Screening Criteria

OREGON FIRST SCREENING CRITERIA

Oregon Properties Outside the City of Portland

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Please review the rental listing for the particular property you are interested in and contact the number listed in the advertisement with any questions before submitting an application.

Oregon First complies with all applicable federal, state and local fair housing and landlord-tenant laws. Oregon First does not discriminate against any applicant because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, familial status, source of income, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Oregon First does not discriminate against an applicant because the applicant receives or desires to receive rental assistance or other lawful sources of income.

Each rental property managed by Oregon First is individually owned. Screening requirements, rent, deposits, pet policies, insurance requirements, income requirements, and other property-specific criteria may therefore vary from property to property, to the extent permitted by law. Applicants should review the listing and application information for the particular property for which they are applying.

The criteria applicable to an applicant will be the criteria disclosed for that property before Oregon First accepts an applicant screening charge. Oregon First will apply those criteria consistently to applicants for that property and in accordance with applicable law.

Approval of an application does not create a rental agreement or guarantee possession of the property. A tenancy is created only upon execution of a rental agreement and satisfaction of any lawful conditions of approval.

RENTAL APPLICATION AND SCREENING CRITERIA

Oregon First uses the Multifamily NW Oregon Rental Application and Oregon Rental Criteria for Residency (Form M002 OR) for properties outside the City of Portland.

The Rental Application and accompanying Rental Criteria for Residency are incorporated into these screening criteria and contain the standards used to evaluate applicants, including applicable standards concerning identification, income and income verification, employment, rental history, eviction history, credit, bankruptcy, criminal convictions and individualized assessment, occupancy, supplemental evidence, and reasonable accommodations.

Applicants should carefully review the Rental Application, Rental Criteria for Residency, rental listing, and any property-specific criteria provided by Oregon First before applying.

IDENTIFICATION

Applicants may establish their identity using any identification or combination of identification permitted under Oregon law and described in the Rental Criteria for Residency.

Oregon First will not inquire into the immigration or citizenship status of an applicant or household member and will not require proof of lawful presence in the United States.

INCOME

The income requirement for a particular property will be disclosed in the rental listing and/or application materials for that property.

Unless a different income requirement is disclosed for the property, the income criteria stated in the Multifamily NW Rental Criteria for Residency will apply.

If an applicant will use local, state or federal housing assistance as a source of income, the rent used in calculating the income requirement will be determined as provided in the Rental Criteria for Residency and applicable Oregon law.

All lawful and verifiable sources of income will be considered as required by law.

CO-SIGNERS AND GUARANTORS

Co-signers and guarantors will be considered in accordance with the applicable Multifamily NW Rental Criteria for Residency, property-specific application materials, and applicable law.

Any requirements applicable to a co-signer or guarantor will be disclosed as part of the screening criteria for the particular property.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Each adult applicant must complete the applicable Rental Application.

Applicants should be prepared to provide the information requested by the Rental Application, including information reasonably necessary to verify identity, income, employment when applicable, rental history, proposed occupants, vehicles, and pets when applicable.

An application may be refused or denied if it is materially incomplete, fails to include information regarding identification or income, or intentionally withholds or misrepresents required information, as provided in the Rental Application.

Applicants are welcome to provide supplemental evidence to mitigate potentially negative screening results and may request reasonable accommodations or modifications as provided by applicable law.

OCCUPANCY

The occupancy criteria stated in the Multifamily NW Rental Criteria for Residency will apply unless a different lawful occupancy standard is disclosed for the particular property.

The general standard is two persons per bedroom. A more liberal occupancy standard may be appropriate depending upon factors such as the size and configuration of the dwelling and bedrooms, whether occupants include infants, and other relevant circumstances.

PETS AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Pet policies vary by property. Applicants should review the rental listing for the property-specific pet policy.

Where pets are permitted, approval requirements, pet deposits, pet rent, and other lawful pet-related requirements may vary by property.

Assistance animals are not pets. Requests involving assistance animals will be handled in accordance with applicable fair housing law. Pet restrictions, pet deposits, pet rent, and pet screening fees will not be applied to assistance animals when prohibited by law.

SCREENING PROCESS

Oregon First may obtain a consumer credit report and/or investigative consumer report and may verify information including credit, income, employment, rental history, criminal court records, and other information described in the Rental Application and Rental Criteria for Residency.

The screening company or consumer reporting agency used for an application, together with its contact information, will be identified in the Rental Application.

