Frankly I'm not fond of the 3x requirement. It doesn't make much sense for more expensive apartments especially.

I spend a couple hundred a month on utilities, a couple hundred on food/household products. That amount is not going to change much whether I live in $500 apartment or a $1500 one.

3x $500 is $1500. That works. 3x $1500 tho is $4500. So on a $1500 apartment, I would have $3000 a month left after rent. Why in the name of God do I need to have a spare $3000? Grocery and utility expenses are still the same. Even if I had a car loan on top of it, i wouldn't need 3k to take care of that, unless it's a car loan on a Prosche or something, jfc.

I understand it's a fast way to (try) and make sure people have enough money to pay, but I think there should be flexibility. I'd say good rental history and good credit score should be able to influence whether it's a hard requirement. Landlords like the 3x income requirement because it's fast and easy, and they don't want to put the time in examining a person's actual spending habits and credit reports in depth. (And I'm not saying that's wrong necessarily, just saying it's why they do it. It's not impossible for it to be done differently.)