Rental Criteria

Thank you for your interest in renting a home with West Seattle PM. This page explains how we review rental applications. Please read it before you apply. It is our written screening notice under Washington law (RCW 59.18.257). For homes in the City of Seattle, it is also our First-in-Time notice (SMC 14.08.050).

Effective date: October 20, 2026. See "Changes to these criteria" at the end of this page.

Fair housing and Equal Housing Opportunity

West Seattle PM is an Equal Housing Opportunity provider. We follow federal, Washington State and local fair housing laws. We do not discriminate based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, caste, citizenship or immigration status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial or parental status (including families with children), age, political ideology, disability, use of a service or assistance animal, honorably discharged veteran or military status, status as a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, source of income (including Section 8 and other housing vouchers or subsidies), or any other status protected by law.

How to apply

• Apply online through our AppFolio portal at westseattlepm.appfolio.com. See our available rentals( www.westseattlepm.com/vacancies) and use the Apply button on the home you want.
• Every adult age 18 or older who will live in the home applies separately and pays the $50 application fee.
• Rental inquiries and tours are handled through Showdigs.
• If you can't apply online, you can ask for a paper application or help completing one. It is handled on the same terms and in the same order as online applications. If you need this page or the application in another language or format, contact our team (see "Questions, accommodations and language help" below).

What we check

With your permission, we may look at the following types of information:

• Identity verification
• A consumer credit report, including a credit score
• Income and employment verification
• Rental history, including references from current and past landlords
• Civil court records of eviction (unlawful detainer) cases, with the limits described below

We do not screen for criminal history at any home we manage, and we do not ask about it.

Criteria that may lead to denial

We use the same criteria for every applicant for a home. An application may be denied, or approved with conditions, if it does not meet one of the following:

• Income: combined gross monthly income of all adult applicants, from lawful, verifiable sources, of at least 3 times the monthly rent. All lawful sources of income count. If you have a housing voucher or other rent subsidy, the 3x is measured against your share of the rent only, meaning the rent minus the subsidy (RCW 59.18.255(3); SMC 14.08.040.F).
• Credit: each adult applicant must have a credit score of 700 or higher. This standard applies to every adult applicant, including applicants who have no credit score or a limited credit history.
• Debt-to-income: total monthly debt payments, including the rent for this home, may be no more than 40% of gross monthly income, counting all adult applicants together, the same as the income rule. Debt means the minimum monthly payments shown on your credit report or that you tell us about: auto loans, student loans, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, and court-ordered child support or alimony you pay. A student loan in deferment or forbearance counts at the payment shown on your credit report, which is $0 if no payment is currently due. Utilities, insurance, phone and other living expenses don't count. Income includes all lawful, verifiable sources, the same as the income rule. If you have a housing voucher or other rent subsidy, only your share of the rent counts as the rent in this calculation.
• Rental history: only these count against an applicant: any unpaid amount still owed to a current or past landlord, and documented lease violations, meaning a written notice of violation from the landlord. A landlord reference is negative only if it reports one of these. If a past landlord doesn't respond, that is not held against you. Having no rental history does not count against you.
• Eviction records: only eviction (unlawful detainer) judgments count, not cases that were filed and then dismissed or ended without a judgment against you. We consider the circumstances, and you may tell us about them.
• How far back we look (rental history and eviction records): generally about the last 7 years. That means the records our screening company reports, which federal law generally limits to about 7 years for these kinds of records (15 U.S.C. 1681c), and landlord references for the same period.
• Accurate application: information that is false or materially incomplete may lead to denial.
• Occupancy: the number of occupants follows the housing and building codes that apply to each home.
• Lease start date: you must agree that the lease and rent begin no later than 10 days after the later of (a) the date we offer you the home in writing, or (b) the date the home is available, as stated in the listing. This applies the same way to every applicant. If you can't agree to this start date, your application does not meet our criteria. Two exceptions: if a housing assistance program (such as a housing voucher program) needs an inspection or paperwork before the lease can start, the time that takes doesn't count against you, and our team can help with your program's paperwork; and if you have a disability, you can ask for a different start date as a reasonable accommodation, and we will consider your request. This is a requirement for applicants, not a promise about when a home will be ready.

Guarantors

Guarantors are accepted at every home we manage. The same guarantor requirements apply to every applicant. A guarantor must:

• apply, be screened and pay the $50 application fee;
• have gross monthly income from lawful, verifiable sources of at least 5 times the monthly rent(for an applicant with a voucher or rent subsidy, 5 times the applicant's share of the rent);
• meet the same credit standard (a score of at least 700) and the same rental-history and eviction standards as applicants; and
• sign the guaranty before move-in.

Approval that requires a guarantor is an "approval with conditions," so you will receive a written notice explaining why (see below).

Identification

Each adult applicant needs to verify their identity with any current government-issued photo ID, from the U.S. or another country. If you have a Social Security number, you must provide it. If you don't have one, you may provide an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or another government-issued document instead. We do not ask about citizenship or immigration status.

Homes in Burien and Shoreline: local law doesn't allow us to require a Social Security number or ITIN. If you choose not to provide one, you may verify your identity and income with other documents, and you will be screened on the same terms.

Income and source of income

We accept all lawful, verifiable sources of income. These include wages, Social Security, SSI, disability benefits, veterans' benefits, retirement income, child support, unemployment, emergency rental assistance and other benefit programs, plus Section 8 and other housing vouchers or subsidies. We do not set different terms or fees based on where your income comes from. If you have a voucher or other rent subsidy, we subtract it from the rent first and apply the income standard only to the share of rent you pay (RCW 59.18.255(3)). Our team can help with the paperwork your housing program needs; just ask.

