Renting an apartment in the USA with no credit score: what landlords ask for

At home you're a good tenant. You've paid on time for years, your credit record is clean, and your landlord would happily write you a reference. In America, that won't get you far at first. The landlord in Austin, Miami or San Diego orders an American report on you, and it comes back empty. This page shows how a rental application works in the USA, what you can use in place of the missing number, how much deposit the law allows in Texas, Florida, California and New York, and what rights you have from the first form to the day you move out. The order of every step after you arrive is laid out in our overview of the first 90 days.

1Why the landlord doesn't know you

In the USA you apply for an apartment with a rental application. By signing it, you allow the landlord to pull a report on you: a credit report from a credit bureau, often combined with a tenant screening report covering past tenancies, evictions and criminal records. California's real estate department describes the process like this: the landlord uses credit reports and screening information to decide, and will almost always look at your credit score too (California Department of Real Estate, California Tenants, 2026 edition). Other states are no different. Texas law expressly lists credit history among the grounds on which a landlord may reject an application (Texas Property Code § 92.3515).

The report is based on what has been reported about you in the USA. Your credit record from home isn't in it. So to the system, a newcomer isn't a bad candidate, just no candidate at all. Why that is, and how a credit history is built, is explained in our article "Sir, you have no credit".

Then there's the number the report runs on. Many forms ask for a Social Security Number. The Social Security Administration issues it to green card holders and to foreigners authorized to work in the USA; without work authorization you only get one if a law requires it for a government benefit (20 CFR 422,104). If you come on an L-1 or E-2, you may work and can apply for one. How that works is explained in our article on the Social Security Number. The ITIN, the IRS's individual taxpayer number, is according to the agency meant only for federal tax purposes and is not valid as ID outside the tax system (IRS, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). So for a landlord it is no substitute for an SSN, but it can be the start of your credit history: more on that under The ITIN as your key to banking, cards and credit.

2What the landlord may check and what he owes you

A landlord in the USA generally doesn't have to tell you why he turned you down. One important exception applies nationwide: if he bases his decision wholly or partly on a credit or screening report, he must tell you so. This notice is called an adverse action notice. It gives the name, address and phone number of the company that supplied the report and tells you of your right to request a free copy within 60 days and to dispute inaccurate information. The bureau usually has 30 days to investigate, sometimes 45 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What should I do if my rental application is denied due to a tenant screening report?).

For newcomers, one point from the consumer protection bureau matters most: an adverse decision isn't only a rejection. If, because of the report, the landlord asks you for a guarantor, a higher deposit or higher rent than other applicants, that is also adverse action. So you're entitled to the notice even if you get the apartment, just at a higher price.

The four big destination states add their own rules on top. In Texas the landlord must give you his selection criteria in writing with the application form, such as requirements for income, credit history and rental history. You confirm receipt with your signature. If he didn't provide the criteria and rejects you, he must refund the application fee and any application deposit (Texas Property Code § 92.3515). So read the criteria before you pay: if you don't meet them, you won't get the fee back, and the acknowledgment you sign tells you exactly that.

In California the screening fee may only cover actual costs. The landlord gives you a receipt, refunds any unused portion and must give you a copy of your credit report within seven days. Charging a fee for an apartment that isn't actually becoming available is prohibited (California Tenants, on Civil Code § 1950.6). In New York the landlord may not charge an application fee at all, only the cost of the background and credit check, capped at $20. He may only collect it if he gives you a copy of the report and the invoice for it. If you provide your own report no older than 30 days, that fee falls away too (New York Real Property Law § 238-a).

3The document package that replaces the missing score

Without a number, you have to prove another way that you can pay. The California agency names the route itself: tenants can show their rental history with proof of rent paid on time and their ability to pay with proof of income (California Tenants, 2026 edition). Put together a package you can send as a single PDF:

• ID and status: passport, visa and, if you have them, your petition approval or your green card.
• Income: your employment contract or a letter from your US employer stating salary and start date. If you're coming with your own company, include its bank statements and a short confirmation from your accountant.
• Assets: bank statements from recent months, ideally including a US account you'll pay the rent from.
• Rental history: a letter in English from your current landlord confirming you paid on time, and your credit report from home with a short translation. It doesn't replace a US report, but it shows the person reading your file who you are.
• Contact: a US phone number and an email address where you'll reply quickly. How to get the number is covered under A US phone number for banks and agencies.