Applicants have the right to dispute the accuracy of information provided to Oregon First by a screening company or consumer reporting agency.

CRIMINAL HISTORY

Criminal history will be evaluated according to the Criminal Conviction Criteria and Criminal Conviction Review Process contained in the Multifamily NW Rental Criteria for Residency and applicable Oregon law.

Oregon First will conduct any individualized assessment required by law and will consider supplemental evidence provided by the applicant as required by law.

APPLICATION SCREENING CHARGE

The applicant screening charge for a particular property will be disclosed in the rental listing and/or Rental Application.

Before accepting an applicant screening charge, Oregon First will provide the disclosures required by Oregon law, including the applicable screening or admission criteria and information concerning the screening process.

Screening charges will be collected, used and refunded in accordance with Oregon law. Oregon law also limits an applicant to one screening charge within a 60-day period for properties owned or managed by the same landlord.

APPLICATION PROCESSING

Applications will be processed in accordance with Oregon law and the procedures disclosed for the particular property.

Applicants should review the good-faith estimate provided on the Rental Application concerning the approximate number of available units and applications already under consideration.

DENIALS

If an application is denied, Oregon First will provide the applicant the notice required by Oregon law.

Applicants may dispute inaccurate information supplied by a screening company or consumer reporting agency and may provide supplemental evidence as permitted by the Rental Application, Rental Criteria for Residency and applicable law.

IMPORTANT — PROPERTY-SPECIFIC CRITERIA

Because each property is individually owned, applicants should not assume that qualification for one Oregon First property means that they will qualify for every Oregon First property.

The rental listing and application materials for each property should be reviewed for property-specific requirements, including rent, deposits, income requirements, pet policies, insurance requirements, co-signer or guarantor requirements, and other lawful criteria.

Any property-specific screening criterion will be disclosed before Oregon First accepts an applicant screening charge and will be applied in accordance with applicable federal, state and local law.

CITY OF PORTLAND PROPERTIES

These criteria and the Multifamily NW Oregon Rental Application (Form M002 OR) are not for properties located within the City of Portland.

Oregon First uses the Portland-specific application and screening procedures described below for properties within the City of Portland.

OREGON FIRST SCREENING CRITERIA

Properties Within the City of Portland

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Please review the rental listing for the particular property you are interested in and contact the number listed in the advertisement with any questions before submitting an application.

Oregon First complies with all applicable federal, state and City of Portland fair housing and landlord-tenant laws. Oregon First does not discriminate against any applicant because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, familial status, source of income, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Oregon First does not discriminate against an applicant because the applicant receives or desires to receive rental assistance or other lawful sources of income.

The criteria applicable to an applicant will be the criteria disclosed for that property before Oregon First accepts an applicant screening charge. Oregon First will apply those criteria consistently and in accordance with applicable federal, state and local law.

Approval of an application does not create a rental agreement or guarantee possession of the property.

PORTLAND RENTAL APPLICATIONS AND SCREENING CRITERIA

Oregon First uses the applicable Multifamily NW City of Portland Rental Application and Rental Criteria for Residency.

Financially Responsible Adult Applicants complete the City of Portland Standard Financially Responsible Rental Application (Form M502 OR).

Non-Financially Responsible Adults complete the City of Portland Standard Non-Financially Responsible Rental Application (Form M503 OR).

The applicable Rental Application and accompanying Rental Criteria for Residency are incorporated into these screening criteria and contain the standards Oregon First uses to evaluate applicants.

FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AND NON-FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE APPLICANTS

When multiple adults will reside together, the household may identify which adults will be financially responsible applicants and which will be non-financially responsible adult occupants.

A financially responsible applicant is evaluated under the criteria applicable to financially responsible applicants, including applicable financial criteria.

A non-financially responsible adult may be screened only for factors permitted by Portland law and will not be screened for financial responsibility.

Each adult should complete the application appropriate to that person's status.

OPEN APPLICATION PERIOD AND ORDER OF PROCESSING

Oregon First will advertise and process applications in accordance with the City of Portland's Open Application Period and order-of-processing requirements.

When a dwelling is advertised, the notice will be published at least 72 hours before the Open Application Period begins and will contain or provide access to the information required by Portland law.

Applications received before the beginning of the Open Application Period will be treated as required by Portland law. Applications may be processed simultaneously, but Oregon First will accept, conditionally accept, or deny applicants in order of receipt as required by Portland law.

