How to Rent an Apartment With a Felony

!±8± How to Rent an Apartment With a Felony

If you are looking for an apartment, one of the things you can expect is for the management at the leasing office to conduct a credit check and a criminal background check. In the last 10 years, this practice has increased and even become controversial as some apartment offices are accused of downright discriminatory behavior. Nonetheless, the practice of running background checks has become more widespread as technology makes it easier. Today, a leasing office manager need not conduct make any phone call as all the background information on a prospective tenant is easily and readily available online at the touch of a button. If you have a misdemeanor criminal conviction, chances are you may still sail through a criminal background check because most apartment managers are actually looking for felonies and this is where it gets tricky. Can someone with a felony conviction get approved for an apartment?

A felony conviction is deemed much more serious than a misdemeanor and can actually result in a denial of an apartment or other housing where a criminal background check is conducted. There are many kinds of felonies but apartments are mostly concerned with those that involve:
Violence Sex DrugsThese three types of felonies are deemed serious enough for an apartment management to deny you housing. But is there hope? If you are currently looking for housing and have a criminal felon y conviction, the first thing you need to do is come clean beforehand. Do not wait for the apartment manager to pull the record but rather, inform him or her of the existence of the record. This can be even more effective when you write, in your own words, the circumstances surrounding the conviction. In many cases, this gesture can cause you to be approved.

Another way to gain approval would be to come with a number of references. These should be people who are reputable in the community, such as the local sheriff or fire Marshall, the local pastor or bishop, elected official or other prominent character. These references should state that they know you and that they attest to the fact that you are now a responsible individuals and the episode that surrounded your conviction is a thing of the past and is not likely to recur.

Finally, if you have a felony conviction, many apartments are willing to overlook it if it something that happened in the distant past. They tend to frown at recent convictions and will be lenient on cases that occurred years ago as long as there has not been any recent incidences.

People with felony convictions can also secure housing by approaching private landlords. While some do conduct criminal background checks, many do not.