How to Check My Rental History

Rental Agreement, Tenant Rights

Understanding the Importance of Rental History Reports

If you’re a tenant hoping to enter into a for a new apartment, you should understand the importance of . Your is essentially a involving a group of that landlords and gather that summarize your track as a tenant. Your can include former evictions and late payments to prior landlords. Landlords and use this information to evaluate the of renting to you.

are frequently used together with your , , and other financial data to weigh your financial stability. After all, no landlord wants to to a tenant who is not financially reliable or stable. Landlords and prioritize tenants who have stable sources, as it’s an indicator that they can pay the . For many tenants, late payments can show up in , which makes it difficult to qualify for new or .

When completing new applications, honesty regarding any issues with prior is critical. Evidence that you have a history of paying the is obviously helpful, but if you haven’t, it’s essential to be upfront and honest about it. If you can also demonstrate reliable , it will help landlords and to overlook issues in your past. But first, let’s learn what a is, and how you can get a copy of your .

What Information is Included in a Rental History Report?

A is a general term. There’s no one official . When a landlord or says they’re going to run a on you, what they mean is that they’re going to primarily look at four things.

1. Your – The landlord or is going to run a on you, and look at your . As we all know, it’s quite common for landlords to run checks on new . This is because the landlord wants to make sure that you’re financially stable and semi-responsible and that you earn enough money to pay the rent. BUT, sometimes your will also show late payments made to landlords, or evidence of or other from your past. This is usually most evident if you’ve ever had a judgment entered against you due to a prior eviction in court. If a or sees you have a judgment on your due to a prior eviction, they will take this as a warning not to to you.

So one the first steps can do is run their own , and see what’s in it, keeping in your new will also have access to the same information in this . Your includes any judgments entered against you, your 6 year history of late payments made (if reported to the , which not every landlord does). It will even include a of your , as well as the years you’ve lived there. Often landlords will compare this to the information you have given them to see if you purposely omitted any apartments from your past on the application. If you have, they will sometimes reach out and ask the owner of the property what their experience with you was so they can make an as to whether or not they want to to you.

2. Your – (note: in some states, it is not permissible for your landlord to view your or to use it as part of the evaluation process. But let’s be honest, most usually do, even if they don’t say they are). Some landlords will run on . Evidence of any drug use or violence or crimes involving dishonesty will be weighed heavily by prospective landlords. On occasion, a tenant will get into a physical or other altercation with a landlord that requires police intervention. A lengthy criminal record is often used by potential landlords as a sign to think twice about renting to a prospective tenant.

3. References – The third part of your is your references related to prior apartments. Your landlord of course will also ask for professional and to verify your character, and . But you may also be asked to provide the and contact information of all prior landlords as part of the ‘s . The or landlord wants to verify that you have a history of paying your and that you’ve been a good tenant. They also want to make sure you had no other issues with the rental property, such as excessive noise complaints or excessive damage. They even sometimes ask prior landlords if you received your back, or if you left the apartment a mess.

4. The local court docket – Not all local landlord-tenant courts are online yet. But if you live in a county with online access to court dockets, often a landlord or will run your name through the court system to see if you’ve ever been a respondent in a landlord-tenant action. They will see your prior landlord’s name as the petitioner, and they will often reach out to them and ask what happened. In Nassau County and Suffolk County New York, your landlord-tenant case is active in the court system while the case is ongoing. But as soon as it’s resolved, the information no longer shows up in the database for prior searches.

These are the four most common reports that potential landlords look at in order to make about the of new tenant applicants.

How to Check Your Rental History Report

Assembling a on a is an invaluable for landlords as part of the and tenant .

So where does a landlord or go to get access to these ? Well, there are two options.

There are that specialize in issuing these types of . But most smaller landlords just go through a manual process of going directly to the and and do it themselves. They go to the and run a on you (after asking for your permission as part of the process). Often they’ll just ask you to run your own and and provide them with the results as part of the .

How to Check Your Credit Report for Your Rental History

So your first is to go to annualcreditreport.com and run your . This website will allow you to check your for free. See what’s on there, and what a will see. If there’s anything negative in your , work to clean up as much as you can. Remember, it can take 6 years or more for a negative item to fall off your . So it’s best to be proactive rather than to wait it out.

Your will also show your history of , and often your reported . So make sure the information that you put in your matches what your will see in your application. Because mismatched information will also be heavily weighed in the tenant .

As for your , there are plenty of companies on the internet that will sell you a . This is often where landlords go to verify the of .

And researching court dockets depends on what county you live in. Some are far more user-friendly than others, and it’s very easy for a to click a button and run a background report on you. For other counties, it’s impossible outside going to the courthouse and look through manual papers.

The Impact of Late Rent Payments on Your Rental History

Late can have a profound impact on your if your landlord reports your late payments. Often smaller mom and pop landlords don’t bother to go through the process of reporting late . They typically wait until a tenant has to be evicted, and then they secure a judgment for any back owed, which (depending on the county), typically winds up on the tenant’s as a judgment. But often bigger commercial landlords and apartment complexes will report delinquent to the .

Prospective landlords and will see these on your if they are reported, and it will most likely impact your approval rating during the when you apply to a new apartment.

Encourage the Reporting of Timely Rental Payments

One way to increase the quality of your is to ensure the reporting of timely . There are services like that help tenants to report their own timely payments to the . This will help to build up your creditworthiness and may even boost your in the long run.

If you’re confident you’ll never be late with any future payments, then you can also ask your current landlord to start reporting your timely to the as well. Being able to demonstrate a positive goes a long way during the tenant . And should be aware of not only their but actively work to boost the reporting of their positive payment histories as well. But just remember, if you ask your landlord to report your payments and you’re late, then the landlord will report your lateness as well. So often it’s best to self-report.

What Property Managers Look for in Rental Applications

The role of are similar to those of landlords during the tenant . They both assemble their own version of your , depending on how thorough they are. And they’re both looking for the same things – any , general , late payments, and judgments from prior landlords. When it comes to your , renters with a go a long way for any applicant hoping to be offered a .

Additionally, often look closer into applicants’ and pay close before making an . If the in your is more than 30% of your (which let’s be honest, it almost always is), tend to investigate your ability to pay the more closely. also tend to be a bit more thorough in contacting prior landlords and verifying a tenant’s .

The Screening Process: What Happens Next?

After you submit your , the or landlord typically commences a thorough , either personally or through a . This includes gathering their own version of , , , statements from previous landlords, and any other relevant . Anything that would help them to identify any associated with .

At the end of this research process, your will typically contain your , , , details of , violations, prior evictions, judgments, and often information regarding issues with prior . This information is gathered primarily from your , the local court dockets, and by contacting your references and prior landlords.

If all goes well and your prospective landlord feels you’ll make a good tenant after viewing your rental history report, you should be offered a rental agreement and you can move into the rental property.

What Should a Tenant Do to Ensure a Good Rental History Report?

As a tenant, you should work with and to ensure your reflect that you’re a good tenant with stable that pays their . You should also ensure your previous landlords have positive things to say about you. So that when they are contacted by as part of the for new landlords, they have nothing but nice things to say about you as a tenant. So always try to leave apartments on good terms with the landlord.