Full Definition
'No credit check' is a loose term covering several types of apartment communities: communities that explicitly don't pull credit (rare, usually higher deposit), communities that pull credit but rely more on income and rental history, communities with internal scoring that allows missing or thin credit if income is strong, and second-chance communities that pull credit but approve borderline scores with higher deposit.
Most renters who search for 'no credit check' actually need 'thin file' or 'ITIN-friendly' apartments. The strategies overlap: strong income (3x rent), 2-3 months pay stubs, employer letter, higher deposit offer (1-1.5x rent), co-signer if available.