Rental Apartment Screening: What If I'm a Student, Or Need a Co-Signer, or Guarantor?

NYC rental apartment screening usually requires between 35% to 50% of your net monthly income, including utilities. Most landlords and property managers will want you to annually earn 40 to 50 times the amount of your monthly rent, and that you have a good credit rating.

Credit reports are run on everyone who applies for a lease on a New York apartment for rent, at a cost of $25 to $100, payable by you. New York City landlords and property managers will not accept any sort of credit report that you may have obtained independently.

That said, there are ways to get past a rental apartment tenant screening even if you have poor credit—past-due payments that are still outstanding; delinquencies and notices from collection agencies: these are often enough of a warning sign for you to be rejected—or if you currently earn little or no money because of your status as a full-time student. 

Most landlords or property managers of New York City rental apartments will accept a co-signer, or a guarantor, on a lease. This simply means that a person other than yourself—the guarantor--becomes responsible for all the terms of your lease, and is legally liable for the entire rent on the apartment, even if you are sharing the space with a roommate.

Of course, the guarantor has to go through the credit history / credit check process as the primary applicant, and landlords often demand that he or she have at least double the income requirements. Although guarantors are usually relatives, they don't have to be. Many New York City property managers do require your guarantor live in the Tri-State area.