© 2009 Nolo Rental Policies Page 1
Rental Policies for 1-2 Railroad Street
Thank you for giving us your Rental Application. Here are the guidelines we apply to
every application we receive. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Meeting basic rental terms. Applicants must be able to meet our basic rental terms,
which include the rent and security deposit, the tenancy start date, and the maximum
number of residents for this rental.
We follow fair housing laws. We will fully comply with the federal fair housing
laws and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, familial status
(including age), disability, or sex. We will also follow any state and local laws that forbid
additional types of discrimination.
Complete and truthful applications from all adults. We require a separate
application from every adult who will live in the rental. We will reject applications that
contain information that we cannot verify or that are incomplete (if a particular item does
not apply to you, be sure to write "n/a" on the line so we know that you did not skip it).
We will reject applications that list false information, and will terminate the tenancy of
anyone who has made a materially false statement on the application that we discover
after accepting the applicant.
Additional occupants. Only those who have submitted a Rental Application, and any
listed minor dependents, may live in the rental. Any proposed additional residents (other
than minor children) must go through our application process. Assuming the addition of
another resident will not result in overcrowding, we will evaluate proposed additional
residents as we do any applicant.
Occupancy policy. In order to prevent overcrowding, we will determine the
maximum number of residents who may live in a rental, in keeping with our state's fair
housing laws and taking into consideration any limiting factors inherent in the building or
property. The maximum number of residents for this rental is 2 persons.
Applicants' identification. We will need a current photo ID from each adult
applicant, such as a driver's license, passport, or military or state identification card. We
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will need a Social Security number or Individual/Taxpayer's ID number (ITIN) in order
to run a credit check. We will handle this information with care and destroy it when it 's
no longer needed.
We contact references and credit sources and run a credit check. We will speak
with current and prior landlords, current employers, and run a credit check on all
applicants who advance to that stage of our application-screening process. Applicants
who are first-time renters, or who are self-employed, may supply alternate types of
references (see the instructions to our Rental Application). We will conduct the screening
ourselves or hire an independent tenant-screening firm. If you have placed a "freeze" on
your credit file, it is your responsibility to lift the freeze to enable us to order your credit
report. We strongly urge you to access your credit report (you may get a free report once
a year) and check for and correct any inaccuracies, before applying for this rental. Each
applicant for whom we run a credit check must pay for this check, in advance.
Financial responsibility. We rent to applicants who have a history of financial
responsibility. Our primary means of evaluating an applicant's financial history is the
credit report. If you have a history of delinquent payments or accounts, unpaid debts, or
charge-offs (in which a retailer gives up on collection attempts), we may deny your
application.
Rental history. We rent to applicants who have a history of being good tenants,
which includes paying rent on time, being considerate of rental property and neighbors,
and leaving rental property in good shape when vacating. We require satisfactory
references from at least two prior landlords or the equivalent from first-time renters (such
as recommendations from teachers, school transcripts, or letters from neighbors).
Criminal history. We will ask applicants to list any criminal convictions. We will
strive to rent to applicants who demonstrate a history of honest, nonviolent behavior, and
will not, to the best of our ability, rent to anyone whom we reasonably conclude poses a
current, direct threat to persons or property.
Minimum income. The combined gross monthly income (before deductions) from all
applicants ages 18 and over must be two times the monthly rent. We will verify each
applicant's income by asking for pay stubs or tax returns for self-employed applicants.
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Students or others without an income must supply an acceptable cosigner.
Cosigners or guarantors. If the gross monthly income of an applicant is not three
times the monthly rent, we may, at our option, require a guarantor who lives within the
state. The guarantor must submit a separate Rental Application and authorize us to use
the screening tools we use for any applicant who intends to live here. We will deduct the
guarantor's own housing costs from his or her gross monthly income before we consider
the income's sufficiency.
Criminal background check. We will check available databases, including Megan's
Law databases, to determine whether applicants have been convicted of a crime. We may
hire a criminal-background-screening firm to perform this search. This screening will be
done subject to restrictions on available data. We do not guarantee that the screening will
reflect all criminal history or an applicant's current criminal status. We require your
written consent for this check. More information will be provided to you upon request.
Smoking. This property is smoke free in all areas, including tenants' rented spaces.
Tenants and their guests must refrain from smoking on or near the rental property.
Residential use only. This rental is for residential use only, subject to any state or
local laws that apply.
Our Selection Process
We will review applications in the order in which we receive them. We will dateand
time-stamp each application and begin the review process as soon as possible. We
will also note when we have completed our review process.
We will evaluate your application as soon as we can. Usually, the evaluation
process takes a few days. We will offer the rental to the most-qualified applicant, and if
applicants are equally qualified, we will make an offer to the applicant whose application
was received first. We will send written or email notifications to applicants whom we
cannot accept.