An apartment can deny you for a long list of reasons, and knowing which one applies to your situation is the first step toward fixing it or fighting it. The most common grounds are a low credit score or troubled credit history, income that falls short of the rent-to-income ratio, past evictions or negative landlord references, certain criminal convictions, refusal to accept a housing voucher where that is still legal, occupancy or pet rules the household does not fit, and mistakes or omissions on the application itself. Federal law blocks denials based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin, but every other legitimate financial or safety concern remains fair game.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices If the reason behind your denial is wrong or unfair, you have specific rights to challenge it.
Credit Score and Credit History
Credit is usually the first filter. Many property managers look for a minimum FICO score somewhere between 600 and 650, though the exact cutoff varies by property and local market. A score below that line signals risk of missed rent, and the landlord may deny the application outright or ask for a larger deposit.
The details of the report matter as much as the number. Collections on large balances, charged-off accounts, and civil judgments for unpaid debts can sit on your credit report for up to seven years, and a bankruptcy stays for up to ten.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports Landlords want to see a pattern of paying lenders and utilities on time.
Medical debt is a wrinkle worth knowing about. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule in 2024 that would have stripped medical bills from credit reports, but a federal court vacated it in July 2025.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB Finalizes Rule to Remove Medical Bills From Credit Reports Medical collections can still appear on your report and still factor into a screening decision.
Income That Does Not Meet the Rent-to-Income Rule
Most landlords expect gross monthly income of at least three times the rent. For a $1,500 apartment, that means roughly $4,500 a month before taxes. Pay stubs, prior-year W-2 forms, or an employer verification letter are the standard proofs.
Self-employed and gig applicants face extra scrutiny because income fluctuates. Expect requests for two years of federal tax returns or several months of bank statements showing steady deposits. 1099s, profit-and-loss statements, and signed client contracts help. Recent gaps in work history can sink an application even when current earnings technically clear the threshold.
If your income does not reach the ratio, some landlords allow a guarantor who agrees to cover the rent if you cannot. Guarantors generally have to meet the same credit and income standards as the applicant, and often a higher income bar. Not every property accepts them, so ask before you apply.
Evictions and Rental History
Your record as a tenant carries real weight. Eviction filings can appear on tenant screening reports for up to seven years under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, even if the case was later dismissed.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Can Information Like Eviction Actions and Lawsuits Stay on My Tenant Screening Record Many landlords treat any eviction entry as an automatic denial regardless of the outcome.
Even without a formal eviction, a bad reference from a prior landlord can end the application. Property managers call previous landlords and ask about late payments, lease violations, noise complaints, unauthorized occupants, and damage. Damage that exceeded the last security deposit is a strong red flag.
No rental history can also hurt. First-time renters, recent graduates, and former homeowners often have nothing for a landlord to verify. A guarantor or, where local law permits, a larger security deposit can help close the gap.
Criminal Background
Most landlords run a criminal background check. Federal fair housing guidance discourages blanket bans and tells landlords to weigh the nature of the offense, how long ago it happened, and evidence of rehabilitation.5U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act A policy that automatically rejects anyone with any record can violate fair housing law if it disproportionately shuts out people in a protected class without a legitimate safety justification.
One narrow carve-out: the Fair Housing Act lets landlords deny anyone convicted of illegally manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance without any individualized review.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3607 – Religious Organization or Private Club Exemptions For every other offense, the age of the conviction matters. HUD has proposed a rule that would make it presumptively unreasonable for federally assisted housing to deny based on criminal activity more than three years old.7Federal Register. Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing That rule is not yet final. Arrests without convictions are generally not a valid basis for denial, since an arrest alone does not establish criminal conduct.
Housing Vouchers and Source of Income
Some landlords refuse to rent to anyone paying with a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) or other public assistance. No federal statute broadly bans source-of-income discrimination in private housing. As of early 2025, however, twenty-three states and the District of Columbia had made source of income a protected class, and more than 150 cities and counties in other states had passed local protections.8Office of Inspector General, Department of Housing and Urban Development. Public Housing Authorities and Source of Income Discrimination In a covered jurisdiction, a landlord cannot reject you solely because your rent is subsidized.
Enforcement is uneven. If you think a landlord denied you because of your voucher, you can file a complaint with your local or state fair housing agency. Save every email, text, and voicemail, and write down what the landlord said about the reason.
Occupancy Limits, Pets, and Smoke-Free Policies
Building rules can sink an otherwise strong application. Occupancy limits based on local safety codes, plus a common industry guideline of roughly two people per bedroom, can disqualify a household regardless of finances. A family of four applying for a one-bedroom can be turned away on that basis alone.
Pet policies also knock out applicants. Many properties ban pets or restrict breeds and weight. If you have a disability and use a service animal or an emotional support animal, the Fair Housing Act requires the landlord to grant a reasonable accommodation even in a no-pets building.9U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Assistance Animals An assistance animal is not a pet under fair housing law, and the landlord cannot charge pet deposits or pet rent for one. Denial of the accommodation is allowed only if the specific animal poses a direct safety threat or would cause significant property damage.
Smoke-free buildings can decline applicants who intend to smoke or vape on the property. Applied uniformly, those policies are not discriminatory.
Mistakes on the Application
Inflating income, omitting a prior eviction, or giving a fake employer reference is one of the fastest ways to a rejection. Screening services cross-check what you wrote against public records, credit files, and employment databases, and any contradiction destroys the landlord’s confidence in the rest of your application.
Incomplete applications fail for a simpler reason. Blank fields, missing signatures on disclosures, or a missing legal name or Social Security number can stop the screening company from running the check at all.10Federal Trade Commission. Tenant Background Checks and Your Rights In a competitive market the file goes to the bottom of the pile.
What To Do After a Denial
A denial is not always final. If the landlord used a credit report or background check to turn you down, federal law requires an adverse action notice that gives you the name, address, and phone number of the screening company, states that the screening company did not make the decision, and tells you about your right to a free copy of the report.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681m – Requirements on Users of Consumer Reports You can request that free copy from the reporting agency within sixty days.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681j – Charges for Certain Disclosures
Read the report. If it shows an eviction that was not yours, an account that belongs to someone else, or outdated information, dispute it directly with the screening company. The company has to investigate and tell you the results, generally within thirty days.13Federal Trade Commission. Disputing Errors on Your Tenant Background Check Report If the investigation confirms the error, the company must correct or delete the entry, and you can ask it to send the corrected report to the landlord who denied you.
If you believe the denial was really about your race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin, you can file a complaint with HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity online, by mail, or by calling 1-800-669-9777.14U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Report Housing Discrimination File quickly, because the clock starts running from the date of the alleged violation. Have ready the landlord’s name and address, the property address, the dates involved, and a clear description of what happened.