Tips for Tenants #4:  Can the Landlord Hurt My Credit? What Do I
Do?               You bet he can.  And he will.  Landlords are
pulling the trigger on tenants’ credit faster than ever.  And
the consequences to those tenants who have credit to lose can be
as bad as or worse than a money judgment.               How does
it usually happen?  I see it happening in two ways.  The first
instance is one in which the landlord obtains a forcible
detainer (eviction) judgment granting him possession as well as
an award for rent due, late fees, attorney’s fees and costs. 
That judgment goes right to the debt collector.  The second
instance is the one described in the last Tips For Tenants where
the landlord waits until you leave and then hits you with a huge
bill for purported damages.  Even though there is no judgment
supporting the landlord’s claim, he or she sends the tenant a
single notice about the “debt” and then ships it to the
collection agency, which starts dunning you regularly, reports
you to the credit reporti