After every necessary step of the apartment hunt, you will inevitably find yourself at your new doorstep. It’s a great feeling, especially after carefully searching through listings and asking just the right questions on over a apartment tours. However, before you can get a new set of keys and move in the first few boxes, you must submit to an apartment background check. Both fortunately and unfortunately, these are extensive and go into various aspects of your life. Learn more about the average apartment background check.

To start, it is important to learn more about the categories that are included in an apartment background check. Typically going back 7 to ten years, you can count on the following being checked before you are approved for the rental. These include rental history, arguably the most important step in the process, employment history, criminal history, a credit check, and a reference check. When considering who to put on your list of references, think about past landlords, employers, co-workers, friends, or anyone you have worked with in a professional setting.

The employment and credit checks are two other critical steps in the background check. While the average apartment checks go back 7 to ten years, the unemployment history section of the check is often the exception. Usually, your employment history only goes into your current employer. However, if you are currently unemployed or between jobs, they will then look into your past job. They want to see that you’ve been in the same job for at least 6 months, and have a steady work history - not changing jobs every few months. Still, if you are starting a new job as a part of your move, you can use a reference or two to vouch for your reliability.

While some aspects of the apartment background check are seen as more important than others, each one matters, and failing one could trip up the entire process. Regardless of your application status, you have rights at the state and federal level. Landlords must provide you with a notice with clear reasons why your application has been rejected. As well, they must provide a copy of your background check report. If you find that something isn’t right or unfair, you can dispute it.

Whether you are awaiting results for one of your applications for studio apartments for rent near Berkeley or disputing a negative results, you should have a clear idea of what a background check is. Understand what it’ll dive into, and know your rights.