Applicants with a Mobility Disability will receive priority for an available accessible dwelling unit when required by Portland law.

ACCESSIBILITY, DISABILITY AND REQUIRED NOTICES

The applicable Portland Rental Application provides applicants an opportunity to voluntarily identify whether they have a disability and whether they have a Mobility Disability.

Where a dwelling qualifies as a Type A Accessible Dwelling Unit, that status will be disclosed as required by Portland law.

Oregon First will provide the applicable Right to Request a Modification or Accommodation Notice and Statement of Applicant Rights and Responsibilities Notice required by the City of Portland.

Applicants may request reasonable accommodations or modifications as provided by applicable law.

IDENTIFICATION

Oregon First will accept the forms and combinations of identification permitted by Portland law and the applicable Rental Criteria for Residency.

An application will not be rejected as incomplete because an applicant does not provide a Social Security number or proof of lawful presence in the United States. Oregon First will not inquire into the immigration status of an applicant or household member.

INCOME — FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE APPLICANTS

Income requirements apply to financially responsible applicants as provided in the City of Portland Standard Financially Responsible Rental Criteria for Residency.

Oregon First may require monthly gross income of:

Up to 2.5 times the monthly rent when rent is below the applicable maximum monthly rent for a household earning no more than 80 percent of median household income; or
Up to 2 times the monthly rent when rent is at or above that threshold.

The applicable threshold is published annually by the Portland Housing Bureau.

Income qualification is based upon the cumulative financial resources of all financially responsible applicants. When government rent assistance or a housing subsidy is used, the rent used for the income-to-rent calculation is reduced by the amount of the government subsidy.

Financial income criteria do not apply to non-financially responsible adults.

CO-SIGNERS AND GUARANTORS

Oregon First accepts co-signers or guarantors as provided under the applicable Multifamily NW Rental Criteria for Residency and Portland law.

When additional documented security from a guarantor is required because an applicant does not satisfy the applicable income ratio, Portland limits the financial-capacity requirement for a friend or family member serving as guarantor to no more than three times the rent. A guarantor agreement may not be required to extend beyond the rental-agreement term.

RENTAL, EVICTION, CREDIT, BANKRUPTCY AND CRIMINAL HISTORY

Oregon First applies the applicable Multifamily NW Portland Rental Criteria for Residency.

Applicants may provide supplemental evidence concerning potentially negative screening information.

When Oregon First applies a criterion more prohibitive than Portland's Low-Barrier Screening Criteria, Oregon First will conduct the individualized assessment required by Portland law before denying an applicant on that basis.

OCCUPANCY

Occupancy will be evaluated according to the applicable Multifamily NW Portland Rental Criteria for Residency and applicable law.

PETS AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Pet policies vary by property. Applicants should review the rental listing for the property-specific pet policy.

Assistance animals are not pets. Assistance-animal requests will be handled in accordance with applicable fair housing law, and prohibited pet-related charges or restrictions will not be applied to assistance animals.

APPLICATION SCREENING CHARGE

Any screening charge will be disclosed in the rental listing and/or Rental Application and will comply with Oregon and Portland law.

Portland imposes additional limits on screening charges depending upon whether screening is performed entirely by a professional screening company, partly by a screening company, or entirely by the landlord.

DENIAL, CONDITIONAL APPROVAL AND APPEAL

Oregon First will provide written notice of acceptance, conditional acceptance or denial as required by Portland law.

Applicants have 30 days to appeal a denied application and may correct, refute or explain negative information forming the basis for denial.

Following an approved appeal, the applicant will be prequalified for Oregon First rental opportunities within Portland for three months, and the screening fee will be waived during that period, subject to Oregon First's right to require certification that no material conditions have changed.

IMPORTANT — PROPERTY-SPECIFIC CRITERIA

Because each property is individually owned, applicants should not assume that qualification for one Oregon First property means that they will qualify for every Oregon First property.

Property-specific requirements will be disclosed and applied in accordance with applicable federal, Oregon and City of Portland law.

WASHINGTON FIRST PROPERTIES SCREENING CRITERIA

Washington Properties Outside the City of Seattle

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Please review the rental listing for the particular property you are interested in and contact the number listed in the advertisement with any questions before submitting an application.

Washington First Properties complies with all applicable federal, Washington State and local fair housing and landlord-tenant laws and does not discriminate on any basis prohibited by applicable law.

