I swear I'm not really a deadbeat

June 30, 2009 5:28 PM

Should I disclose this stuff on my rental application? How far back do they check these things, anyway?

I am looking for a new place to live, but I have a blip on my credit/rental history.

A few years ago, I sublet from a friend who broke the lease after I moved out. Many months later, long after I'd moved and forgotten about it, a credit agency contacted me about the situation and tried to get me to pay. I contested it last year and the debt was dropped.

I checked my credit on freecreditreport and my credit is above 760. The ding is still visible, however, and I'm worried about the details making future landlords nervous even though I make plenty of money and have a stable job.

The application I'm filling out right now says I must have 12 months of good credit/rental history and pass a criminal background check as well as verifying my income with pay stubs. However, it also says that if I falsify any part of the application or leave it incomplete that they will deny the application.

Below this are several boxes I am asked check, including "have you been sued for rent". This worries me; I don't want to lie, but I also don't want to share information that won't be an issue anyway.

So, my question is: Should I tell the landlord on my application, or say nothing? I have lived in the same place for three years with no problems; however, since the ding happened just before that and the credit report shows that the bad debt was dropped in 12/08, I'm not sure if I should mention it ahead of time or try to explain it later if and when it comes up.

I don't know if the ding will/could show up in my credit or rental history (or maybe both).

Everything else on my credit and rental history is spotless.

This is in Texas. Asking anonymously for obvious reasons, but can be contacted here: anonymousmefiquestion at the g mail.

posted by anonymous to home & garden (7 comments total)

Well, you shouldn't lie. But have you been "sued"? A lawsuit is a formal thing, not just a matter of somebody wanting some money from you; the following facts do not indicate lawsuit:

A few years ago, I sublet from a friend who broke the lease after I moved out. Many months later, long after I'd moved and forgotten about it, a credit agency contacted me about the situation and tried to get me to pay. I contested it last year and the debt was dropped.

If it's unclear to you how to truthfully answer that question, speak to a lawyer; you should get clear on whether or not you've ever been sued before for all sorts of reasons. It could come up again and again through your life.
posted by rkent at 5:36 PM on June 30

You haven't been sued for rent. Don't answer yes to that one.

Your credit score and three years of payments in one place should be more than good enough to lease a new apartment. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't worry about being accepted as a tenant (lord knows that I was able to rent a place with far, far worse credit than a 760).
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 5:48 PM on June 30

I wouldn't mention anything. You're already going above and beyond what most renters have to go through. Pay stubs? Criminal background check? Seriously? What are you trying rent? The Alamo?

Full disclosure: I hold real estate "types" - particularly rental management companies and their employees - in very low regards. When dealing with these people, the less information you give them, the better. They don't have the intellect to make objective choices, which is why they have to box their fellow human beings in with credit scores and background checks. Thus any info you volunteer is only going to create background noise in their gnat-like front lobes.
posted by wfrgms at 5:56 PM on June 30 [1 favorite]

It doesn't sound like you've been sued. It sounds like "a credit agency contacted you about the situation and tried to get you to pay" probably by sending you a nasty, threatening letter. Probably by threatening to sue you which is not the same as suing you.

It sounds like the issue was dropped not because you were "sued" and won a case but because you tied up some loose end before the issue made it to court.

Given the info in your post, sounds like you weren't sued.
posted by Lord Fancy Pants at 6:00 PM on June 30

Don't say anything, but keep in mind that the landlord may be more interested in looking at your credit report for incidents than for the score. An acquaintance of mine that rents property told me just that - he doesn't really care about the score, he cares about incidents.
posted by ignignokt at 6:30 PM on June 30

There is no suit without service of papers. If you've never been served, you've never been sued.
posted by rhizome at 6:45 PM on June 30

I filled out my background check form painstakingly, with great care. I took it into the property management office, where they took the form, put my name and SSN in their computer, ran a credit check, and said "You're approved. Congratulations."

In a lot of cases, collecting this documentation is a CYA maneuver by property managers so that if you skip town and don't pay your rent, they will have a paper trail demonstrating your supposed renting-worthiness to their landowning client. That doesn't mean they'll necessarily call your references or look at much beyond your credit score and maybe your paystubs.
posted by crinklebat at 7:28 PM on June 30 [1 favorite]