Even in hard economic times, people need places to live and landlords have to make money. While many landlords now require a credit check as part of the rental process, you don't necessarily need to have an unblemished credit report to land an apartment you will love to live in. A positive record of on-time payments and healthy history are used as indicators of your ability to pay your rent; even if your rental history is flawless but your credit problems lie in an old credit card, some owners may not see that as a good enough guarantee. After talking to landlords (and landladies) and researching the apartment market, here are some smart tips if you are a tenant with less-than-perfect credit.
