that you have the right to a free copy of that report if you request it within 60 days.

Use that right every time. The report shows you exactly what the landlord saw. If something is wrong, dispute it with the screening company and include supporting documents (a dismissal order, a ledger showing rent paid, a court record). The FTC says the company must investigate within 30 days and send you the results in writing.

If the notice was oral, write down the screening company’s name before you hang up or leave the office. Without it, you won’t know who to request the report from.

Before you apply anywhere

1. Pull your three bureau reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com and fix any errors.
2. If you have any housing court history, request your files from two or three tenant screening companies on the CFPB list.
3. Ask the property manager, before paying a fee, what screening company they use and what their income and credit criteria are. Some will tell you up front; if a report later leads to a denial, the notice has to name the company anyway.
4. Line up a cosigner or guarantor in advance if your income is below the building’s multiple.
5. Get proof of on-time rent: bank statements or a letter from your current landlord. If you aren’t already, consider reporting your rent so the history shows up on your file.
6. Apply in a short window. Apartment applications and your credit explains how those pulls are scored.