Rental Property Application

West CAP is an equal opportunity organization and no otherwise qualified applicant for service or service participant, employment applicant or current employee shall be excluded for participation, be denied benefits, or otherwise be subject to discrimination in any manner. Federal laws, Presidential Executive Orders, and state and local laws designed to protect employees, job applicants, and program applicant from discrimination on the bases of race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit based factors. These protections extend to all program management practices and decisions, including recruitment and hiring practices, appraisal systems, promotions, and training and career development programs.

APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA FOR ACCEPTANCE.

IF YOU ARE REJECTED AND YOU FEEL THE REJECTION IS NOT FAIR, PLEASE CONTACT WEST CAP AND PROVIDE A WRITTEN EXPLANATION OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SO THAT A CORRECT DECISION CAN BE MADE ON YOUR BEHALF:

1. All applicants must be 18 years of age or older, able to live independently or with the assistance of a qualified caretaker. An applicant can have a live-in caretaker, if necessary, with a doctor’s order.

2. All applicants must meet the most restrictive income limits set by the Governing Entity for each property, whether it be tax credit property, Rural Development or HOME Program. All income and assets must be third party verified. A potential tenant must also have enough income to support the rent or be on a subsidized housing program. If not, the applicant would not qualify to live in the property.

3. Applicant(s) may be rejected because of poor rental history, as evidence by:
   • Late rental payments
   • Unlawful Detainers (eviction proceedings)
   • Complaints of disturbance of neighbors, including loud music/parties, noisy/obnoxious guests, harassment of neighbors or their guests
   • Damage to unit, appliances or common areas or hallways
   • Poor housekeeping habits, including creating fire hazards (storing dangerous materials, hoarding papers or rags, tampering with the electrical system, etc.), infestation of roaches or rodents, creating foul odors, depositing garbage improperly, littering common areas or hallways, etc.
   • Not honoring past leases
   • Less than 12 months consecutive, independent rental history, not including rental from relatives or friends.

4. Applicant(s) may be rejected for poor credit history, as evidenced by:
   • Non-payment of rightful obligations, including rent, utilities, creditors, and loans
   • Public judgments (being taken to court by a creditor)
   • Accounts placed for collection

5. Applicant(s) may be rejected for a criminal history, as evidenced by:
   • Conviction within the last five (5) years of any crime of violence against people or damage to property
   • Any conviction for drug offenses within the last five (5) years
   • Any conviction for weapons ordinance
   • No matter the date of the conviction, we reject applications for criminal convictions such as homicide; arson; 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd degree criminal sexual conduct; child pornography; illegal manufacture or distribution of controlled substances; terrorism; blackmail; extortion; and racketeering. We reject applicants who are currently subject to any sex-offender registration requirement under any jurisdiction
   • Open charges: Unless the charge is for a crime that we disregard under our screening policy, we reject applicants with open charges.  An applicant may re-apply upon resolution of the open charge, at which time the then-closed charge will be considered under our criteria
   • We have the discretion to evaluate criminal records to determine how to characterize them and apply our screening criteria. Our screening criteria are narrowly and proportionately tailored to comply with fair housing law, advance the property’s interests, and not unduly limit an applicant’s admission based on criminal background.  We have and will continue to consider the interests of the property; various laws; and other relevant materials when determining how to treat criminal records under our criteria.  We will reject applications when required to do so by federal, state, or local law. We have the discretion to modify our policy and criteria based on new information, new law, our experience in applying the policy and criteria, and other business justifications

6. Applicant(s) may be rejected for poor employment history, as evidenced by:
   • Failure to meet income requirements
   • An inconsistent, unstable source of income, which would affect the ability to pay rent and utilities

7. Any information provided on an application that is inaccurate, incomplete or non-verifiable is grounds for rejection

8. Individual situations outside of the general guidelines will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.