Each rental property managed by Washington First Properties is individually owned. Screening requirements, rent, deposits, pet policies, insurance requirements, income requirements, and other property-specific criteria may therefore vary from property to property, to the extent permitted by law. Applicants should review the listing and application information for the particular property for which they are applying.

The criteria applicable to an applicant will be disclosed before Washington First Properties obtains information for purposes of tenant screening.

Approval of an application does not create a rental agreement or guarantee possession of the property.

RENTAL APPLICATION AND SCREENING CRITERIA

Washington First Properties uses the Multifamily NW Washington Rental Application (Form M002 WA).

Unless Washington First Properties discloses different lawful property-specific criteria, the Rental Criteria for Residency contained in Form M002 WA are incorporated into these screening criteria and will be used to evaluate applicants.

The MFNW criteria address occupancy, identification, income, rental history, eviction history, credit, bankruptcy and criminal convictions.

Applicants should carefully review the Rental Application, Rental Criteria for Residency, rental listing, and any property-specific criteria before applying.

INCOME, RENTAL HISTORY, CREDIT AND BANKRUPTCY

Washington First Properties applies the applicable criteria contained in the Multifamily NW Washington Rental Criteria for Residency unless different lawful criteria have been disclosed for the particular property.

The MFNW default criteria provide for co-signers in several circumstances, including certain income, employment, rental-history and credit situations.

All lawful sources of income will be considered as required by Washington law.

CO-SIGNERS AND GUARANTORS

Co-signers and guarantors will be considered in accordance with the applicable Multifamily NW Rental Criteria for Residency, property-specific application materials, and applicable law.

Any requirements applicable to a co-signer or guarantor will be disclosed as part of the criteria for the particular property.

COMPREHENSIVE REUSABLE TENANT SCREENING REPORTS

The Rental Application will state whether the particular property accepts or does not accept a Comprehensive Reusable Tenant Screening Report.

The MFNW Washington application contains the property-specific designation for this purpose.

Where Washington First Properties maintains a website advertising a Washington rental property or providing information to prospective tenants, the property's home page will state whether Comprehensive Reusable Tenant Screening Reports are accepted, as required by Washington law.

SCREENING PROCESS AND SCREENING CHARGE

Before obtaining screening information, Washington First Properties will disclose:

The types of information that will be accessed;
The criteria that may result in denial;
If a consumer report will be used, the name and address of the consumer reporting agency and the applicant's applicable rights; and
Whether Comprehensive Reusable Tenant Screening Reports are accepted.

The MFNW application authorizes screening that may include credit, income, employment, rental history and criminal court records and provides space to identify the screening company or consumer reporting agency.

Any screening charge will comply with Washington law and will not exceed the permitted actual or customary screening costs.

CRIMINAL HISTORY

Except where different local law applies, Washington First Properties will apply the Criminal Conviction Criteria and Criminal Conviction Review Process contained in the Multifamily NW Washington Rental Criteria for Residency, subject to applicable federal, state and local law.

The MFNW criteria provide for an individualized assessment and consideration of mitigating information in specified circumstances.

PETS AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Pet policies vary by property and will be disclosed for the particular property.

Assistance animals are not pets. Assistance-animal requests will be handled in accordance with applicable fair housing law.

ADVERSE ACTION

If Washington First Properties denies an application or takes another adverse action based upon screening, Washington First Properties will provide the applicant a written adverse-action notice stating the reasons for the action and containing the information required by Washington law.

IMPORTANT — PROPERTY-SPECIFIC CRITERIA

Because each property is individually owned, applicants should not assume that qualification for one Washington First Properties property means that they will qualify for every Washington First Properties property.

Property-specific screening requirements will be disclosed before Washington First Properties obtains information about the applicant for tenant-screening purposes and will be applied in accordance with applicable federal, state and local law.

WASHINGTON FIRST PROPERTIES SCREENING CRITERIA

Properties Within the City of Seattle

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Please review the rental listing and all screening information for the particular property before submitting an application.

Washington First Properties complies with all applicable federal, Washington State and City of Seattle fair housing and landlord-tenant laws and does not discriminate on any basis prohibited by applicable law.

However, Seattle imposes additional requirements governing disclosure of screening criteria, the order in which applications are processed, criminal history and selection of qualified applicants. These Seattle requirements control whenever they differ from the general Multifamily NW Washington criteria.

RENTAL APPLICATION

Washington First Properties uses the Multifamily NW Washington Rental Application (Form M002 WA) for Seattle properties, subject to the Seattle-specific modifications and limitations described in these criteria.

