Apartments With Eviction Forgiveness Near Me 2024

When you search for “apartments with eviction forgiveness near me” or “private owners that accept evictions near me” the lists that show up from Yelp or Yellow Pages aren’t very reliable.

Usually, when you follow up on those recommendations, the apartment websites state they don’t accept evictions.

The truth is, lists of eviction friendly apartments aren’t readily available unless you work with a second-chance apartment finder or a housing advisor.

Checking with low-income housing providers and contacting private owners are two other options you can pursue.

Second Chance Apartments With Eviction Forgiveness Near Me 2024

Second chance apartments that accept evictions are harder to find, but some landlords understand that unforeseen events make it impossible to stay current on your rent and catch up on the missed payments.

Your best sources for apartments that take evictions are 2nd chance apartment finders and housing advisors from local housing rights organizations.

2nd Chance Apartment Finders

2nd chance apartment finders are licensed real estate agents who use their knowledge of the local rental market to help renters with evictions, bad credit, and criminal records find landlords willing to accept their background.

With some apartment finders, you’ll need to pay a fee, with others, the service is free to use because the apartment locators receive a finder’s fee from the landlord.

Check if your city is covered by the service offered by the team at https://secondchanceapartments.com/. If so, you’ll be able to get an up-to-date list of apartments that accept evictions.

Otherwise, search online for “second chance apartment finder” or “second chance apartment locator” in your city or state.

You can also contact real estate agents in your city to ask if they help with second chance leasing or can refer you to an agent who does.

Make sure you mention you’re looking for second chance apartments that accept evictions because some second chance apartments only take renters with bad credit or broken leases.

There’s a crucial difference between a broken lease and an eviction. With a broken lease, the tenant moves out, the landlord can rent to someone else, and losses are minimal.

When a tenant doesn’t move out, forcing the landlord to file for eviction, the lost rent and legal costs can amount to thousands of dollars.

A broken lease makes renting harder, but an eviction is a bigger hurdle to overcome.

Housing Rights Groups

Housing rights groups can provide leads on eviction friendly apartments in your local area. They’ll also check over your eviction to make sure it was legal and advise you how to appeal if the procedure didn’t follow the law.

Your tenants’ rights advisor can also tell you if your eviction is eligible for expungement. Having your eviction record expunged means:

You can answer no when landlords ask if you’ve ever been evicted
Landlords won’t see the eviction when they run a background check

The best way to find a housing rights group is by calling the free United Way helpline.

The helpline helps around 50,000 callers every day. Call 2-1-1 (available 24/7) to find your local housing rights groups.

When you call 2-1-1 an advisor will ask you some questions so they can best serve your needs. As well as connecting you with a housing rights advisor, they’ll make sure you’ve got information about emergency shelter, food assistance, medical care, and other programs you might qualify for.

When you call, you may need to wait on hold for a while due to the call volume they handle. Don’t hang up in frustration, they’ll get to you eventually.

Low-Income Housing Providers Often Accept Evictions

If your income is within the limits for low-income housing, apply to landlords operating affordable housing.

These landlords still screen prospective tenants for bad credit, evictions, and criminal records, but are often (though not guaranteed to be) more understanding than landlords in the regular rental market.

We’ll cover two ways to find eviction friendly apartments from low-income housing providers.

HUD Resources Tool

The resources tool on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website lets you search for landlords offering reduced rents. You’ll need to allow the site to access your location.

Go to https://resources.hud.gov/ and select “find affordable housing opportunities near me” to start using the tool.

Affordablehousing.com

Affordablehousing.com lists affordable apartments and houses nationwide. Renters will also find landlords who accept Section 8 housing vouchers and can apply to housing agency waiting lists through the website.

Housing advisors are available to talk via online chat or over the phone.

Go to https://www.affordablehousing.com/. Enter your location in the search box to see the available rentals.

Use the affordability filter to enter your household income and family size to see which rentals you’re qualified for based on your income.

Each listing description includes the amount required for the application fee, security deposit, and monthly rent. You’ll also see which utility fees are paid by the tenant and which are covered by the landlord.

