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Credit History & Employment

One question that comes up frequently with renters is, "How good does my credit have to be to get a place?". The answer, in general is, "virtually spotless".

It is imperative that you have a decent credit history if you're looking to rent in the city. If you've got a lot of red flags and debt, it doesn't look good- it's really hard to rent directly from a landlord. But there are some steps you can take to improve your chances:

  1. Save some cash. Enough for first month, last month, deposit, and a nice savings backup that you can indicate on your application.

  2. Be honest. State in your renter's resume that you are in the process of repairing some credit mistakes. Include a few monthly statements for accounts that you have in good standing, and use them as 'credit references.'

  3. Get letters of recommendation (with phone numbers!) from past landlords that state you paid your rent on time and in full.

  4. Put as much attention into your renter's resume as you would an employment resume. Include past addresses, how much you paid in rent, your landlord's contact info. List your current job, how much you make, how much money you have saved. Etc. Etc. The more honest you are and the more effort you make to show that you are on the up-and-up, the better you will do.

  5. Students with bad or no credit will often be accepted if their parents (or someone else with good credit) is paying the rent.

  6. If you rent a room in shared-rental situation (ie. roommates), you might be lucky enough to find master tennants who forgoe the credit check, just because they like you so much.

(Thanks to craigslist for items 1-4)

As for employment, it's relatively important that you are gainfully employed, but as long as you can prove your ability to pay the rent somehow (legally), it doesn't matter that much. If you can produce a bank statement showing how well off you are, you won't have a problem. However, if you're not set-for-life moneywise, a general rule of thumb is that your rent is 25% - 35% of your post-tax monthly income.

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