In California you may also submit a reusable screening report. The landlord doesn't have to accept it. If he does, he can't charge a screening fee (California Tenants, 2026 edition). For newcomers this only makes sense once something has been reported about them in the USA.

4Deposit, prepaid rent, guarantor: what the law allows in four states

The usual way to make up for a missing score is money: a higher deposit, several months' rent up front, or a guarantor (also called a co-signer). Whether that's allowed depends on the state, and the differences are big.

In Texas the law sets no cap on the deposit, and prepaid rent is expressly not treated as a deposit (Texas Property Code § 92,102). So offering a larger deposit or a few months' rent in advance is a perfectly legal way to win over a hesitant landlord. Since 2021 a landlord may also offer a monthly fee in place of the deposit, which he uses to pay for insurance. But he must then also offer you the regular deposit, may not make your choice a condition of approval, and must tell you in writing that the fee is generally non-refundable and does not release you from liability for damage (§ 92,111).

Florida has no cap either. The landlord must keep the deposit and prepaid rent in a separate account at a Florida financial institution or secure them with a surety bond, and anyone renting out five or more units must tell you in writing within 30 days where your money is held (Florida Statutes § 83.49). Florida also allows the fee in place of a deposit (§ 83,491).

California sets tight limits. For deposits from July 1, 2024, the maximum is one month's rent, furnished or unfurnished. Only small private landlords with no more than two properties and no more than four units in total may ask for two months' rent. Everything you pay up front other than the first month's rent and the screening fee legally counts as a deposit, even if it's called "last month's rent" or a cleaning fee (California Tenants, on Civil Code § 1950.5). So the big offer of "I'll pay six months in advance" quickly runs into the law here.

In New York the deposit and prepaid rent combined may not exceed one month's rent (General Obligations Law § 7-108). In New York City the FARE Act has also applied since June 11, 2025: a broker working for the landlord may not charge you a broker's fee, and the landlord must list in writing, before you sign, every fee you're expected to pay. You're still free to hire and pay your own broker (NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Local Law 119 of 2024). With money largely off the table as leverage in New York and California, the guarantor matters more: an employer, a relative with US credit, or a commercial guarantor service.

5Who may not ask about your immigration status

Many newcomers worry they'll be turned down for being foreign. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits refusing someone housing because of their national origin, along with race, color, religion, sex and living with children (42 U.S.C. 3604). Texas and Florida have written protection of national origin into their own laws (Texas Property Code § 301,021; Florida Statutes § 760.23). So being Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch or Irish is not a lawful reason to reject you.

Immigration status is not the same as origin, and here New York and California go further. New York's state Human Rights Law expressly prohibits refusing housing because of citizenship or immigration status, and it also protects any lawful source of income (New York Executive Law § 296(5)). In California, the landlord may not ask about your immigration status or require a statement about it. They may, however, verify your identity and your finances. If you can't provide an SSN or a driver's license, the state agency names a passport or a foreign driver's license as ID that allows the check without asking about status (California Tenants, on Civil Code § 1940.3).

In practice: in Texas and Florida you'll usually include your visa voluntarily, because it explains your income and how long you'll stay. In California, it's your call whether to show it. A lease that runs longer than your visa isn't the landlord's problem, it's yours: before you sign, check how you can get out of the lease if your status changes.

6Renting from abroad: the dream apartment scam

If you're still at home in Europe searching online, you're the perfect target for rental fraud. The Federal Trade Commission describes the pattern: the supposed owner happens to be abroad or has some other reason not to show the place, the rent is well below market, and you're pushed to pay fast, ideally by wire through a money transfer service, gift cards or cryptocurrency. Payments like these work like cash: once the money is gone, it almost never comes back (Federal Trade Commission, Rental Listing Scams).

The FTC advises searching the address together with the landlord's name. If the same apartment shows up under other names, that's a warning sign, and so is a property listed for sale elsewhere. See the apartment before you sign or pay. If you can't go yourself, send someone you trust, or rent furnished for the first few weeks and search on the ground. Pay the deposit to a property management company you found through its own website, not to a phone number from the listing.

7The lease: what to check before you sign

The American rental contract is called a lease. It runs either month to month or for a fixed term, such as six months or a year (California Tenants, 2026 edition). Read four points above all: how and when you can end it early and what that costs, which fees come on top of the rent, who pays for which repairs, and whether the lease requires renters insurance.

