like gina said, if it's owned by an individual, it will all depend on that landlord.

for example, my landlord client was willing to rent to my tenant client who was going through a short sale, since he understood what has been going on in the real estate market

another landlord client, refused a tenant with over $200K combined income, due to the fact that their credit score was below 700

it will all depend on the landlord, in my opinion

This has not been my experience.

I work with rentals as well as sales. I advise landlords to not consider only credit in their pre-rental review. I use a service that checks landlord-tenant court history, criminal and gives a grade (A-F) on their credit. In almost every case where tenant applicants had less than optimum credit, they were excellent tenants.

I disagree with Ms. Bonapace's response and logic. In this economic climate, with so many foreclosures happening it is highly likely that a rental applicant will be coming from a loan default. Most landlords know this already. In my opinion, if they are properly advised they will be prepared to look at much more than credit. They will look at whether your income will support the rent and whether you will keep the property in order. These factors are very often unrelated to applicants' credit history - especially now.

Can they? Legally, yes. But you may be able to convince the landlord there were extenuating circumstances. You see, the logic goes, If you walked away from a mortgage note, you might be even more likely to walk away from a lease.

Mark,

Honestly it depends on the landlord. If its a private rental property, the landlord may look past it and give you a fresh start.

Good luck.

Gina Chirico, Sales Associate
Prudential NJ Properties
973-715-1158 cell
973-922-6363 ext 116
Gina.Chirico@PrudentialNewJersey.com