as long as you are making your payments on time, it will be noted on your credit report. no, you won’t have a problem getting an apartment. i rented plenty of apartments before becoming a homeowner while carrying a balance on my credit cards and was never denied

More than likely you will be denied.
Put yourself in their shoes. You have a house or room for rent, the mortgage crisis is in full swing so people that used to own homes that now are getting foreclosed on will flood the rental market – so you have plenty of applicants and only one room or house.
You look at a large debit and poor credit score when you pull the applicants credit.
Who would you prefer to rent to ?
Some one with a poor credit score and a large balance or a reliable credit card user that always pays on time and carry’s a small balance?

They will do a credit check on you. They’ll also probably ask to see other records (phone bill, etc). And they’ll ask you for information about your income. Each management company has different requirements, any anything can keep you from being approved for an apartment. So the short answer is “Yes, it could.”