Late fees have limits. In Texas, a landlord may charge a late fee only if it's in the written lease and the rent is still unpaid two full days after it's due. Up to 12 percent of monthly rent counts as reasonable in buildings with up to four units, and up to 10 percent in larger ones (Texas Property Code § 92,019). In New York, a late fee can only apply after five days and may not exceed $50 or 5 percent of monthly rent, whichever is less (Real Property Law § 238-a).

In California, the Tenant Protection Act caps rent increases in many older buildings at 5 percent plus inflation within twelve months, with a maximum of 10 percent. The landlord can set the starting rent freely, though, and buildings less than 15 years old aren't covered (California Tenants, 2026 edition). New York has the move-in inspection: before you move in, the landlord must offer you a joint inspection. If you ask for it, you record existing damage in writing together, and nothing can be deducted from your deposit for it later (General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(c)). Where there's no such requirement, take dated photos of every room yourself on move-in day.

8Your lease as the starting point for an address, a driver's license and credit history

A lease gives you more than a roof. It gives you a residential address, and you need one almost everywhere. In Texas, the driver's license office requires two printed documents with your name and Texas residential address, one of which must show you've lived there for at least 30 days. A lease counts, as does a utility bill no older than 180 days and your renters insurance policy (Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Residency Requirement for Driver Licenses and ID Cards). How to transfer your driver's license is covered under Transferring your driver's license by state, and which other documents count as proof of address under Proof of Address.

Right after the lease come electricity, internet and a phone plan, and those providers ask about your credit history too. Our article on phone, internet and electricity shows how to sign up without a credit check.

In California, your rent can even build credit history. With some exceptions, landlords must offer tenants the option to have on-time rent payments reported to at least one nationwide credit bureau: for leases from April 1, 2025, with the lease and then every year. The fee may not exceed the actual cost or $10 a month. Buildings with 15 or fewer units are exempt unless the owner has several buildings and is a company (California Tenants, on Civil Code § 1954.07). Take the offer. As a newcomer, it's one of the few payments you're making every month anyway.

Credit history itself starts with a US account and a first card that reports to the credit bureaus. How to get your first bank set up after the move is covered under First bank and credit after the move. Start early, ideally before you move, and you'll apply for your next lease with a score already in hand. If you're forming or already own a US company, the Credit Builder builds your personal and business credit in one go.

9Moving out: getting your deposit back

When the tenancy ends, all four states follow the same principle: the landlord may deduct from the deposit only what you owe or damage beyond normal wear and tear. Nothing may be withheld for normal wear and tear (Texas Property Code § 92,104). The deadlines differ, and they have teeth.

In Texas, the clock only starts once you give the landlord a forwarding address in writing. So hand it over on the day you return the keys, otherwise they don't have to send you anything (§ 92,107). Don't offset your last month's rent against the deposit: that's expressly prohibited in Texas, and a tenant who does it anyway is liable for up to three times the rent withheld (§ 92,108). In New York, the landlord must notify you in writing of your right to request an inspection before you move out. It takes place no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the end, with at least 48 hours' notice, and afterward you can still fix the issues listed (General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(d)).

In California, after you move out the landlord must photograph the unit before doing any repairs or cleaning they plan to deduct from the deposit, and again afterward. For tenancies starting on or after July 1, 2025, they also photograph it at the start. If you paid the deposit or rent electronically, since January 1, 2026 they must also return the deposit electronically unless you agree otherwise in writing (California Tenants, 2026 edition). In Florida, the landlord's claim arrives by certified mail or email. Object in writing within 15 days, or they may make the deduction (Florida Statutes § 83.49(3)).

If the deposit doesn't come back, the California agency points to small claims court as the route. The table shows what landlords in the four states face if they miss the deadlines or withhold in bad faith.

In short

• Without a credit score, landlords' screening systems don't know you. Your credit record from home doesn't appear in any American report, so you replace the number with documents.
• Each state sets its own rules on how much deposit and advance payment a landlord may ask for: in California and New York usually one month's rent at most, while Texas and Florida have no legal cap.
• If a landlord turns you down because of a screening report, or asks for a guarantor or a bigger deposit because of it, they have to tell you, and you can request the report free of charge within 60 days.
• Your lease is more than a roof over your head: in Texas it counts as one of the documents for your driver's license, and in California many larger landlords must offer to report your on-time rent payments to a credit bureau.
• When you move out, fixed deadlines apply to returning your deposit: 14 days in New York, 21 in California, 30 in Texas, and 15 or 30 days in Florida.

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