The short answer
A hard cutoff property turns down any score under its minimum, no matter what else is in your file. A full review property looks at your income, rental history and the rest of the application too. With a low score, put your application fees toward the second kind.
We’re the No Credit Check Apartment Team, a licensed real estate team brokered by Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC (TREC #562021). Between us we have more than 20 years in real estate, working with property managers across Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. We point renters with credit, eviction and record problems to communities whose criteria may fit them, and each property makes its own rental decision.
What that means for you
To tell the two apart, someone has to know the property's screening rules before you pay a fee. That's what we track. Texas landlords have to make them available when they give you an application (Property Code Section 92.3515). A minimum score with no exceptions means a hard cutoff.
Full review communities are where your application fee has a real chance. Every hard cutoff you skip is $50 to $75 you keep.
We track which policy each community runs, and we only send you to ones that may fit.
How Texas communities handle it
Texas property managers screen through a handful of companies, including TransUnion SmartMove, RealPage LeasingDesk, and AppFolio. Some check rent payment data from Experian RentBureau, and old apartment balances often show up through collection agencies like NCAC. Each one pulls up different information, and each management company reads it differently.
A denied application usually costs $50 to $75, and those fees stack up fast when you apply without knowing how a property screens.
For more on renting with a low score, see our page on bad credit or the related guides below.
What to do next
Don't know where to apply, or tired of paying fees just to get turned down? Don’t guess. Send us your situation and we’ll point you to Texas communities worth a look. It’s free to you; communities pay our referral fee out of their advertising budgets.
Related reading: bad credit · credit score needed to rent in Texas