The short answer
Ask whoever holds the debt now: your old community, or the collection agency if the account went to collections. Request the letter the day you pay or settle, and get it in writing. It should show a $0 balance on the right account and say whether you paid in full or settled.
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
Start with whoever holds the debt now, which is the agency if it went to collections. Ask the old community to mark the account paid too, since rental history reports pull from community records. Call, then follow up by email so you have it in writing.
Upload it with your application so the leasing office sees it next to the screening report.
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, see our page on renting with a broken lease 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: broken lease · paid vs. unpaid broken lease: how managers treat them