Definition
A landlord inquiry is a credit check initiated by a landlord or apartment community as a condition of approving a lease application.
Analysis
Most landlords require a credit check as a condition for entering into a lease contract with a tenant. The purposes are to:
- avoid renting to tenants that may destroy the property
- avoid renting to tenants likely to have difficulty fulfilling payment terms under the lease
- screen undesirable applicants from completing a lease application
Inquiries initiated by landlords are automatically recorded on a credit report at the time of the credit check. However, these are soft inquiries that do not affect credit scores.
