You may be hesitant in making the leap toward a bankruptcy filing. This is because you may worry about how having this on your credit report may affect your future financial opportunities. More specifically, you may wonder whether this hurts your ability to obtain housing. Read on to discover whether bankruptcy affects your ability to rent an apartment and how a seasoned Louisville, Kentucky consumer bankruptcy lawyer at Schwartz Bankruptcy Law Center can help you overcome these challenges.

How does bankruptcy affect my ability to rent an apartment?

Of note, you are eligible to rent an apartment after filing for bankruptcy. However, your bankruptcy filing may affect your opportunities for renting.

This is because most landlords will run a credit report on you. They do this to determine whether you are responsible enough with managing money, and subsequently trustworthy enough to make your monthly rental payments on time. And if they see a bankruptcy filing in your credit history, they may be more inclined to choose another applicant to rent the space instead.

With that being said, the following information on your credit report may deter a landlord from accepting your application:

  •  A disclosure regarding your home being foreclosed by the bank.
  • A disclosure regarding your assets being repossessed by creditors.
  • A disclosure regarding your lawsuits and judgments set against you by creditors.
  • A disclosure regarding your late payments to creditors.

How can I better my opportunities for renting?

Importantly, this is not to say that a bankruptcy filing will permanently bar your opportunity to rent an apartment. Rather, there may be other ways, besides your credit report, to prove to the landlord that you will be a responsible tenant. Examples are as follows:

  • You may prove to the landlord that you have a significant income: that is, you may show that you have a predictable income that is sufficient enough to meet your monthly rent obligations.
  • You may prove to the landlord that you have a credible employment history: that is, you may show that you have maintained full-time employment for a considerable stretch of time (i.e., you do not have gaps in between employment opportunities and you do not tend to job hop).
  • You may prove to the landlord that you have a credible rental history: that is, you may show that you are consistent with your current rental payments and that you have always acted as an ideal tenant (i.e., no history of evictions or missed payments).

Overall, you may make the argument to the landlord that your financial struggle is in the past and that it should not affect your ability to rent now. At the end of the day, if you are struggling with earning financial opportunities following your bankruptcy, you need a competent Louisville, Kentucky consumer bankruptcy lawyer by your side. Contact Schwartz Bankruptcy Law Center to retain our services today.