There’s a good chance your next apartment search will result in multiple credit checks initiated by landlords, but can apartment credit checks hurt your credit score? While they can show up on your credit report as an inquiry, they’re not as harmful as you might think.
Here’s everything you need to know about credit checks and how they can impact your credit score as a renter.
Are Apartment Credit Checks Hard or Soft Inquiries?
A hard credit check is when your credit report is pulled to check your credit history for a new line of credit. Soft credit checks pull the same information, but have less of an impact on your credit score since they’re not attached to a specific application for credit.
Most credit card providers, car dealerships, mortgage lenders, and other lending institutions run a hard credit check when you’re looking to add a new line of credit. Since landlords and property managers primarily want information on your credit history to determine your reliability to make on-time payments, these show up as soft credit checks.
Your credit score is usually left unchanged when applying for an apartment, unless you applied for a new line of credit during the same time period.
How Do Landlords Check Your Credit?
A landlord can check your credit directly through one of the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) or a property management software platform like Avail. If your landlord is using Avail to check your credit, then this will show as a soft credit check on your report.
You can also submit an Avail Renter Profile if you’re looking to limit overall credit checks on your report, as well as save on rental application fees. A renter profile includes the same information landlords require on a rental application and can be shared through an online link.
You also have the option to add a credit check, background check, and eviction report to your profile for a one-time fee of $55. The credit report is pulled directly from TransUnion and provides all the information landlords need when reviewing your application.
Can Multiple Credit Checks for Rentals Affect My Credit Score?
Since most credit checks for renting are considered soft checks, they won’t negatively impact your credit score. The FICO® credit-scoring model, one of the most popular credit scores, ignores inquiries made within 30 days of scoring. Regardless of how long your apartment search takes, your credit score should not be impacted by your apartment credit checks.
Other credit scores, like the VantageScore credit scoring model, consider all inquiries made within 14 days of rate shopping as a single inquiry, no matter the type of credit application. So if you apply for multiple apartments within that time frame, they’ll all show up as a single soft inquiry.
Limit Credit Checks With an Avail Renter Profile
Finding your next apartment can lead to multiple credit checks and expensive rental application fees, but there are ways to limit them. An Avail Renter Profile helps you easily share your rental history, landlord references, credit report, and much more with one shareable link.
Create an account to make your apartment search less expensive and stressful.