Records we do not use (all homes)

• Any eviction case that a court has ordered to be of limited dissemination (RCW 59.18.367).
• Unpaid rent that came due from March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2022, and any eviction case for nonpayment of rent from that period (RCW 59.18.625).
• Any eviction history, meaning a court filing or an eviction notice, from March 3, 2020 through May 1, 2023. This covers the period of Seattle's COVID-19 civil emergency plus six months. Seattle law requires this (SMC 14.09.026), and we apply it at every home we manage.
• We do not ask about your medical history, including COVID-19 (RCW 59.18.625).

Criminal history

We do not screen for criminal history at any home we manage, we do not ask about it on our application, and we do not use criminal-history bans of any kind.

Assistance animals

Service animals and support animals, including emotional support animals, are not pets. Pet rules, pet limits, breed, size and weight limits, pet deposits, pet fees and pet rent do not apply to them. You do not need to mention an assistance animal on your application. You can ask for a reasonable accommodation at any time: before, during or after you apply. If the disability or the need for the animal isn't obvious, we may ask for reliable information that you have a disability and a disability-related need for the animal. We will not ask for a diagnosis, medical records, or the nature or severity of a disability. Residents are responsible for their animal's care and for any actual damage it causes. Each request gets an individual review.

Seattle homes: First-in-Time

For homes in the City of Seattle, we follow Seattle's First-in-Time rule (SMC 14.08.050):

• Criteria in advance. Our screening criteria and the documents we need are posted here before we accept applications.
• A complete application includes everything listed in this notice: a completed application, identification, and proof of income for each adult 18 or older(proof of income can be pay stubs, an offer letter, benefit award letters or voucher paperwork). An application is complete when it includes everything on that list (SMC 14.08.050.A.1.b).
• Order of review. We note the date and time we receive each complete application, and we screen complete applications in that order. Your place in line is set by the earliest date and time stamp on your fully completed application, not by when you toured the home.
• If we need more after screening. If, after screening your complete application, we need information not listed on this page, take an adverse action, or decide to do an individualized assessment, we will tell you what we need. The law gives you at least 72 hours to respond. If you respond within that time, you keep your place in line.
• Offer and acceptance. We offer the home to the first applicant who meets the criteria. Seattle law gives that applicant 48 hours from the offer to accept. After that, we may move to the next applicant in order. Agreeing to the lease start date in our criteria is part of meeting the criteria. We do not rank qualified applicants by how soon they can move in.
• More time to apply. You can ask for more time to complete your application if you need interpretation or translation, or as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. Your place in line is set by the date and time of your request. Contact our team to ask.
• Exceptions. Seattle law allows limited exceptions for units set aside for specific populations and for some owner-occupied accessory units. If a home uses one, its listing will say so.

Application fee

The application fee is $50 per adult applicant. Every adult who will live in the home applies, and so does any guarantor. The fee covers only the cost of screening. We charge it only after you have had the chance to read this notice.

Holding deposit

After we offer you a home, we may ask for a holding deposit to hold it for you. A holding deposit:

• is no more than 25% of the first month's rent;
• comes with a written receipt and a written statement of the conditions under which it may be kept, given to you when you pay;
• is credited to your first month's rent or your security deposit if you move in;
• is refunded in full if the home fails an inspection required by a rental-assistance program (such as a voucher inspection);
• may be kept only as the written conditions allow if you decide not to move in; and
• is separate from the application fee. We do not charge a fee to be put on a waiting list.

(RCW 59.18.253)

Reusable screening reports

West Seattle PM does not accept comprehensive reusable tenant screening reports.

Screening company and your rights

Our screening reports come from this consumer reporting agency:

• AppFolio, Inc., 70 Castilian Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93117 · Toll free (866) 359-3630 · www.appfolio.com/consumer
• Credit scores are provided to AppFolio by Experian, 701 Experian Pkwy, Allen, TX 75013 · (888) 397-3742

If we deny your application, or approve it with conditions, based on information in a consumer report, you have the right to a free copy of that report from AppFolio, Inc. if you send a written request within 60 days after you get our notice. You also have the right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information in the report directly with AppFolio, Inc. AppFolio does not make rental decisions and can't explain why a decision was made.

If your application is denied or approved with conditions

If we deny your application, or approve it with conditions such as a larger deposit, a guarantor, last month's rent or higher rent, we will give you a written notice that states the reasons. Each adult applicant gets their own notice. The notice will name the screening company that provided any report we used, with its address and phone number. It will also explain your right to a free copy of the report and your right to dispute it. The screening company did not make the decision and can't explain why it was made. If a credit score was used, the notice will include the score and the main factors that affected it. For Seattle homes, if we take an adverse action after screening your complete application, the law gives you at least 72 hours to give us more information before the decision is final, and you keep your place in line while you do (SMC 14.08.050).

Questions, accommodations and language help

Our team is happy to help. Contact our team to ask a question, request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, ask for more time, request a paper application, or get language help:

• Email: hello@westseattlepm.com
• Phone: (206) 512-7061
• Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm, by appointment only. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
• Office: 4511 SW Massachusetts St, Seattle, WA 98116

Interpretation or translated materials are available on request, at no cost to you, where available.

Changes to these criteria

These criteria are effective October 20, 2026. If we change them, we will post the new version on this page with a new effective date. The criteria posted when you apply are the ones we use for your application.