Can I get an apartment if I have filed bankruptcy?
Some landlords (mostly large, corporate-owned) have a “strict” formula they use to determine whether to rent to someone. Bankruptcy counts as a negative, as would any other poor payment history. With some of these apartment complexes, it might be difficult. Of course, you could offer additional security as a deposit and that sometimes forces them to “recalculate.”
Individually owned, or smaller apartment buildings are generally not as strict and if the landlord takes a liking to you, the landlord can find a way to get the lease done. Again, offering a bit more security deposit would go a long way toward convincing the landlord you aren’t going to skip out on rent.
In my years of representing debtors in consumer bankruptcy cases, I’ve actually had a number of clients who were told by landlords to file bankruptcy first, then they would be willing to rent to them. Thus, some landlords are savvy enough to realize that renting to someone who is facing wage garnishment or a lawsuit by a creditor that isn’t getting paid is much more risky than renting to the same person who is debt-free!
I believe that a landlord who turns you down citing the bankruptcy would have turned you down even without the bankruptcy because of your debt problems. Bankruptcy tends to be a solution, not the problem. Thus, your real question is “will I be approved for an apartment if I have trouble paying my bills and will bankruptcy make my chances better or worse?”
Taking the question this way, the answer is, in my opinion, that bankruptcy makes your chances better. Landlords often turn prospects down because of their poor payment history and poor debt to income ratio. But, bankruptcy is a way to eliminate the debt so that you can begin rebuilding and so you can use your available cash to pay necessities like rent, utilities or groceries. It’s a way to demonstrate to the landlord that you are a good risk because the landlord is your priority and there is no one else who has a claim to your income that would prevent you from paying your rent.
