Jan 23
Is It Possible to Clear Your Rental History?
In today’s tough times, it’s becoming harder than ever to maintain a sound renting history. More people are finding it harder to manage their monthly rent which has led to a large number of rental evictions. Being evicted from an apartment is not a pleasant experience especially if you have children or few family and friends to help you in your time of need. but evictions don’t only occur because of the absence of rent. You could be evicted for violating the lease agreement, you may not be a good tenant, or perhaps you’ve just upped and left the apartment before the end of your lease. All of these activities end up on your rental history and will be accessed by future landlords.
If you want to rent a future apartment, you’ll run into a little bit of trouble when landlords view your renting history and see your evictions, gaps in your renting history, or breaking of a lease.
Your rental history record remains active for 7 years, so if you’ve rented and suffered a broken lease or poor rental history during this period, then the new landlord will probably access it. This means there’s a lower chance of your new rental application getting approved. The next question is whether you can somehow clear this 7 year record so you won’t have to struggle or get cross questioned by landlords about your tenancy in the future.
- Try to Find Your Report
It’s no good guessing about what’s in the rental history report. Get a copy and see what it includes. You may be surprised that there’s actually nothing to be concerned about!
2. Fixing the Damage
If there is a discrepancy on the report then you need to find a way to make it right. If not, it’ll be sitting on your record for 7 years! If you bailed on a landlord and you still owe rent, then it’s time to pay up. Settle outstanding debts where you can so you’re application is viewed more positively. You don’t want to explain to a new landlord that you still owe the previous rent!
If you’ve caused damage in the apartment and you haven’t addressed this, now is the time. It’s never too late to settle things and make things right. At the end of the day, the former landlord might appreciate and value your actions and remove the mark that was made against your name.
3. Is It Worth It?
Even if the incidence of late rent or damage isn’t removed from your rental history record, it’s still worth making amends.
At the end of the day, what you decide with your rental history and the previous relationship you had with a landlord, is entirely up to you. And while there is no guarantee that a rental history record will be cleared if you broke a lease or were evicted, it is certainly worth the effort.
