Just because one is late on one's rent with a landlord does not in and of itself damage one's credit rating. The reason is that there might be a good reason why the rent payment was late as in your case. Meaning, you had to spend rent money to eliminate vermin in your rental and buy new mattress covers.I would have a face to face meeting with your landlord about the rental situation you are writing about to see what can be done to resolve it in an amicable manner. If the landlord is simply unrealistic in trying to let you pay the balance over time, you might need to borrow what is owed from a friend to appease the landlord.