To send a message to a landlord, just fill out the inquiry form on the listing.

Find Private Landlords

With an eviction on your record, most of the large apartment communities and property management agencies using standard tenant acceptance policies won’t rent to you.

Contacting private landlords is a much better option.

According to Pew Research, 72.5% of single rental properties are owned by individual landlords. That means you’re more likely to find an agreeable landlord if you switch your apartment search to houses, townhouses, and condos.

Some private landlords will work with you, others won’t. You may need to contact multiple landlords before you find one who will overlook your eviction and take you as a tenant.

Luckily, all rental platforms give you an easy way to contact landlords and you can copy and paste the same inquiry message into the form each time.

On some rental platforms there’s a filter to select properties for rent by owner. Where the filter isn’t available, look on the listing to find out whether an individual or a company owns the property. Property companies usually watermark their photos too.

You’ll find private owners on these websites:

Craigslist
Facebook Marketplace
Apartments.com
Zillow Rentals
PadMapper
Trulia Rentals
Realtor.com
Zumper
Rent.com

Look For Rentals In Smaller Towns And Suburbs

Landlords in areas with heavy competition for rental properties don’t need to consider less-than-ideal tenants.

Whereas, landlords with empty units in less popular rental markets are more likely to offer some flexibility over your eviction if you show you’re an otherwise responsible tenant with sufficient income to cover the rent.

Look For Sublets

When renters need to move before their lease expires, they look for another renter who will move in and pay the rent.

Sublets often need the landlord’s approval but that’s not always the case, and a sublet can be a good way to find a new home without the need for background checks.

Improve Your Rental Prospects

Finding eviction friendly apartments and houses takes extra effort. You need to reassure landlords that you aren’t a bad risk for another eviction. Here are some steps you can follow to prepare.

Build Your Rental Resume

Building a rental resume is a great way to introduce yourself, show why you’re an ideal tenant, explain the (hopefully temporary) circumstances that led to your eviction, and confirm you’re paying off any associated debt.

Providing a rental resume lets a landlord see all the good things about you and form a positive opinion before they get to the part about your eviction.

Being honest goes a long way with landlords, and there’s no point trying to hide your eviction. If they run a background check or contact previous landlords to get a reference on you, they’ll find out about it anyway. Transparency is key.

For help with your resume, search online for free rental resume templates.

Prepare Your Finances

Landlords might want to look over your finances to get a sense of how responsible you are. Get ready by printing out recent bank statements showing your income, expenses, and savings.

Prepare a personal or household budget plan that covers your monthly financial commitments and living costs while leaving some money over for your savings account.

Reduce your non-essential expenses as much as possible to increase your emergency savings fund.

Find A Cosigner Or Guarantor

Do you know someone with good credit who will cosign a lease with you? A cosigner or guarantor agrees to pay the landlord if you don’t, and having one will make you a more attractive prospective tenant.

If you don’t have a cosigner you can turn to, you may be eligible to use a cosigner service. These services charge a fee (usually a percentage of the rent or one month’s rent) and will step in if you can’t pay.

Some cosigner services also help tenants improve their credit history by reporting rent payments to credit bureaus.

Cosigner services you can investigate include:

Offer More Money Upfront

Offering to pay a higher security deposit or several month’s rent in advance can convince a hesitant landlord to rent to you.

Next Steps

Stop searching for eviction forgiveness apartments near me. While you might get lucky, most of the time the apartments listed don’t take evictions. Instead:

Prepare your rental resume, print copies of your bank statements, and work on your budget
Try to find a second chance apartment locator to work with
Contact your local housing rights organization
Check with landlords offering low income housing
Search for private landlords and sublets
Try to arrange a cosigner

Finally, remember your search isn’t futile. Millions of people have evictions on their record and still find homes to rent. You will too.

Graham Alex

Alex Graham is a co-founder and manages high-quality content that helps once evicted/ex-felons find a place to call. home. Alex believes even if he can help one person return to a good, wholesome life it is well worth the effort.