Credit reports and your rental application

Most New York City landlords look at your credit when you apply for an apartment. Knowing what is on your report before you apply helps you fix mistakes, explain anything unusual and avoid surprises. It is one of the first things renters ask Mena Realty about, so we put the answers in one place.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change; the official sources at the end of this page have the current details.

Get your free credit reports

You can check your credit report from each of the three national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) for free, once a week. The official place to get them is AnnualCreditReport.com, or call 1-877-322-8228.

• Checking your own report is a “soft inquiry.” It does not lower your score and lenders do not see it.
• Use AnnualCreditReport.com. Other sites with similar names may charge you or try to collect your personal information.
• If a landlord turns you down because of something in a credit report, you are entitled to a free copy of that report if you ask within 60 days.

Your credit score

The free reports usually do not include a credit score. Ways to see your score for free without lowering it:

• Check your credit card company or bank. Many show your score for free in their app or on your statement.
• Some credit monitoring services offer a free score. Read the terms before you sign up, and do not sign up for anything that asks for a card payment you did not expect.

What is on a credit report

Reports from different companies look different, but most include the same sections:

• Personal information: your name, current and past addresses, date of birth and the last digits of your Social Security number.
• Accounts: each credit card or loan, with the date it was opened, the balance, any past-due amount and how many times you paid 30, 60 or 90 days late.
• Account type and responsibility: whether a debt is a mortgage, car loan, credit card or collection, and whether it is in your name alone or shared with someone else.
• Public records: bankruptcies and court money judgments.
• Inquiries: companies that checked your credit, usually for the last one to two years.
• Score and score factors (when included): the number and the main reasons it is not higher.

Most negative information can be reported for seven years. A bankruptcy can be reported for up to ten years.

Credit scores and rental scores

“Your score” usually means your FICO score, but you actually have a different score at each bureau, because each bureau may have different information about you. Your score changes whenever your report changes.

Some tenant screening companies give landlords a rental score instead. It is built from similar information, such as your bill payment history, collections and income compared with the rent. Each landlord decides what score they will accept, so the same score can be approved at one building and declined at another.

Fixing mistakes on your report

If something on your report is wrong, you can dispute it yourself, for free. You do not need to pay anyone to do this.

1. Get your reports from all three bureaus and mark anything that is not yours or is not accurate.
2. File a dispute with each bureau that shows the error, online or in writing. Include copies (never originals) of any proof, such as a payoff letter or bank statement.
3. The bureau must investigate and correct or remove information that is inaccurate or cannot be verified. It cannot charge you for this.
4. If the investigation does not fix the problem, you can add a short statement (up to 100 words) to your file explaining your side. The bureau must include it when it sends out your report.

Screening fees in New York

Under New York law, a landlord or broker may charge you no more than $20 (or the actual cost, if lower) for background and credit checks. They must give you a copy of the check and the receipt from the screening company.

If you use a rental assistance voucher

The New York City Human Rights Law protects renters who pay with a lawful source of income, such as a rental assistance voucher. According to the NYC Commission on Human Rights:

• If your voucher pays 100% of the rent, a landlord may not reject you because of your credit history or score.
• If you pay part of the rent, the landlord may check your credit, but requiring a specific credit score is evidence of discrimination.
• Landlords may not add extra income requirements when your rent is based on your income, and may not require a guarantor or co-signer.

For affordable apartments you apply for through NYC Housing Connect, voucher holders are not subject to credit checks when they are selected for HPD- or HDC-financed homes.

If you believe you were treated unfairly because of your source of income, call 311 and ask for the NYC Commission on Human Rights.

Getting help with your credit

New Yorkers who live or work in the city can get free, one-on-one financial counseling, including help with credit and debt, at NYC Financial Empowerment Centers. Call 311 and ask for “financial counseling.”

If you hire a credit repair company

New York law protects you when you pay a company to work on your credit:

• They may not charge you before they do the work.
• You must get a written contract that lists exactly what they will change and by when.
• You can cancel within three days of signing, at no cost.
• No one can legally remove accurate, up-to-date negative information from your report. Be careful with promises that sound too good to be true.
• Never give anyone your passwords or account logins.

Official sources

• AnnualCreditReport.com — free credit reports
• FTC — free weekly credit reports
• NY Real Property Law § 238-A — limits on screening fees
• NYC Commission on Human Rights — source of income FAQ for tenants
• NYC — Housing Connect credit check change for voucher holders (Oct 2023)
• NY General Business Law Article 28-BB — credit services businesses