Bankruptcy and renting an apartment

rent and bankruptcy
Bankruptcy and rent

Finding a place to rent after you file for bankruptcy in Utah is a common concern for many people as they try and decide if bankruptcy is right for them.  If you are currently renting an apartment or house when you file bankruptcy your landlord may not even know that you filed.  If you owe your current landlord money when you file your bankruptcy then they will be notified of the filing.  Bankruptcy and renting an apartment is a common issue. Ongoing rental issues can vary depending on the kind of bankruptcy you file be it Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 so work with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer to know how your situation may play out.

If you need to find new housing immediately after the filing of your bankruptcy many landlords will pull a credit report.  Your Utah bankruptcy filing will show up on your credit report so when they look over your credit report they will see your bankruptcy filing.  Depending on how long ago you filed for bankruptcy some landlords may have issues with that.  When landlords seek me out for advice on how to handle “the bankruptcy issue” as some call it I tell them that if someone just filed for bankruptcy they would be a great tenant and they should not let bankruptcy be the reason they pass on them as a tenant.  Since bankruptcy in most cases wipes out most of a person’s debt, the odds that the tenant would be able to make payments to the landlord, has just been greatly increased.  Also since you can, for the most part, only file bankruptcy every 8 years, there is little risk that the landlord could not collect rents from the tenants going forward. If it has been more than 180 since you filed bankruptcy it is also my experience that a bankruptcy has only a minor effect on the landlord’s decision to rent to you.  So if you are able you might want to stay where you currently live until you are six months out of bankruptcy and renting an apartment.

It is my experience that landlords are looking at your rental history and your source of income more than anything else. Those two factors tend to be the biggest concern for most landlords. If you don’t have evictions or unlawful detainers on your record and are employed or have another good source of income finding housing should not be too difficult. #utahbkguy

Want to know more about Utah Bankruptcy? Check out my Free Book and download it right now! or call us for a no obligation consultation: 801-221-9911

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