How to Rent Again After an Eviction

You can rent again after an eviction. Start before you apply: find out what a screening report will show, correct or seal what you can, and pay or settle any money the court ordered. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, a tenant screening company generally cannot report an eviction case that is more than 7 years old, though a money judgment can be reported longer if your state still lets the landlord collect it. Places such as New York, Oregon, and Philadelphia also limit which past cases a landlord can count. When you apply, offer a guarantor, a larger deposit or prepaid rent where your state allows it, and a one-page written explanation with proof.

What will a landlord see, and for how long?

A tenant screening report is a background check that a landlord orders from a company that collects court records and rental history. An eviction appears there as a court case: the filing, the outcome, and any money judgment, which is a court order to pay unpaid rent, fees, or damages. Unpaid rent that a landlord sends to a collection agency can also appear on your credit report for up to 7 years, counted from 180 days after the missed payment that led to collection. How an eviction affects your credit score and rental history covers the credit side.

The federal 7-year limit applies to screening companies, not to a landlord who searches court records itself. A landlord can generally turn you down for an accurate eviction record it finds, unless a state or local rule says otherwise. These places set tighter rules:

Fix your record before you apply

1. Look up your case in the court's records. Write down the case number and what the docket (the court's list of filings and results) shows: a dismissal, a judgment for possession only (an order to move out with no money owed), or a money judgment, and whether that judgment is marked paid. This is the record a screening company can find and report.
2. Get your screening reports. A company that compiles tenant history nationwide must give you a free copy of your file once every 12 months when you ask. Ask each landlord which company it uses, and request that company's file first.
3. Dispute errors in writing. Check for a dismissed case listed without its outcome, a case filed against someone else with a similar name, a case older than the federal or state limit, and a case a court has sealed or masked. The company generally has 30 days to investigate, or 45 days in some cases. Your rights during tenant screening walks through the dispute steps.
4. Pay or settle the money judgment and get it marked satisfied. Pay in full or agree on a written payment plan with the landlord or its lawyer, and keep the receipts. Once the debt is paid, ask the landlord to file a satisfaction of judgment, a court filing that shows the judgment is paid, then confirm it appears on the docket. Paying does not remove the case from the record. In Philadelphia, a landlord cannot deny you over a case marked satisfied.
5. Seal or expunge the case if your state allows it. The court decides under your state's rules; where sealing requires a request, you file a motion with the court that heard the case. Sealing or expunging eviction records explains who qualifies and how to file.

If your case is still open, the California, Minnesota, Oregon, and Philadelphia rules above all favor a case that ends in a dismissal or in a settlement without a judgment against you. The eviction timeline by state shows how much time each stage takes. Ask for sealing or masking in any settlement: Minnesota courts must expunge a case when both sides agree, and California courts can bar public access to the file when both sides ask.

How to apply with an eviction on your record

• Ask about the criteria before you pay a fee. Ask how far back the landlord looks, whether it counts dismissed or paid cases, and whether it will accept a guarantor or a larger deposit instead of denying you. In Philadelphia, the landlord must give you its written screening criteria before it takes an application or fee.
• Send a one-page written explanation with proof. Give the dates, the cause (for example, a job loss, or rent that was not yours to pay), what has changed, and documents that prove it, such as the docket page showing a dismissal or a satisfied judgment. Philadelphia's rules give examples of evidence landlords there must review if you ask for reconsideration: on-time rent payments that a background check may not show, proof that the eviction involved rent you did not personally owe, new or higher income that covers the rent, and letters from employers or past landlords.
• Offer a guarantor. A guarantor, often called a cosigner, signs an agreement to pay rent and damages if you do not. Ask what income and credit the landlord requires of a guarantor before you ask someone to sign; having a cosigner on your lease explains what that person takes on. If a screening report is why a landlord asks for a cosigner, a larger deposit, or higher rent, the CFPB counts that as an adverse action, with the same notice rights as a denial.
• Offer a larger deposit or prepaid rent where your state allows it. California caps a security deposit at one month's rent, or two months for a small landlord (an individual, or an LLC owned by individuals, with no more than two rental properties and four units in total), on top of the first month's rent. Prepaid rent counts toward that cap unless you prepay at least six months on a lease of six months or longer. New York limits a deposit and any advance payment to one month's rent in total, so a landlord there cannot take last month's rent plus a deposit. Where no cap applies, write the amount and how it will be returned into the lease.

If a landlord turns you down

Under federal law, a landlord that denies you because of a screening report must give you a notice that names the screening company and explains your right to a free copy of the report if you ask within 60 days. The CFPB suggests asking the landlord which item in the report was the problem, so you can explain it. If the report is wrong, dispute it with the company and send the landlord the corrected report with a request to reconsider.

Local rules can give you more:

• Philadelphia: The landlord must give you its reasons in writing within three business days, with copies of any third-party reports it used. You then have 48 hours to tell the landlord you want to dispute the decision or have it reconsidered, and seven business days to send evidence. A landlord with five or more units in the city must offer you its next available comparable unit if your evidence shows you can meet the obligations of the tenancy.
• New York: If you think a past housing court case was the reason for the denial, you can file a complaint with the attorney general's office.

Legal aid offices can help you file a sealing motion or a dispute; see finding free legal help for eviction.