Property Unify
Rental screening criteria
3246 W Huntingdon St, Philadelphia, PA 19132 · Unit 2nd Floor — let by Strawberry Mansion Estates LLC
Version 3, published by the letting team.
The short version
A plain-language summary, to save you reading everything twice. The full criteria below are what actually govern, and they are what you are confirming you have read.
- The fee
- Nothing to pay, and no card is asked for.
- Who applies
- Every adult aged 18 or over who will live there completes their own application.
- Income
- Household income from lawful sources should generally be at least three times the monthly rent.
- If you have a subsidy
- The income rule is applied only to the share of the rent you pay yourself.
- Credit
- There is no minimum credit score, and no one is refused on a score alone.
- Credit, again
- A credit score or screening score is never on its own a reason for refusal.
- Past evictions
- Looked at individually, with anything you want to explain about it, not as an automatic no.
- How many people
- As a general guideline, up to two people per bedroom.
- Pets
- Up to two cats or dogs, each expected to weigh 25 pounds or less when fully grown.
- Assistance animals
- Not pets. Handled as a reasonable-accommodation request, with no pet fee or size limit.
- Every application
- Assessed individually, under federal, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia law.
These criteria apply uniformly to all applicants. Each application will be individually assessed in accordance with applicable federal, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia law. Information that applicable law prohibits a landlord from considering will not be considered.
1. Application
• Every person age 18 or older who will occupy the unit must complete an application.
• Any application or screening fee will be disclosed before payment and will not exceed the amount permitted by applicable law.
• Only a soft credit pull will be performed where available through the screening provider.
• Applicants will receive a copy of any background, credit, or tenant-screening report when required by applicable law.
• Each applicant must provide government-issued photo identification and the information reasonably necessary to complete screening.
• Materially false, misleading, or omitted information relevant to the applicant's ability to satisfy the obligations of tenancy may result in denial after individualized review.
2. Application Completeness
Applications are considered in the order they become complete. An application is complete when:
• All adult occupants have completed their applications;
• Required identification and authorizations have been received;
• Required supporting information has been received; and
• Required independent verifications have been completed, or sufficient alternative verification has been provided.
Submitting an application or documents does not by itself make an application complete.
If a third party does not respond to a verification request within a reasonable period, the applicant may provide another reliable method of independent verification.
3. Income
• Household gross income from lawful sources should generally equal at least three times the monthly rent.
• For applicants receiving rental assistance or a subsidy, the income requirement will be applied to the portion of rent the applicant is personally responsible for paying, as required by applicable law.
• Employment is not required if the applicant has other qualifying lawful and verifiable income.
• Income must be reasonably and independently verifiable.
• Verification may include an employer or payroll provider, a government or benefit agency, bank records showing recurring deposits, tax records, rental-assistance documentation, or another reliable independent source.
• Applicant-provided paystubs, employment letters, bank statements, benefit statements, tax documents, or similar records may be considered as part of the verification process.
• When employment income is relied upon, employment history may be considered. A shorter employment history will not automatically disqualify an applicant when current and continuing income can otherwise be reliably verified, including through a verifiable job offer beginning by the lease start date.
• Substantial, independently verifiable liquid assets reasonably available to satisfy rental obligations may also be considered when evaluating the applicant's ability to pay.
4. Financial Reserves and Account History
Relevant financial information may be considered as part of an individualized assessment of the applicant's present ability to satisfy the financial obligations of tenancy.
• Available financial reserves and independently verifiable liquid assets reasonably available to satisfy rental obligations may be considered favorably.
• When financial-account information is used for verification, relevant recent payment history may be considered.
• An isolated overdraft, returned payment, or negative balance will not automatically result in denial.
• Where recurring financial problems are identified, Strawberry Mansion Estates LLC may consider their frequency, recency, significance, and surrounding circumstances, along with any mitigating information supplied by the applicant.
5. Rental Payment History
When an applicant has prior rental history:
• Strawberry Mansion Estates LLC may review the applicant's rental-payment history for the previous 12 months.
• Rental-payment history should be independently verifiable when reasonably possible, such as through a landlord or property-management ledger, a rental portal, cancelled checks, bank records showing rental payments, or a verifiable landlord or property-manager reference.
• Cash payments may qualify when they can be reasonably and independently verified.
• Material discrepancies between information supplied by the applicant and independently verified rental history may be considered.
• Relevant late, missed, or returned rental payments may be considered as part of the applicant's overall rental and payment history, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
First-time renters and other applicants without prior rental history may still qualify.
6. Utility Payment History
If an applicant was responsible for utilities at a prior residence, Strawberry Mansion Estates LLC may request recent utility-payment information relevant to evaluating the applicant's payment history. Relevant considerations may include timely payment and unresolved past-due balances.
This does not apply when utilities were included in rent, the applicant had no utility accounts in the applicant's name, or the records are otherwise unavailable for a legitimate reason.
An applicant may provide mitigating or explanatory information concerning a past-due utility account.
