What Credit Score Do You Need to Rent an Apartment in the US?

There's no single credit score that guarantees you'll get approved for an apartment in the US — it's set by each landlord or property, not by law. That said, a score in the high 600s is commonly cited as the range where most applicants stop getting extra scrutiny, and scores below the low 600s are where you're more likely to be asked for a co-signer, a larger deposit, or additional proof of income.

What Credit Score Do Landlords Typically Look For?

Most landlords and property managers in the US use a version of the FICO score, which runs from 300 to 850. There's no government-set minimum for renting, so the actual cutoff is whatever a specific landlord or leasing office decides — a small landlord renting out one unit might weigh your rental history and income more heavily than the number itself, while a larger apartment complex is more likely to apply a fixed cutoff as a matter of policy. A score in the high 600s is the range most commonly cited as where you stop standing out for the wrong reasons, but treat that as a general reference point, not a number you need to hit exactly.

What's a «Good» vs a «Risky» Score for Renting?

The score itself matters less than what's driving it. Someone with a 640 and a clean payment history with no collections is often a safer bet, in a landlord's eyes, than someone with a 700 who has a recent account in collections or a pattern of late payments in the last year. If you're checking your own report before applying, look at the same things a landlord would: whether you've paid on time, how much of your available credit you're using, and whether anything has gone to collections recently. A single old, resolved issue reads very differently than an open one from last month.

Which Credit Bureau Do Landlords Actually Use?

It varies. Some landlords and screening services pull from Experian, some from TransUnion, and some from Equifax — and because the three bureaus don't always report identical information, your score can differ by a meaningful number of points depending on which one gets checked. Experian and TransUnion tend to come up more often in rental-specific screening than Equifax does, but there's no single bureau every landlord defaults to, so if your scores differ noticeably between bureaus, don't assume the landlord is looking at the same number you last checked yourself.

Does Your Credit Score Reflect Your Rental Payment History?

Usually not, unless your landlord specifically reports rent payments to a credit bureau or you're enrolled in a rent-reporting service — most leases don't get reported the way a credit card or loan does. That means a spotless rental history won't necessarily show up as a high score on its own, and conversely, a strong credit score doesn't automatically prove you've paid rent reliably. This is part of why rental history verification and a credit check are treated as two separate steps in a thorough application process rather than one covering the other.

Can You Rent an Apartment With Bad or No Credit?

Yes, in most cases — it just usually means offering the landlord something else to offset the risk. Common options include a co-signer or guarantor with stronger credit, a larger security deposit where local rules allow it, paying several months of rent upfront, or providing stronger proof of income and rental history to make the case directly. Having no credit history at all — common for younger renters or people new to the country — is a different situation from having bad credit, and landlords who understand that distinction are often more willing to work with additional documentation instead of a hard score cutoff.

How Does a Low Credit Score Affect What You'll Pay?

Beyond a possible denial, a lower score can affect the terms you're offered instead of just the approval decision itself — a higher security deposit, a co-signer requirement, or first and last month's rent paid upfront are common asks in place of an outright rejection. None of these are guaranteed outcomes; they depend entirely on the specific landlord's policy and, in some cases, on state or local rules about deposit amounts, so treat any of this as a starting point for a conversation rather than a fixed cost you should expect everywhere.

Where to Start Your Apartment Search

Once you know roughly where your credit stands, it's worth browsing what's actually available rather than guessing what you'll qualify for in the abstract. You can look at current long-term apartments for rent or long-term houses for rent across the US directly from the landlords listing them, which also means you can ask upfront what a specific landlord actually screens for before you spend time on an application.

Frequently Asked Questions

What credit score is needed to rent an apartment in the US?

There's no fixed number — it's set by each landlord or property. A score in the high 600s is commonly cited as a general reference point, but plenty of landlords approve applicants below that with a co-signer, a larger deposit, or strong income and rental history.

Do apartments check your credit score before approving you?

Most do, usually as part of a broader screening process that also includes income verification and rental history — a credit check alone is rarely the only thing a landlord looks at.

Can I rent an apartment with no credit history?

Often, yes. No credit history is different from bad credit, and landlords frequently accept a co-signer, proof of steady income, or a larger deposit in place of a credit history they can't evaluate.

Will applying to rent an apartment lower my credit score?

A hard credit check can cause a small, typically temporary dip, the same way it would for a loan or credit card application. Applying to several apartments in a short window can compound that slightly, which is one reason it's worth narrowing down real options before submitting multiple applications.

The number on your credit report is one input a landlord weighs, not a pass-or-fail line — income, rental history, and how a specific landlord chooses to run their screening all factor in alongside it. If your score isn't where you'd like it to be, that's usually a conversation to have upfront with a landlord about a co-signer or a larger deposit, rather than a reason to assume you're out of options before you've even applied.