Many apartments will require you to submit to a credit check and will want to make sure you haven't skipped out on rent in the past. Remember that the management's profitability is dependent on residents paying their rent. If residents don't pay rent or move out without notice this causes strains in their budget, so they want to ensure that those living at the community have a good track record with paying their bills. This is the reasoning for running a credit check. If you don't have good credit or you don't have any credit, you may want to consider having a parent or relative co-sign on your lease if you don't have any credit.