Renters' Rights

Chapter 1: Get Yourself Prepared

It Starts With You

You’ve made the decision to move. You begin looking through the newspapers and apartment guides for available rentals. Find the place you want, fill out an application, put the deposit down, and live happily ever after. It seems simple enough. Often times, this is the case, however, what if the rental market is tight or you have credit issues that could hinder your success?

Most people have a reasonable amount of time before they decide to move and actually moving. Before your pain-staking search for a home or apartment to rent, take advantage of this time to prepare. Keep in mind, renting and leasing property are business transactions. When buying a car, you take the opportunity to research the vehicle before buying it? You go to the bank to get the loan and ensure the vehicle is worth what you’re paying for it. Renting property is no different.

Here are a few specific things you can do prior to your rental hunting adventure.

Order A Credit Check

Check your credit by ordering a credit report. There are several venues from which you can obtain your credit report. You can order your credit report over the Internet from one of the major, national credit reporting agencies such as Experian or Equifax. In fact, the experts recommend you obtain a copy of your credit report once a year. This ensures there are no inaccuracies, or you have not been a victim of fraud. You may obtain your credit report from one of the 3-major consumer reporting agencies at:

Experian (888) 397-3742 (www.experian.com)

Equifax (800) 685-1111 (www.equifax.com)

Trans Union (800) 916-8800 (www.tuc.com)

Why? Most landlords put a lot of emphasis on the applicant’s credit history. If your credit is legitimately bad, they’ll consider you a bad, prospective tenant. If your credit history is good, but unbeknownst to you, there are errors on your credit report, your prospective landlord will still see you as a bad prospective tenant.

By ordering your credit report ahead of time, you can correct any errors that may exist on your report or correct any legitimate credit issues prior to your home search. If you have credit issues that aren’t easily correctable, at least, you are aware of what’s on the report. When it comes time to apply for a home or apartment to rent, you can inform the landlord about your specific situation prior to him ordering the report. This gives you an opportunity to give your side of the story insofar as the specifics of your bad credit. Your prospective landlord might evaluate your honesty when considering your application.

When a landlord evaluates a credit report, many will classify bad credit as "good" bad credit and "bad" bad credit. "Good" bad credit is those credit issues, which were not done intentionally. For example, you had a serious illness, and you were unable to pay your medical bills. Eventually, the hospital and doctors bills were referred to a credit collection agency.