7. Credit and Payment History
There is no minimum credit-score requirement. Credit information may be considered as one part of an individualized assessment of the applicant's ability to satisfy the financial obligations of tenancy.
Relevant considerations may include, to the extent permitted by applicable law:
• Recent rental-payment history;
• An unpaid balance lawfully owed to a prior landlord;
• An unpaid civil judgment materially relevant to the financial obligations of tenancy;
• Relevant unpaid utility obligations;
• Recent non-medical collections or charge-offs materially relevant to the applicant's ability to satisfy rental obligations; and
• Materially false or unverifiable income, rental, or payment information.
Medical debt, standing alone, will not be used as a basis for denial. No applicant will be denied solely because of a credit score or tenant-screening score. Information prohibited from consideration by applicable law will not be considered.
Applicants may provide mitigating or explanatory information regarding relevant credit or payment history.
8. Eviction History
Eviction history will be considered only as permitted by Philadelphia law and as part of an individualized assessment. An eviction record will not automatically result in denial.
Strawberry Mansion Estates LLC will not consider eviction records that applicable Philadelphia law prohibits from consideration, including records that:
• Are four or more years old;
• Did not result in a judgment for the landlord;
• Have been sealed;
• Have been withdrawn or otherwise resolved in a manner that applicable law prohibits from consideration;
• Have been marked satisfied or settled, where prohibited from consideration;
• Were filed during the applicable COVID-19 emergency period, where prohibited from consideration;
• Resulted in a judgment by agreement; or
• Otherwise fall within a category Philadelphia law prohibits from consideration.
When an eviction record may lawfully be considered, Strawberry Mansion Estates LLC will consider it as part of the applicant's overall circumstances, together with any timely mitigating information provided by the applicant.
9. Criminal History
Relevant criminal history may be considered only to the extent permitted by applicable law and consistent with applicable fair-housing requirements.
• An arrest that did not result in a conviction will not, by itself, be treated as evidence that the applicant engaged in criminal conduct.
• A criminal conviction will not automatically result in denial.
• Sealed, expunged, or otherwise legally restricted records will not be considered.
When legally permissible criminal-history information raises a legitimate concern related to the health or safety of persons, the protection of property, or other legitimate obligations of tenancy, Strawberry Mansion Estates LLC will conduct an individualized assessment. Relevant considerations may include:
• The nature and severity of the conduct;
• How much time has passed;
• The relationship between the conduct and a legitimate tenancy concern;
• Subsequent rental history;
• Evidence of rehabilitation;
• References;
• Changed circumstances; and
• Other relevant mitigating information.
10. Occupancy
All persons who will reside in the unit must be disclosed.
As a general guideline, occupancy may be limited to two persons per bedroom, subject to applicable building, housing, occupancy, and fair-housing requirements and any required reasonable accommodation.
11. Pets and Assistance Animals
Pets are permitted subject to the property's disclosed pet policy.
• Up to two pets may be permitted, limited to cats and dogs with an expected adult weight of 25 pounds or less, subject to any additional property-specific requirements disclosed to the applicant.
• If an applicant chooses to bring a pet, pet screening may be required through the pet-screening provider identified in the listing. Any applicable fee will be disclosed before the applicant incurs it.
• Pet screening determines whether the pet is approved and is separate from approval of the applicant for tenancy.
Assistance animals are not pets. Requests involving service animals or other qualifying assistance animals will be handled as reasonable-accommodation requests in accordance with applicable fair-housing law. Assistance animals will not be subject to pet fees, pet deposits, pet rent, or ordinary pet size or number restrictions, to the extent prohibited by applicable law.
12. Denial and Reconsideration
If an application is denied, the applicant will receive written or electronic notice stating the reasons for the denial within the period required by Philadelphia law. When required by Philadelphia law, copies of the third-party screening reports relied upon in reaching the decision will also be provided.
A rejected applicant may exercise the rights provided by Philadelphia law to:
• Dispute incorrect, inaccurately attributed, or prohibited information;
• Provide mitigating information; and
• Request reconsideration of the denial.
The applicant must exercise those rights within the time periods established by Philadelphia law.
Any adverse-action notice required by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act will also be provided.
If reconsideration establishes that the applicant satisfies the applicable requirements of tenancy, Strawberry Mansion Estates LLC will comply with any obligation imposed by Philadelphia law concerning a subsequently available comparable rental unit.
13. Fair Housing and Uniform Application
These criteria will be applied uniformly and without discrimination based on any characteristic protected by federal, Pennsylvania, or Philadelphia law.
Lawful sources of income, including Housing Choice Vouchers and other lawful rental assistance, will be considered in accordance with applicable law.
Reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications will be provided when required by applicable fair-housing law.
These screening criteria will be provided to prospective applicants before Strawberry Mansion Estates LLC accepts an application or application fee, as required by Philadelphia law.
No provision of these screening criteria will be interpreted or applied in a manner that conflicts with applicable federal, Pennsylvania, or Philadelphia law.
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Equal Housing Opportunity
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
24 CFR Part 110