If you’ve ever stared at a tenant application wondering whether the numbers in front of you are good, bad, or somewhere frustratingly in between, you’re not alone. We hear this question constantly from property owners across the metro, from Garden District condos to single-family homes in Lakeview to multi-unit buildings in Metairie.
A credit check is one of the most misunderstood tools in a landlord’s toolkit. Owners either over-rely on it or barely look at it. Both approaches cause problems. This post breaks down exactly what a credit report shows, what the scores actually mean in a New Orleans rental context, and where the number alone can mislead you.
“$3,500–$7,000+ | cost of one bad eviction”
In This Guide
What a Landlord Credit Check Actually Contains
A proper landlord credit report is not what tenants pull on Credit Karma. Those consumer tools typically surface a VantageScore, which is a different scoring model than the FICO-based scores used in most rental decisions. More importantly, they don’t show eviction records or landlord-specific collections. An owner who relies on a self-reported score from an applicant could miss $2,400 in unpaid rent owed to a previous landlord entirely.
A full landlord screening report covers several distinct areas:
- Credit score: A numeric snapshot of how reliably the applicant repays debts
- Payment history: Late payments, charge-offs, and collections by date and amount
- Eviction records: Court filings from previous landlords across jurisdictions
- Criminal background: Felony and misdemeanor records pulled from public databases
- Rental-specific collections: Debts owed to previous landlords or property managers
We run all of this through AppFolio, which bundles the full screening report into a standardized process. The cost of a thorough pull like this typically runs $150 to $300 in Louisiana. Skipping it to save that money is one of the more expensive decisions an owner can make.
Free or consumer-grade credit tools do not surface eviction records or landlord collections. An owner relying on a basic pull can approve someone carrying thousands in unpaid rent from a previous tenancy and never know it until it’s too late.
How Long Negative Items Stay on a Report
The timeline matters more than most owners realize. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, most negative items — collections, charge-offs, and late payments — stay on a report for seven years. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays for ten. Chapter 13 bankruptcy drops off after ten years.
So when you see a collection account, the first thing to check is the date. A 30-day late payment from 2018 is weighted very differently than one from six months ago. An item that’s four-plus years old has far less predictive value than something recent.
The Post-Katrina Context in New Orleans
This is a local nuance that genuinely changes how you read a report here. A notable number of long-term New Orleans residents carry credit damage tied to the 2005 storm — insurance disputes, displacement-era mortgage defaults, and collections from a period of complete financial disruption. A collection from 2006 is not the same as a collection from last year.
Experienced property managers in this market know how to read those items with context rather than treating every blemish as automatic disqualification. That context only comes from years of working in this specific market. We’ve been managing properties here for 32 years. You learn to read these reports differently.
What Score Is Actually “Good Enough”
Most New Orleans landlords set their minimum somewhere around 620. Our baseline at Wurth is 650 or higher for standard leases. Applicants in the 700-plus range are statistically lower risk on rent payment and eviction likelihood, which matters a lot when you’re pricing a unit in Uptown or Old Metairie at a premium.
But here’s a contrarian take worth sitting with: a blanket cutoff is a lazy policy.
A 630-score applicant who had a medical collection from 2020, earns $6,000 a month, has rented the same apartment for four years without a single late payment, and has a clean eviction record is almost certainly a safer bet than a 670-score applicant with two recent 30-day lates and three addresses in 18 months. The number opens the conversation. It doesn’t end it.
The Income Ratio That Matters as Much as the Score
We require applicants to earn at least 3x the monthly rent in verifiable gross income. On a $1,500 unit in Metairie, that means $4,500 a month minimum. On a $2,200 unit in the Garden District, you’re looking for $6,600 a month.
Louisiana has no statewide rent control, which means owners in areas like Uptown can adjust pricing between leases. But that flexibility creates a real screening risk: higher rents attract applicants who may be stretching their budgets. A 690 credit score with a $4,200 monthly income applying for a $1,800 unit is technically under the 3x threshold, and that’s the kind of detail a rushed screening process misses.
We’ve talked to owners who only checked the score and ignored the income ratio entirely. One of them managed a commercial property in the Uptown corridor, assumed a strong employment history was enough, and waived the full credit check to fill a vacancy faster. The tenant defaulted in month five. The outstanding balance hit $6,900 before Wurth was engaged and could begin the formal eviction process.
Why the New Orleans Eviction Timeline Makes Screening Non-Negotiable
Louisiana’s eviction process is relatively landlord-friendly compared to many other states. But “friendly” doesn’t mean fast. From the initial notice to vacate — typically 5 days for nonpayment of rent, though longer periods apply for month-to-month or year-term leases — through court judgment, the process still takes four to six weeks at minimum. A bad tenant who slipped through screening can cost a Lakeview or Kenner owner two full months of rent before they’re legally out of the unit.
