City of Seattle Tenancy Criteria
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
1. Positive government issued picture I.D. is required.
2. You will be asked to provide your full SSN in order for us to pull your credit report. If you do not have a SSN, you may provide an alternate form of ID, such as, an ITIN, work/student Visa, Passport, etc. If you need assistance filling out the application without a SSN, please contact your agent or LPS, Inc. for further instructions.
3. Application must be completely filled out and signed by all parties.
4. All applicants must qualify as leaseholders. Some exceptions may be made for select properties or for adult dependents.
5.If you or your group are denied, a 30-day waiting period will be required for all applicants wishing to reapply after there have been significant changes to the application(s) or household. Proof of the changed circumstances will be required.
RENTAL CRITERIA
1. Twelve months of verifiable residence history from a third party landlord required. Rental reference must be from within the past two years to be considered recent.
2. With Good Credit, rental history demonstrating residency, but not by a third party or not for sufficient term, will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent, or a co-signer.
3. Home ownership will be verified through the tax assessor’s office or credit report.
4. Three or more late payments or NSF checks for rent or mortgage within a twelve month period will result in a denial.
5. One or Two late payments or NSF checks for rent or mortgage within a Twelve month period will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent.
6. Any unlawful detainer action or eviction within the past three years results in denial, unless perfect credit and current good rental references can be obtained, in which case will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent.
7. Any unlawful detainer action or eviction that is between 3-7 years old may be considered after the balance has been paid in full and will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent.
8. Rental history showing between $250.00 and $750.00 in damage will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent, if the amount has been paid in full.
9. Rental history with complaints (disturbance or other) will be denied if the previous manager would not re-rent or if there are more than three complaints.
10. First time renters, with no established credit, will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent or a co-signer.
11. First time renters, with established credit, will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent or a co-signer.
12. Any outstanding balance owed for any utility or housing related expense over $100 will lead to an automatic denial. Utility collections that have been paid will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent.
INCOME REQUIREMENTS
1. Monthly household income must be equal to or greater than three times the monthly rent and estimated utilities. In most cases Roommates are qualified together. However, we will only allow the combining of the top two (2) separate incomes to qualify for the income requirement.
2. Monthly household income of two and one half times the rent and estimated utilities or better, but less than three times the monthly rent and estimated utilities, can be approved with prepayment of Last Month’s Rent or co-signer.
3. Monthly household income of less than two and one half times rent and estimated utilities cannot be approved.
4. If total monthly debt, including rent and estimated utility costs for the property applied for, exceed 66% of income, the application cannot be approved.
5. A current paycheck stub, showing a minimum of the last 90 days, will be required. Alternatively a signed letter of employment may be acceptable for new employment.
6. Some form of verifiable income will be required for unemployed applicants. If unemployment benefits will not cover the full lease term, prepayment of Last Month’s Rent will be required.
7. Self-employed applicants will require proof of income by two years of personal tax returns and 90 days of bank statements.
8. Commission and tip income will be considered at 75% of the prior two years reported income, provided employment with the same employer and supported by pay stubs or two years of personal tax returns.
9. Select properties will accept household income that equals 2.5 times the amount of monthly rent and estimated utilities.
EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS
1. Verifiable employment is required.
2. Prepayment of Last Month’s Rent will be required when employment does not meet the stated criteria.
3. Self-employed individuals must be verified through two years of personal tax returns and 90 days of bank statements.
4. Prepayment of last month’s rent is needed for temporary or seasonal employees.
5. Military income may require an allotment.
6. Must have been previously employed in the same industry for at least the past 6 months at current or previous employment, if not prepayment of Last Month’s Rent or a co-signer will be required.
CREDIT CRITERIA
1. Good Credit required.
2. Outstanding bad debts being reported on credit report which total more than $250.00 but less than $2,500.00 will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent.
3. Outstanding bad debts being reported on credit report totaling more than $2,500.00 will result in denial, unless the poor accounts are more than three years old and positive credit has been established since then. In this case, prepayment of Last Month’s Rent will be required.
4. Excessive unpaid collections (6 or more) will result in denial.
5. After a discharged bankruptcy, applicant must show at least six months of positive established credit. Any negative credit after a discharged bankruptcy will result in denial. Rental history will be considered for established credit. Prepayment of Last Month’s Rent will be required.
