Application Requirements

APPLICANTS

All persons aged 18 and older must submit an application and will be considered a responsible leaseholder. If a person aged 18 or older is a legal dependent of the applicant AND proof of legal guardianship is provided, he/she will not be required to submit an application. Criminal screening, however, is required for ALL persons aged 18 and older. Rental history will be verified for all applicants, including guarantors.

IDENTIFICATION

All persons aged 18 and over residing in the household will be required to provide valid government-issued identification as well as any 2 of the following: 

• Recent original power bill 
• Recent original credit card bill 
• An actual credit card 
• Recent phone bill 
• Recent cell phone bill that matches applicants cell number

INCOME

Verifiable combined monthly income (garnishable and non-garnishable) for all applicants that is equal to or greater than 3 times the monthly rental amount is preferred. If verifiable monthly income is 2.5-2.99 times the monthly rental amount, an increased security deposit will be required. Monthly income that is less than 2.5 the monthly rental amount will require a guarantor.

Verification of income amount is required before application approval is finalized.

Acceptable documentation includes:
• current, consecutive pay stubs from the most recent pay periods over a minimum of one month
• offer letter on verifiable company letterhead with human resource contact listed
• current bank statements
• Leave and Earning Statement (LES) for active military
• individual tax returns
• W2s from previous calendar year
• current I20s (international students)
Hand-written notes are not acceptable forms of verification.
For applicants qualifying based on assets only, original copies of savings accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market accounts, or trust funds are required for the previous 2 months showing more than eight times the monthly rental amount.
Self-employed individuals are required to provide proof of income consisting of 12 months of bank statements as well as deposit slips showing the last 60 days of income. Additional information such as verified business statements/projection schedules signed by an independent source may be required.
If unemployed or if verifiable income can not be provided, use of a guarantor may be an option.

GUARANTOR REQUIREMENTS

Guarantors must have at least 4 accounts established for 1 year and in good standing.
Guarantors’ rent to income ratio must be less than or equal to 20%; income must be at least five times the monthly rental amount.
Guarantors must complete an application, pay the application processing fee, and sign the Guarantor Agreement.

RENTAL HISTORY

 

Applicants should have a minimum of 12 months satisfactory rental history or proof of home ownership. 

Satisfactory history is defined as: 

no more than two (2) late payments

no more than two (2) returned checks

adequate notice to vacate 

no outstanding financial obligations to the landlord

The previous landlord must state that they would be willing to re-rent and/or they have no documented breaches of the lease agreement. 

Applicants with less than 12 months of verifiable rental history may be required to pay an increased security deposit.

First-time renters may be required to pay an increased security deposit. No rental history is not in and of itself an automatic reason for denial.

Applicants with a negative rental history and/or collection items from a previous landlord could be denied. Additional addresses obtained from credit reports may be questioned and/or verified.

 

CREDIT

All applicants will have credit screening through a third-party credit information service that will determine eligibility. 

The establishment of at least two current accounts for a minimum of 1 year is preferred. 

The following may result in an increased deposit or denial:

Derogatory credit history (past due accounts, collections, judgments, tax liens, charge off (excluding medical debt and student loans) in excess of $500 

Discharged bankruptcy

All bankruptcies must be discharged for a period greater than 2 years

Paid rental collection and/or judgment

Paid evictions with current positive rental history of at least 12 months 

Foreclosures 

Foreclosures reported greater than 2 years ago may be approved with an additional deposit provided the monthly mortgage payment listed on the applicant’s credit report was greater than the proposed monthly rent. 

Tax Liens 

Tax liens may impact the applicant’s overall screening recommendation.

 

Immediate deniable factors include:

Open bankruptcy

Any eviction reflected on the credit history, rental verification, or through court records within the last 12 months 

 

A guarantor may not be used if an applicant is denied based on credit history. 

 

 

CRIMINAL HISTORY

Criminal background screening is required for any person aged 18 and over.

Depending on the offense, applicants with certain felony records may not be approved, regardless of the amount of time elapsed. Such felonies include (but are not limited to) high-level property, violence, fraud, family relations, weapons, organized crime, and drug-related offenses. 

Applicants with certain felony or misdemeanor records within the last 7 years may not be approved.

Two or more misdemeanors within a three-year period may not be approved.

Any registered sex offender or applicant that has records of a sexually based offense will be denied indefinitely. 

A guarantor may not be used if an applicant is denied based on criminal history.