What Credit Score Do You Need For An Apartment?

On the last episode of the WeeklyBagel podcast, you and I contemplated living alone versus getting a roommate. Whatever decision you arrive at, I want you to know it is hard to rent with no credit score. You need a good credit score for an apartment.

What does your credit score mean to renters, my dear listener?

Your credit score reveals whether you are a risk to a rental business or not. This is why I recommend building a good credit history before getting an apartment. In as much as apartments want to fill their empty rooms, they want someone who is able to make rent every month. As you know by now, an apartment is a business set up to generate monthly income for its owner. A bad credit score and credit history make you a high risk.

Speaking of credit, I suggest you read Credit Score Vs Credit Report: What Is the Difference. Otherwise, here are what else I need you to know.

Which Credit Score Do Apartments Use?

Apartments use the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to pull your credit report. These are American credit bureaus that compile information with respect to your financial obligations. Each time you do things which ruin your credit score, the business entity involved reports to these bureaus who build a file on you. Points are assigned based on the bureau’s rating of your credit history.

Do you understand how it works now?

It is why apartments use these three bureaus. I would say their credit scores are pretty much a reflection of your financial state. It is exactly why apartments use them to pull your credit report.

What Is A Good Credit Score For An Apartment

On this episode, I talked about the credit score for an apartment. The average credit score for an apartment should be at least 650. Usually for young adults moving out of their parents’ house, credit score may not be up to Fair credit range. This is especially, if you have not been working on it.

So, what is the minimum credit score for an apartment?

The minimum credit score for renting an apartment is at least 638. This is because it falls within the Fair credit range. Anyways, you can still get an apartment with a Fair credit range. But, you might be required to make a higher deposit than most applicants.

Now, does that mean you cannot rent on a poor credit score?

It is entirely possible to rent with a poor credit score, but it is going to be hard. This is because there are people already on the queue with better credit than you. So, this is the part where you have to prove to the apartment that you have proof of income.

Simply put, you can afford the rent. It is usually three to four times the rent. If you can prove to the apartment you are making three to four times the rent, apartments may consider you. The reason being apartments want to rent out their apartments to people who can make rent every month. With a previous good rental history, you can by pass having a bad credit score using your proof of income.

I explained this step by step on How To Rent With A Low Credit Score episode. As I previously mentioned, this is going to be very hard to do. Sometimes, apartments will punish you for that by asking for a higher than the usual security deposit. Having said that, here is why a bad credit score might not work in your favor.

What Credit Score Will Get You Denied For An Apartment?

A low credit score for rental application may not get you qualified. I talked about how scores below the Fair credit rating may not get you an apartment. It is not a rule though, because people trying to rent their homes or apartment rooms to you may not mind.

However, apartment complexes or rental businesses do not like it when people come in with a poor credit score. A poor credit score ranges from 300 to 579. As previously mentioned, anything below 580 puts you on the bottom of the list of applicants.

As you already know, every available apartment unit has a lot of people trying to get in. Apartments tend to choose people with reliable history. Sometimes, they can determine this through a credit history background check. Although you may be a good person, trust me when I say apartments do not know that. As a result, they only believe what they see on their credit check on you.

To simply put, a bad credit history indicates you are not reliable. It says you are not good at remitting money or paying back debts. Hence, the importance of having a fair or good credit score before applying for an apartment.

If your credit is bad, I wrote an article- how to fix your bad credit score. I explained a step by step approach which will get your credit score to a good range within 8 months. I recommend working on this during the same time as when you are saving for an apartment on episode three.

Now, let us get you to a minimum credit score for renting an apartment, before you go over to submit your application. Grab a popcorn, you are about to hear some no nonsense practical advice from a thick accent working class adult!