Not to sound like a dick, but this is /r/NYC, which is not Long Island. Our rental policies and what landlords tend to do here will be quite different than what goes on in Long Island. On top of that, Long Island's towns/villages will have different rules from one place to the next.

The only advice I can give is that your boyfriend is an adult, he needs to start acting like one and figure out his credit score. Something like Credit Karma will let him check for free, I believe he is entitled to one free credit score report a year. NO excuse not to know it if he's looking for a place to rent. You shouldn't be babying him and trying to figure all of this out on your own.