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Application Process & Instructions

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If you are interested in applying for any property currently available on our website, please navigate to the “Rentals Available” page and click on the “Apply Now” button associated with the property of interest. All proposed adult occupants are required to submit an application. While the application fee is non-refundable for processed applications whereas credit has been run, we do refund unprocessed application fees for those applicants in a backup position whereas no processing took place. Each applicant will be required to attach their proof of identity and complete an income verification process which includes a program that accesses the applicant’s selected bank account to confirm actual payments deposited.

While credit scores under 650 can be scary, We tend to rely more heavily on the credit history itself. Items on credit that will usually lead to a denial are unpaid liens or judgments (they can become a wage garnishment), an eviction or debt from a prior tenancy, utilities that are either unpaid or sent to collections as this may limit a resident from utility connectivity (this includes cell phone carriers), and a bankruptcy that has not been discharged. If you have something specific on your credit history that may be a disqualified, feel free to contact us with specifics so that we can either encourage you to move forward with your application or advise if any item(s) would disqualify you for tenancy.

We use Pet Screening, our pet policy partner, to document our fur baby residents. Applicants without animals can go ahead and register as a “No Pets or Animals” profile at https://recoveryrealty.petscreening.com. Applicants with animals should postpone registering their critters until requested to do so. Because “Pet Screening” is a third-party vendor, fees charged by this service can not be refunded. Upon request, pet or animal owners must create a pet and/or animal profile. If you have a pet, there is an additional per pet charge which is administered by this third-party screening service. Scroll to the bottom of this page to review the program flyer; clicking on the flyer will take you to the pet screening sight.

Many management companies require a minimum of 3x the rent for qualification to be met. We look more closely at income:debt ratio. So in some cases, where there is a great deal of debt, 3x may actually be insufficient. Bottom line: the income:rent ratio needs to make sense naturally to both me and the owner in order for an applicant to be advanced to the approval process; we never want to set anyone up for failure.

We process applications on a “First Completed, First Processed” policy. Completed means that all persons over 18 (regardless of income) have applied and provided the required details in their application.

IMPORTANT: Applications that are incomplete (i.e., not enough work or rental history as requested) or lacking other house mates’ applications will be considered incomplete and potentially cancelled or bypassed for a complete backup application(s) submitted by another party at a later time. It’s extremely important to take your time completing the application vs. rushing it and trying to be first.

Approved applicants have 48 hours to pay their security deposit (certified funds only) and sign a lease or they could be bypassed for a backup applicant ready to move forward. Properties will not be held for any length of time without this commitment.

Section 8. Section 8 is now a protected income class, so there is no need to ask if Section 8 is accepted. If you are a voucher recipient, we now offer options to provide alternative verification — in place of credit history reporting — of a recipients’ ability to pay rent. This alternative to a 3rd-party credit report includes:

• government payment benefits;

• pay records; and

• bank statements. [Gov C §12955(o)]

Recipients can either elect for us to run credit or select the alternative evidence of their ability to make the payment of rent — and that evidence must be considered by the landlord along with the rest of the application. [Gov C §12955(o)(1)(B)]. Recovery Realty requires this evidence be included in the application if the recipient is waiving the credit check in order for the application to be considered complete.

Maximum Application Screening Fees. When Civil Code §1950.6 was first enacted, owners and managers could not charge more than $30 per applicant for an application fee. The law allows the landlord to increase the $30 charge annually according to the consumer price index (CPI). In 2026, the maximum statutory amount is $65.86.

To avoid unfair business practice claims, conservative property owners and managers set their application fees at the lesser of the statutory maximum or their actual screening costs. An application screening fee should not be charged if the property owner or manager does not incur any screening costs (i.e. when no credit report is run or if the owner or manager did not perform a personal reference check or other processing).

Application Screening Fees When No Unit is Available. Unless the applicant agrees in writing, owners and managers cannot charge an application screening fee at all if they do not have a current vacancy or do not anticipate vacancies becoming available within a reasonable period of time. Civil Code §1950.6(c). The intent of the law is to prohibit any owner or manager from charging application screening fees when there are no units currently available to rent. But, if the applicant agrees in writing to have the report run when there are no current vacancies or no vacancies available within a reasonable period of time, an application screening fee may be charged. Otherwise, alternatives are to run credit reports and process the application at the landlord’s expense or wait to charge the fee and process the application when the applicant is at the top of the waiting list.

Charging Application Fees for Husband and Wife. Treating married couples differently than single persons is discriminatory in California. Each adult applicant should complete a rental application and should be charged the same fee. The monetary limit is per person regardless of the relationship between the parties.

Information to Include on the Receipt for the Application Fee. The applicant must be given an itemized receipt showing the actual charge for the credit report and the “soft costs” for the time and expense incurred by the owner/ manager for obtaining, processing and verifying the application (i.e. including past rental history, current employment, bank accounts, etc.). Civil Code §1950.6(d) and (f). If the total cost is less than the fee collected, the remaining sum should be returned to the applicant. Many application forms and some holding deposit agreements contain a receipt for the application fee, so often the application fee receipt is provided on either the application form or the holding deposit agreement form.