When you factor in court fees, attorney fees, lost rent, and the cost of turning the unit over after a contested eviction, we consistently see owners spend between $3,500 and $7,000-plus on a single eviction. That’s not a number we’re guessing at. We’ve seen it play out with owners who came to us after managing on their own.
One owner had a single-family home in Lakeview and approved a tenant with a 590 credit score based on a “good feeling.” That tenant was 47 days late on rent within the first three months. By the time the lease ended, the owner had spent nearly $4,200 in lost rent and legal fees.
The math on eviction costs makes the $150–$300 screening report one of the highest-ROI decisions you make as a landlord. One avoided eviction pays for years of screening fees.
What a Credit Score Does Not Tell You
This is the part most screening guides skip.
A 700 credit score means someone is good at paying their credit cards and loans on time. It does not mean they’re a great tenant. Rent payments don’t always hit credit reports, which means a person can maintain a solid score while being a chronic late payer every single month.
That’s why we pair credit checks with direct landlord reference calls and rental history verification. We want to know: Did this person actually pay rent on time? Were there noise complaints? How did they leave the unit? A credit report answers none of those questions directly.
Erin, who works directly with our tenant relations and leasing side, will tell you the same thing. The credit score gets someone to the conversation. The rental history is often what closes it.
Seasonal Spikes and Rushed Decisions
New Orleans sees major applicant surges twice a year: around the Tulane, Loyola, and Xavier University move-in windows in July and August, and again after Mardi Gras. During those rushes, landlords feel pressure to fill units fast and screening standards slip.
Rushed screening decisions during these windows are some of the most expensive mistakes we see locally. A vacancy sitting for two extra weeks costs you maybe $900 on a $1,800 unit. A bad tenant costs you multiples of that before you’re done.
One client who works with us described the value of knowing that Wurth had fully screened a replacement tenant before she released her Garden District condo. The incoming tenant had a 714 credit score and verified income of 3.8x monthly rent. That combination gave her real confidence to turn the unit quickly without cutting corners.
By the way, if you’re managing voucher holders through HANO’s Housing Choice Voucher program, voucher eligibility does not replace a credit check. We run full screening on every applicant regardless of subsidy status. The voucher covers a portion of rent. The credit report tells you how the person handles the rest of their financial life.
How We Handle Screening Across 10,000 Properties
We manage roughly 10,000 properties and work with around 800 owners across the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metros. The screening standard has to be consistent whether the unit is in Bywater, Belle Chasse, or Covington, and AppFolio lets us apply the same criteria across all of them without dropping the ball on timing.
One owner who came to us after self-managing a multi-unit building in Metairie for two years found out, once we ran full screening on his existing tenants, that two had credit scores below 580 that had never been formally checked. One had an open collection with a previous landlord for $1,800 in unpaid rent. He had no idea.
That’s the kind of thing that only surfaces with a proper pull. And it’s the kind of thing that, left unchecked, eventually becomes your problem.
If screening feels harder than it should, or if you’re not fully confident in the process you have now, we’re happy to talk through how we approach it. Contact us to get started.
FAQ
What does a credit check show a landlord?
A landlord credit check shows the applicant’s credit score, full payment history, open and closed accounts, collections, charge-offs, eviction court filings, and in most cases criminal background records. It’s a much deeper picture than what a consumer credit tool shows, and it specifically includes rental-related data that standard reports leave out.
What credit score do most landlords in New Orleans require?
Most landlords in the New Orleans area set their minimum somewhere around 620. Wurth’s standard baseline is 650 or higher, with applicants in the 700-plus range considered lower risk for missed payments and eviction proceedings.
Can a landlord reject an applicant based on credit score alone?
Technically yes, but a score alone is a narrow lens. Context matters: the age of negative items, the applicant’s income ratio, their eviction history, and their rental references all carry weight. A blanket rejection based purely on a number can cause you to pass on reliable tenants while Fair Housing law requires that any criteria you use be applied consistently across all applicants.
Does a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) mean a landlord can skip the credit check?
No. Voucher eligibility is separate from creditworthiness. The Housing Authority of New Orleans screens HCV applicants for program eligibility criteria such as income limits, citizenship status, and criminal background history; whether broader financial or credit screening is also applied is not clearly specified in publicly available program materials. Landlords who accept HCV tenants should still run a full screening report the same way they would for any other applicant.
How much does a Louisiana eviction actually cost?
When you add up court filing fees, attorney costs, lost rent during the process, and unit turnover afterward, a full eviction in Louisiana typically runs between $3,500 and $7,000 or more depending on how contested it becomes. The process itself takes four to six weeks minimum from the initial notice.
What is the income requirement for renting a property managed by Wurth?
Wurth requires applicants to show verifiable gross income of at least 3x the monthly rent. On a $1,500 unit, that’s $4,500 a month. On a $2,000 unit, it’s $6,000. This is in addition to, not instead of, the credit and background check requirements.
