{"id":362586,"date":"2022-07-28T10:39:40","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T16:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/?p=362586"},"modified":"2022-07-28T10:57:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T16:57:00","slug":"landlords-fico-vantagescore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/education\/landlords-fico-vantagescore\/","title":{"rendered":"Do landlords check FICO or VantageScore?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Disclosure regarding our editorial content standards<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you’re looking for your first apartment or a new place in a new town, apartment hunting can be a thrilling, hopeful process. But it can also be a little scary. The last thing you want to worry about when finding your dream apartment is whether the landlord will reject your application due to your credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The simple fact is, landlords want to make sure they’re not taking a risk on a tenant\u2014and the quickest way to weed out a tenant who’ll have trouble making rent is by checking the applicant’s FICO\u00ae or VantageScore\u00ae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even if you have less-than-stellar credit, don’t despair. There are plenty of ways to assure a landlord that you’re still a good bet, even with credit that isn’t great\u2014and if all goes well, pretty soon those apartment keys will be dropped into your hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do landlords see when they look at your credit report?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There’s a great deal of information listed on your credit report that’ll help a landlord determine whether you’d be a risky tenant. While some landlords might just look at your credit score to decide whether to accept or reject your application, a good landlord will evaluate what the report says to see the bigger picture beyond just a simple credit score number. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like anyone who pulls your credit report, the landlord will see your whole credit history, including credit card balances, outstanding loans, late payments, any bankruptcy and of course, the credit score itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do landlords use FICO or VantageScore?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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It’s up to the preference of the landlord, but they may check either your FICO score or your VantageScore (but probably not both). FICO scores tend to be more commonly used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the good items landlords want to see?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If a landlord sees you have a very good to exceptional credit score, you’re off to a good start towards having your rental application accepted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the credit score, a landlord will want to see a favorable debt-to-income ratio, credit card accounts and loans (such as a car loan) that are paid on time along with a stable employment history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the bad items landlords look out for?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A credit account you’re late on paying, you’ve failed to pay or that’s gone to a collection agency is a red flag for a landlord. Other red flags are wage garnishments, liens and bankruptcy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another concern would be if your credit report lists a previous landlord to whom you still owe money or who reported to credit bureaus that you were more than 30 days late paying rent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What credit score do you need to rent an apartment?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although there’s no set credit score you need to rent an apartment<\/a>, a score above 600 is what most landlords look for. However, Chris Fluegge, Director of Operations at the National Landlord Association, says many landlords take a bigger-picture approach that goes beyond just the credit score. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost landlords understand that a comprehensive credit report is more important than a credit score because it\u2019s a better indicator of a tenant\u2019s payment history,\u201d Fluegge says<\/a>. \u201cOne bad hospital bill or a case of identity theft can send a credit score plummeting. But if that\u2019s the only blemish in a long credit history, the risk is minimized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the credit score ranges?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

FICO and VantageScore use slightly different ranges in classifying their credit scores:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FICO (scale of 300 to 850)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n