<prompt> Human: As the title asks, I dont really get it. Maybe someone can explain that to me better. I feel like my rental history would make better sense for them to look at and base my deposit for an apartment on. I mean I get that theyre looking to see if I make payments on time or not. But why would I be looking at an apartment I cant afford?  <response>: Because checking rental history is hard. Theres no central database like the credit bureaus, so they have to call your past landlords for a reference. Which means theyre relying on you to accurately self-report it. If you default on a loan, you dont get to leave it off your credit report. 