How to Get Approved for an Apartment: Documents, Costs, and Rights

To get approved for an apartment, you need to show a landlord three things: that your income comfortably covers the rent, that your credit and payment history are reliable, and that your rental and background record won’t raise flags. Most landlords decide within one to three business days after you submit a complete application, so coming in with your documents organized and your weak spots addressed up front is what separates a quick yes from a drawn-out maybe.

What Landlords Are Checking

Income Compared to Rent

The standard rule is that your gross monthly income — before taxes — should be at least three times the monthly rent. On a $2,000 apartment, that’s $6,000 a month. Competitive markets push this higher, sometimes to 40 times the annual rent. If you have more than one income source, such as a salary plus freelance work, you can usually combine them to meet the threshold as long as each source is documented.

Credit History

Once you start an application, a landlord can legally pull your credit report; the Fair Credit Reporting Act treats it as a legitimate business transaction.¹ Screening companies most commonly use FICO scores, and a score above 670 is generally considered strong for a rental application. The cutoff varies by market and property, and a lower score doesn’t automatically disqualify you — but you may need to offer a larger deposit or a guarantor to compensate.

Before you apply anywhere, pull your own report at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only federally authorized source for free reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.² Catching and disputing errors before a landlord sees them can prevent an avoidable denial.

Background and Rental History

Tenant screening reports can include criminal records, prior eviction filings, bankruptcy history, and past-due accounts. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, screening companies generally cannot report most negative items older than seven years, including civil lawsuits, eviction judgments, and arrest records. Bankruptcies can be reported for up to ten years. Criminal convictions have no federal time limit on reporting.³

A prior eviction is one of the biggest red flags a landlord will see. If one is on your record, address it directly in your application with a short written explanation of what happened and what has changed. Evidence of on-time rent payments since then helps.

Documents to Have Ready Before You Apply

Gathering your paperwork once covers you across multiple properties and signals that you’re serious.

Government-issued photo ID: driver’s license, passport, or state ID card.
Proof of income: for salaried or hourly employees, your two or three most recent pay stubs plus your most recent W-2. If you’re self-employed or working gig jobs, bring your most recent federal tax return along with 1099 forms showing your earnings.
Two to three months of recent bank statements, which show steady deposits and savings beyond rent.
Rental history for the past two to three years: full addresses, dates, and contact information for each previous landlord. Be ready to explain any gaps.
Current employer contact information, and personal references with working phone numbers and emails if the application asks for them.

Self-employed applicants face extra scrutiny because income fluctuates month to month. Pairing several months of bank statements with your tax returns helps show a consistent earning pattern.

Move-In Costs to Budget For

Approval only gets you to the lease; you still need the cash on hand to actually move in. Between deposits, the first month’s rent, and fees, total upfront costs can easily reach $5,000 or more.

Application fee: a non-refundable charge covering credit and background checks, averaging around $50 per applicant nationally. Some states cap the amount — New York limits it to $20, and a handful of states set maximums between $25 and $65. A few states ban application fees entirely.
Security deposit: a refundable payment the landlord holds against damage beyond normal wear or unpaid rent. Most states cap it at one to two months’ rent, though roughly 15 states have no legal limit. You get it back (sometimes with interest) when you move out in good standing.
First and last month’s rent: some landlords collect both upfront before handing over keys.
Holding deposit: often between $100 and $500 to take the unit off the market while your application is processed. Whether it’s refundable depends on the landlord and local law, so ask before paying.
Move-in fee: a non-refundable administrative charge some properties add. Unlike the security deposit, you won’t get this back.

If Your Income or Credit Falls Short

A guarantor can carry an application that wouldn’t stand on its own. This is someone, usually a family member, who signs a legally binding agreement to cover your rent if you stop paying. A guarantor has no right to live in the unit; the role is purely financial.

Landlords hold guarantors to a higher standard than the primary tenant. Expect them to prove annual income well above the standard threshold — some markets require 80 times the monthly rent or more, though requirements vary by landlord and location. Their credit score typically needs to meet or beat the minimum for the apartment, and they go through the same background screening you do.

If no one in your life qualifies, institutional guarantor services like Insurent, Leap, and TheGuarantors will act as your guarantor for a one-time fee, usually between about 50% and over 100% of one month’s rent depending on your financial profile. Not every landlord accepts institutional guarantors, so confirm with the property before paying.

Other ways to offset a weak application: offer a larger security deposit where state law allows it, or prepay several months of rent.

Your Rights During Screening

What a Landlord Cannot Reject You For

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to deny your application because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.⁴ Familial status means a landlord can’t reject you for having children under 18, with a narrow exception for qualifying senior housing. State and local laws often add further protections, such as sexual orientation, gender identity, or source of income.

Source-of-income protections matter if you plan to use a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) or other rental assistance. As of early 2025, roughly two dozen states and the District of Columbia prohibit landlords from rejecting applicants solely because they pay with government assistance.⁵ Where no such protection exists, a landlord can legally refuse vouchers.

Criminal Records

Federal guidance from HUD discourages blanket bans on applicants with criminal records because they can disproportionately affect protected groups. For HUD-assisted housing, landlords must do an individualized assessment before denying someone over criminal activity, weighing the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and any evidence of rehabilitation. A lookback period longer than three years is presumptively unreasonable unless the landlord can justify it. An arrest record alone is not enough to deny an application; there must be independent evidence the underlying conduct occurred.⁶ Private landlords outside the HUD-assisted system aren’t bound by these specific rules, but the Fair Housing Act’s anti-discrimination requirements still apply.

Disability Accommodations and Assistance Animals

If you have a disability, you can request reasonable accommodations during the application process — meaning changes to a landlord’s standard rules when those changes are necessary to give you equal access to housing. A landlord must grant the request unless it would create an undue financial burden or fundamentally change the nature of their operation.⁴

Assistance animals, including both trained service animals and emotional support animals, are not considered pets under federal law. Landlords cannot charge pet deposits, pet fees, or breed restrictions for one. The landlord can deny the accommodation only if the animal would pose a direct threat to safety, cause significant property damage that can’t be mitigated, or impose an undue burden on the property.⁷

If You’re Denied

A denial based on a credit report or tenant screening report triggers specific legal protections. The landlord must send you an adverse action notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the screening company, a statement that the screening company didn’t make the decision, and notice of your right to request a free copy of the report within 60 days.⁸ You also have the right to dispute anything in the report you believe is inaccurate.

From there:

Ask the landlord which specific information caused the denial. They aren’t always required to tell you, but many will.⁹
Request and review the report. Look for outdated items that should have aged off under the seven-year limit, accounts that aren’t yours, or eviction records resolved in your favor.³
Dispute errors directly with the screening company. Under the FCRA, they must investigate and correct inaccurate information.⁸
Consider a letter of explanation. If the negative information is accurate but has context, such as a medical emergency behind late payments, a brief written explanation with evidence of your current stability can sometimes persuade a landlord to reconsider.
Strengthen the next application. A larger deposit where legally permitted, several months of prepaid rent, or a qualified guarantor can offset credit or income concerns.

If you believe the denial was based on a protected characteristic rather than your financial qualifications, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or your state’s fair housing agency.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
2
Federal Trade Commission. Free Credit Reports
3
Federal Trade Commission. Tenant Background Checks and Your Rights
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices
5
HUD Office of Inspector General. Public Housing Authorities and Source of Income Discrimination
6
Federal Register. Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing
7
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681m – Requirements on Users of Consumer Reports
9
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Should I Do If My Rental Application Is Denied Because of a Tenant Screening Report