The MFNW Washington form asks applicants about criminal convictions and contains statewide criminal-conviction screening criteria.

Those statewide criminal-history provisions do not control screening for Seattle properties where their use would conflict with Seattle's Fair Chance Housing requirements.

FIRST-IN-TIME APPLICATION PROCESS

Washington First Properties will comply with Seattle's First-in-Time requirements.

Before accepting applications, Washington First Properties will provide advance notice of the minimum screening criteria and identify all documentation necessary for an application to be considered complete.

Applications will be date- and time-stamped in the order received and screened one at a time in chronological order.

An otherwise complete applicant will be given at least 72 hours to provide additional information necessary to complete screening.

Washington First Properties will offer the rental agreement to the first applicant who submits a complete application and satisfies all applicable screening criteria.

The qualified applicant will be given 48 hours to respond to the offer of tenancy before Washington First Properties proceeds to the next applicant as permitted by Seattle law.

SCREENING CRITERIA AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

Before applications are accepted, Washington First Properties will disclose the minimum criteria necessary to qualify for the particular property and identify the documentation and information applicants must provide.

Washington First Properties will apply those criteria consistently and in the order required by Seattle's First-in-Time ordinance.

INCOME, RENTAL HISTORY, CREDIT AND BANKRUPTCY

Except where Seattle law requires otherwise, Washington First Properties will apply the applicable Multifamily NW Washington Rental Criteria for Residency and any lawful property-specific criteria disclosed before screening.

All lawful sources of income will be considered as required by applicable law.

CO-SIGNERS AND GUARANTORS

Co-signers and guarantors will be considered in accordance with the applicable Multifamily NW Rental Criteria for Residency, disclosed property-specific criteria, and Seattle law.

Any requirements applicable to a co-signer or guarantor will be disclosed as part of the minimum screening criteria for the property.

CRIMINAL HISTORY — IMPORTANT SEATTLE LIMITATION

Seattle's Fair Chance Housing Ordinance substantially restricts the use of criminal history in rental screening.

Washington First Properties will not require an applicant to disclose criminal history or take adverse action against an applicant based upon criminal history except where expressly permitted by Seattle law.

Although the MFNW Washington application contains questions regarding criminal convictions and statewide criminal-history criteria, Washington First Properties will not rely upon those provisions for a Seattle property where doing so would violate Seattle's Fair Chance Housing Ordinance.

Following a federal appellate ruling, Seattle no longer enforces the portion of its ordinance that prohibited landlords from merely inquiring about criminal history. However, the City continues to enforce restrictions against requiring disclosure or taking adverse action based upon criminal history, subject to applicable exceptions.

Any criminal-history screening permitted under an applicable exception will be conducted strictly in accordance with Seattle law.

COMPREHENSIVE REUSABLE TENANT SCREENING REPORTS

The Rental Application will state whether the property accepts a Comprehensive Reusable Tenant Screening Report, as required by Washington law.

The MFNW application provides a property-specific designation for this purpose. Washington Rental App.pdfPDF

SCREENING PROCESS AND SCREENING CHARGE

Before obtaining screening information, Washington First Properties will provide the disclosures required by Washington law, including the types of information to be accessed, criteria that may result in denial, applicable consumer-reporting information, and whether Comprehensive Reusable Tenant Screening Reports are accepted.

Any screening charge will comply with Washington and Seattle law.

PETS AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Pet policies vary by property and will be disclosed for the particular property.

Assistance animals are not pets. Assistance-animal requests will be handled in accordance with applicable fair housing law, and prohibited pet-related restrictions or charges will not be applied to assistance animals.

ADVERSE ACTION

If Washington First Properties denies an application or takes another adverse action, Washington First Properties will provide the applicant the written notice required by Washington and Seattle law.

IMPORTANT — PROPERTY-SPECIFIC CRITERIA

The minimum screening criteria applicable to the particular Seattle property will be disclosed before applications are accepted and will be applied consistently in accordance with Seattle's First-in-Time requirements and all applicable federal, state and local laws.

Screening Criteria

OREGON FIRST SCREENING CRITERIA

Oregon Properties Outside the City of Portland

OREGON FIRST SCREENING CRITERIA

Properties Within the City of Portland

WASHINGTON FIRST PROPERTIES SCREENING CRITERIA

Washington Properties Outside the City of Seattle

WASHINGTON FIRST PROPERTIES SCREENING CRITERIA

Properties Within the City of Seattle

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