Landlords/Property managers will deny for a variety of reasons. If you have a poor credit score (under 600 is considered poor) regardless of what it is that causes it to be that low IN ADDITION to having no rental history to prove you are a trustworthy tenant, I would deny you based on those two factors alone. Then there's also the matter of how long you've been at your job and if you make enough to cover the rent (most landlords want to see your monthly take home pay be at least 3X the rent). If you have a $1700 outstanding balance that you've not paid on, yes, it will show up on your credit check when a landlord goes to review your application whether it has anything to do with a prior rental or not. And yes, they can and will deny you for it based on the idea that you're irresponsible or don't make good on your debts (that's what a credit score is there to prove).

Just call and ask, but personally if you have no rental history I'd want everything else to be pristine to approve you. Run a credit check on yourself to see what it looks like (creditkarma.com); you should always know what your credit looks like anyway. If you can clear that debt up, do it. If not it will dog you for about 10 years and keep your credit score down for most of that time, effecting everything from getting approved for an apartment to buying a car.

You can a copy of your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com Pull it and see what's on there; find out who claims you owe them $1700.

If the collection is legitimate, you'll have to pay it off or have a really good explanation for your next prospective landlord. If it is not legitimate, dispute the charge with the credit bureaus and keep following through with them until the collection is removed from your file.

Whenever you apply for an apartment, they check your credit. They dont want to rent to you if you owe that much. Pay the bill first.

pay the $1700

Why don't you pull your credit report and find out yourself.

I am not at all surprised. You reap what you sow.