Renting an Apartment After Filing for Bankruptcy

Many people are aware that after they file for bankruptcy, details about the event will appear on their credit report for at least the next few years. Some people discover that the bankruptcy process impacts their ability to rent an apartment even after the bankruptcy is complete.

Factors Landlords are Likely to Consider

There are several factors that a landlord is likely to consider when deciding if a person is a good candidate to rent an apartment. Some of these factors include:

• Disposable incomes. Landlords almost always place great emphasis on the amount of disposable income that a person has to pay rent. A landlord who owns a property will often be willing to listen to a person’s story about bankruptcy and consider extenuating factors.

• Employment history. Many landlords are concerned about a person’s job stability. In addition to a person’s employment history, a landlord will often be interested in the length of time that a person has been at a position, permanent employment, the person’s previous employment history, and the individual’s wage history.

Tips to Renting an Apartment After Bankruptcy

There are several pieces of advice that a person can follow to increase his or her chances of obtaining an apartment after declaring bankruptcy. This advice includes:

• Showing your new landlord that you did not break your lease or rental agreement with other landlords before declaring bankruptcy as well as providing evidence that you consistently made rent payments on time.
• Explaining that you filed for bankruptcy due to reasons that were beyond your control. It also helps to stress that because a unique set of factors led to you filing for bankruptcy, you are unlikely to file for bankruptcy again in the future.

Rental Obstacles Arising With Bankruptcy

Some of the common obstacles in renting an apartment that a person can expect to encounter after filing for bankruptcy include the following:

• If a bankruptcy case is still ongoing, a landlord will often be reluctant to rent to you. In situations in which a person is required to obtain a new debt obligation approval by a court of law, a landlord may be unwilling to wait.
• A landlord will likely examine the date that a person filed for bankruptcy. Many landlords are hesitant to rent to a person during the two years that immediately follow bankruptcy. As time passes, however, the record of bankruptcy will have less of an impact on a person’s ability to rent an apartment.
• Even if a person has not filed for bankruptcy, a landlord is likely to pull the individual’s credit report to look for evictions, judgments, lawsuits, and repossession.

Speak With an Experienced Bankruptcy Attorney

Even though the bankruptcy process can create obstacles in obtaining an apartment, it still offers many the opportunity to rebuild their credit history. If you are interested in filing for bankruptcy, you should not hesitate to obtain the assistance of an experienced bankruptcy lawyer. Contact attorney Jim A Lyon today to schedule an initial free case evaluation.