My rental application was denied
Learn about reasons that your rental application may be denied, what landlords are allowed to do and prohibited from doing when denying applications, and what you can do to try and get your applications approved.
Contents
1. Common denial reasons
If you apply to rent a place to live, the landlord may screen you. Screening means the landlord checks into your background to decide if they want to rent to you.
In most cases, the landlord will ask for a screening report from a tenant screening company. Tenant screening companies search through court records, credit reports, and other databases to create a report about you.
In Washington State, landlords who screen tenants must follow the requirements of RCW 59.18.257.
Landlords approve or deny rental applications based on the information they find in the screening process.
Some of the most common reasons that rental applications are approved or denied are:
- Credit history, especially debts owed to former landlords
- Rental history, including bad references from former landlords
- Eviction court records
- Criminal court records
- Employment and income level
- Social Security Numbers and immigration status
Sometimes landlords deny applications illegally, based on a discriminatory reason. This guide will describe what you can do if your application is denied and what you can do to try and get them approved.