How to Get an Eviction Off a Credit Report

Apartment leases are legally binding agreements. Walking away from a lease or getting evicted from your apartment can damage your credit rating. In turn, it becomes harder to purchase a home, finance an automobile or obtain a credit card. There are ways to get an eviction remark off your credit report. Once creditors remove this remark from your report, your FICO score will improve and you'll qualify for better rates on future loans.

Instructions

1

Contact your old landlord and offer to pay off the balance. For example, if you didn't pay your rent for two months, the landlord is likely to want to recoup this loss, plus interest. Offer to make a one-time payment and eliminate this past-due balance or to make installment payments.

2

Negotiate a debt settlement with the landlord. If you can't afford to pay off the entire balance, inquire about a settlement. Rather than pay the full balance, the landlord might agree to accept a percentage of the past-due balance. If you owe $2,000 in rent payments, the landlord may accept $1,000.

3

Ask the landlord to remove the eviction remark from your credit report. Once you've paid off or settled your past-due balance, ask the landlord or leasing company to remove the negative remark from your credit report. They're not required to oblige your request, but some landlords will recognize your effort to pay off an old balance, and this may persuade them to delete the eviction remark.

4

Check your credit report. After three or four months, order a copy of your credit report (see Resources). If the landlord agreed to remove the eviction remark, check the report and make sure the eviction is off your record.

5

Write a dispute letter to the leasing company. Occasionally, credit bureaus make mistakes, and someone else's eviction remark may appear on your credit report. If you don't recognize an account or creditor, contact the reporting creditor (or landlord) immediately and ask them to remove the eviction from your report. If they don't respond to your request, send a dispute letter to the three credit bureaus.