When using references for an apartment can you use other references other then a landlord

Question

I am curious on how important a landlord's reference is?

Answer 1

Sure. Neighbors. Bosses at work. The Pastor of your church.  

Answer 2

No reference is more important than the landlord's reference. Your new landlord doesn't care what your boss or teachers think of you; they don’t even care what kind of person you are - they want to know what kind of TENANT you are. They want to know if you honored the terms of your lease, if you paid on time, if you left the apartment in good condition, etc. That's all that matters to a landlord.

Answer 3

Previous landlord references are more important than any other references.

I'm a landlord. I don't want to hear your mom, dad, cousin or best friend tell me what a great person you are. Your boss, co-worker or priest might think you are the bees knees, but it is irrelevant to the landlord.

As a landlord, as soon as a potential applicant starts offering a larger deposit or rent paid in advance, it puts up a big red flag that something is not right. It makes me want to look into the applicant's rental history, which usually leads to bad rental references and/or evictions.