One of the most frustrating episodes one can encounter is denial of housing. Apartment complexes, which are actually run by real estate management companies, use a number of factors to determine who should and should not rent. One of the most common factors they use is a criminal background check. A criminal record can be one of the biggest obstacles one can encounter in the process of renting an apartment.

The reason apartment communities require a background check in the first place is for the safety of the community in general. There is a general consensus that people with violent pasts are bound to fall back into their former destructive habits. The concept that history repeats itself seems to be a prevailing belief in many places when it comes to criminal records and nowhere more so than apartment leasing offices.

Another reason that apartment leasing offices perform a criminal background check is to create the appearance of safety in the community, and by doing so, justify themselves in charging more rent. If a neighborhood or apartment housing community has a high level of crime, tenants will not want to renew their leases and this means more housing units will be vacant and management has to fill (or risk being censored by the owner). The more housing units that are vacant in an apartment community, the more it hurts the management’s bottom line because this lowers the rent.

When conducting criminal background checks, apartments typically focus on felony convictions. Misdemeanors that are only punishable by fines are generally not a cause for concern. If you have a misdemeanor, you don’t need to worry, but if it is a felony, you can get a denial.

There are two main ways to get an apartment approved if you have a criminal record. The first is to verify the nature of your crime and see if you received what is called a deferred adjudication. This is a probation granted to first time offenders and is also known as community supervision. If you were convicted of a misdemeanor and were released on probation, you can go to the county clerk’s office and request what is called a court plea. This is a printout that shows the crime, the court that heard the case, the judgment that was entered, and the fact that you have deferred adjudication. The printout also indicates that you have successfully completed community service without any other incidents and that you should not be discriminated against when it comes to services. You can take a copy of this document to an apartment manager and in most cases they will approve it.

Another way to get an apartment is to get an expungement. This is the sealing of your criminal record and can be done depending on whether you are eligible. There is a great e-book on the market on how to get an apartment even with existing criminal records and bad credit and you can get it at [http://www.simplecreditsecrets.net]