Rental Criteria

Rental Application and Application Fee

Please carefully review the following guidelines before submitting your application. 

To complete a rental application, you must be prepared to provide 3 years of residential history as well as contact information for your rental references. You will also be asked to provide documentation on your monthly income.  Please submit all requested documentation; missing information will delay the processing of your application.

Although we generally can successfully process applications within one to two business days, the most common reasons for delay are missing information on an application, lack of supporting documentation for income verification, and inability to verify housing references. 

Each resident over the age of 18 must submit a separate rental application.

GENERAL GUIDELINES
1. All applications must be submitted online. A $52.00 application fee must be paid at the time of application.  You must submit a current, government-issued photo ID (i.e., passport, driver’s license) along with your completed application.

2. We do not rent sight unseen. For your protection, we require that you inspect the interior of the unit of your choice carefully to ensure amenities listed are actually present.
3. Allowable occupancy is 2 persons per bedroom plus 1 additional person per unit.
4. Co-signers (guarantors) may be considered for deficiencies in credit, income, and rental/mortgage history requirements only, must meet all financial areas of the guidelines, reside in California, and must have a minimum gross monthly income equal to four times the monthly rent.
5. All of our properties are “smoke-free”.

CREDIT GUIDELINES

All applicants must submit to a credit history check. The following items may disqualify rental acceptance or be grounds for denial of an application:

• Any current bankruptcy proceedings.
• History of delinquent payments or high credit balances on multiple credit accounts.
• Credit score of less than 640 
• History of accounts in collection status Unpaid bills referred to collections agency.
• History of delinquent rents

Credit history will be weighed in conjunction with all other rental criteria. 

INCOME GUIDELINES

Income must be verifiable and must meet the following criteria:

• Total household gross monthly income must be at least 3 times the amount of monthly rent. Subsidy recipient’s income must be 2.5 times the amount of the rent portion they are responsible to pay.
• Examples of income include, but are not limited to: wages, salaries, tips, Social Security benefits, retirement & savings accounts, stocks, bonds, child support or alimony payments, unemployment benefits, or public assistance.
• Savings and brokerage accounts may be considered in lieu of active employment with verification of bank balances (savings, check, money market, certificates of deposit) totaling at least three times the annual rent (3 x annual rent).

INCOME DOCUMENTATION:

Written proof of income must be provided in one or more of the following forms:

• Written offer letter, on company letterhead, from employer indicating salary and start date (if employment is new and has not yet started)
• Two most recent pay stubs from your place of employment
• Benefit award letter for any government agency of benefits paid (Dept of Veteran Affairs or Social Security Administration)
• If using assets to qualify, two most recent bank or financial statements verifying 3x the amount of annual rent on deposit.   

For self-employed individuals:

• Two most recent complete (full return) Federal income tax returns (signed).  If most recent year tax return has not been filed, the previous two years’ returns and current year Profit and Loss
• After review of the return additional documentation may be requested.

RENTAL and/or MORTGAGE HISTORY GUIDELINES

Three (3) years of previous residential history and contact information for previous landlord or property manager must be provided. The following items may disqualify rental acceptance or be grounds for denial of an application:

• Previous unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit or default on any obligation of a rental agreement or lease (i.e. late payments, NSF checks, noise complaints, skips or any negative reference).
• Outstanding balance owed to any current or previous landlord
• Waterbed, an aquarium, or any other water filled furniture.

BACKGROUND AND CRIMINAL HISTORY:

We will use personal information disclosed by you to conduct background checks. We may verify any information that you submit to us in connection with your application for a lease through any means, including any consumer or criminal record reporting agencies, personal and professional references, employers, and other rental housing owners. The following items may disqualify rental acceptance or be grounds for denial of an application:

• Felony convictions.
• Misdemeanor convictions or gross misdemeanor convictions on crimes against persons, property, or drug related illegal activity.

PETS AND ANIMALS:

Please note: PetScreening registration is a required part of the application process for ALL applicants.

To help ensure ALL of our residents understand our pet and animal-related policies, we use a third-party screening service and require EVERYONE to complete a profile. This process ensures we have formalized pet and animal-related policy acknowledgments and more accurate records to create greater mutual accountability. If you need accommodation in another way, please contact your housing provider.

If a property permits pets in the property, PetScreening charges a nominal fee for the creation of a Pet Profile for a household pet. This is a separate charge from the rental application fee. There is no ($0) charge for an assistance animal accommodation request and no ($0) charge for a No Pet Profile completed by tenants without pets/animals.  Please get started by selecting a profile category on our landing page: https://pinnaclepmc.petscreening.com/