6. After a discharged bankruptcy, an applicant showing at least three years of perfect established credit may be approved without prepayment of Last Month’s Rent. Rental history will be considered for established credit.
7. Applicants with less than 6 months worth of established Good Credit will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent.
SEX OFFENDERS
Unless exempted pursuant to SMC 14.09.115, Landlords in the city of the Seattle are prohibited from requiring disclosure, asking about, rejecting an applicant, or taking an adverse action based on any arrest record, conviction record, criminal history, except for registry information as described in subsection 14.09.025.A.3, subsection 14.09.025.A.4, subsection 14.09.025.A.5, and subject to the exclusions and legal requirements in section 14.09.115.
All applicants will be screened for sex offender registry information. Offenders may provide any supplemental information related to their rehabilitation, good conduct, and facts or explanations regarding their registry information for consideration.
Consideration will be given to the following factors relating to the conviction(s) that requires registry on a local, state, or national sex offender registry:
The nature and severity of the conviction;
The number and types of convictions;
The time that has elapsed since the date of conviction;
Age of the individual at the time of convictions;
Evidence of good tenant history before and/or after the conviction occurred;
Any supplemental information related to the individual’s rehabilitation, good conduct, and additional facts or explanations provided by the individual.
CO-SIGNER REQUIREMENTS
- Co-signers must be In State, have Good Credit and must earn five times the monthly rent.
- In the event that a co-signer is required, there will be a $100.00 administrative fee required.
AUTOMATIC DENIALS
1. Any collection or judgment filed by a property management company or landlord within the last three years for over $250.00 will result in denial. If longer than three years and paid, will require prepayment of Last Month’s Rent.
2. Rental history reflecting more than $750.00 damage will result in denial.
3. Any current 14-day notice or unlawful detainer action or eviction will result in denial.
4. Any unpaid utility or housing related expense over $100 will result in denial.
5. Three or more late payments or NSF checks for rent or mortgage within a 12 month period will result in denial.
6. If unemployed and unable to verify sufficient income to pay rent and estimated utilities, applicant will be denied.
7. If monthly debt to income, including rent and estimated utility costs for the property applied for, exceed 66% of income, applicant will be denied.
8. False information or a gross distortion of the truth will result in denial.
9. Any applicant with a bankruptcy not showing as discharged is denied until shown otherwise.
10. An employment reference, in which the employer indicates that the employment will end and/or the income level will drop below 2.5 times the rent, will result in denial.
11. Any undisclosed previous rental address will result in denial.
12. An incomplete application will result in denial.
13. Lack of response from the applicant for additional information after the 2nd business day will result in denial.
14. Any instance of unauthorized persons or pets in a unit rented by the applicant will result in denial.
15. Renters who have had bed bugs or any other pest infestations within the past 2 years will be automatically denied.
SUMMARY REVIEW
Each area of the applicant report (Credit, Criminal, Eviction, Rental History and Employment) will be reviewed for adverse information. If THREE or more areas are found to have Adverse items in a report, applicant can be denied. Lack of established credit may be considered as part of the summary review.
If there is adverse information found in BOTH the credit & rental sections of the report, applicant will be denied
GOOD CREDIT
Good Credit means that all accounts are in good standing and paid as agreed and that total monthly debt to income, including rent and estimated utilities, does not exceed 66%.
FORECLOSURE/SHORT SALE
Due to the housing bust of 2009/2010 an exception may be considered in the case of a home foreclosure or a short sale with documents showing that the property has been sold/short sale and Applicant has been released by the bank/mortgage co. If applicant has a Short Sale/Foreclosure and can show the release, and has perfect credit (other than mortgage payments) and can show at least 2yrs established good rental history, then applicant will be approved. If applicant has the above without at least 2yrs rental history, approval will require added security or co-signer.
ESTIMATED UTILITIES
For screening purposes only, the following will be the estimated utility expenses used for purposes of income qualification. Actual utility charges may be more or less and these estimates are not meant to represent actual charges for a particular property.
Single Family Homes – $75 per bedroom plus $35 per occupant (ie 3br home with 5 occupants =$400)
Apartments/Condos – $50 per bedroom plus $25 per occupant (ie 2br apt with 4 occupants = $200)
RESIDENT AMENITIES PACKAGE
In addition to the rent due per month, a resident amenity fee of $15 per month will be charged and must be included with the monthly rent payment. To view our resident amenities, please refer to our website: www.brinkpm.com/resident-amenities-package
Apply Now