How Old Does an Eviction Have to Be to Rent? Odds by Age

How old does an eviction have to be to rent? There’s no single cutoff. But from what we see, age matters more than almost anything else in a Texas rental approval, and only the balance status (paid or not) matters as much. Here’s what happens to approval odds as an eviction gets older, at each kind of property. These are patterns, not promises, and each property makes its own call.

For a rough starting point, try our free eviction approval readiness estimator. Its results are estimates, not a property approval decision or a quote for move in costs.

The older it gets, the better your odds

The more recent the filing, the more it counts against you. From what we see, it shifts like this over time:

• Under 1 year: hardest
• 1 to 2 years: difficult
• 2 to 3 years: big improvement
• 3 to 5 years: lots of options
• 5 to 7 years: near normal odds
• Over 7 years: in most cases it shouldn’t be on your screening report anymore, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

What approval looks like at each age

Under 1 year (0 to 12 months)

• Class A luxury: nearly always deny
• Class B mid market: mostly deny, but a guarantor sometimes gets you in
• Mid market properties that make their own call: they may look at your file if you bring strong paperwork and a guarantor
• Independent owners: they look at one file at a time, and some approve
• Overall: even at properties picked for your file, expect more denials than approvals

1 to 2 years (12 to 24 months)

• Class A luxury: mostly deny, but some approve with a guarantor and a strong file
• Class B: many will read your file by hand
• Mid market: paid balance cases are often workable
• Independent: usually approve with good paperwork
• Overall: from what we see, your odds get better, but expect a mix of approvals and denials

2 to 3 years (24 to 36 months)

• Class A: many will look at your file, and dismissed or paid cases often get approved with strong income
• Class B: usually approve with a paid balance
• Mid market: usually approve
• Independent: usually approve
• Overall: in our placements, most properties picked for your file are likely to approve

3 to 5 years (36 to 60 months)

• Class A: usually approve if the balance is paid or the case was dismissed
• All lower tiers: usually approve
• Overall: approvals usually far outnumber denials at the properties picked for your file

5 to 7 years (60 to 84 months)

• Most properties are likely to approve if your rental history has been clean since then
• Some Class A properties still ask about it but rarely say no
• Overall: near normal odds

Over 7 years

• In most cases, screening reports should have dropped the eviction by now under the FCRA (15 U.S.C. § 1681c)
• If it’s still showing, dispute it. See our dispute guide
• Approval odds are usually near normal

How age and your balance work together

Age isn’t everything. Whether the balance is paid changes the math a lot:

• Two years old and paid beats two years old and unpaid (a paid case usually opens far more doors)
• Five years old and paid beats five years old and unpaid (still true even at 5 years)
• Dismissed at any age beats a judgment at the same age (a dismissal almost always helps)

Put those together, and the strongest file is usually an older eviction that was dismissed or paid off.

How deposits and risk fees change by age

On a $1,500 a month unit, this is what we typically see:

• Under 1 year: risk fee of $400 to $500 or more, double deposit typical, guarantor often required
• 1 to 2 years: risk fee of $300 to $500, 1.5x to 2x deposit, guarantor helpful
• 2 to 3 years: risk fee of $200 to $400, 1.5x deposit typical
• 3 to 5 years: risk fee of $100 to $300, 1x to 1.5x deposit typical
• 5+ years: risk fee often waived. A standard deposit is possible.

The 7 year FCRA window

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c (opens in new tab), tenant screening reports usually can’t include an eviction case more than 7 years after it was filed. The FCRA only makes exceptions for loans of $150,000 or more, life insurance of $150,000 or more, and jobs paying $75,000 or more. Renting an apartment isn’t one of them.

In practice:

• In most cases, screening companies should drop an eviction case from their reports 7 years after it was filed
• The original JP court filing stays in the court’s public records. Texas has no law for expunging an eviction, and courts rarely seal one
• Some screening companies don’t drop it on time, so dispute it if yours is over 7 years old and still showing

What you can do about age

The most useful thing you can do about your eviction’s age is wait. That’s not what anyone wants to hear, but every year that passes helps your odds. Pay off any balance too, and an older eviction often becomes a speed bump instead of a wall. If you think you don’t owe it, talk to legal aid before you pay. TexasLawHelp.org can point you to the group that serves your county.

Is your eviction over 2 years old with a paid balance? See how we help with an eviction over 2 years old and how many more doors can open at that point.

If your eviction is very recent

A recent eviction can be workable, but you have to be choosy about where you apply:

• Stick to properties run by private owners
• Look for properties that work with Liberty Rent or OneApp
• Bring strong proof of income (4x rent if you can)
• Think about an approval program plus a deposit alternative like Greenlight Rent (formerly Rhino)
• Be ready for higher deposits

For the hardest recent cases, see how we help with an unpaid balance.

How we build your list by eviction age

We build your property list around how old your eviction is. If it’s older, we can include more Class A and Class B properties. For a recent one, we usually stick to private owners and properties that work with approval programs like OneApp. For a list built around your eviction’s age, fill out the form on our home page or call 888-846-7541.