Statement of Rental Policy
STATEMENT OF RENTAL POLICY

Welcome to our community. Before applying to rent an apartment, please take the time to review this Statement of Rental Policy. For the purpose of this document, the term “applicant” is defined as the person who will be signing the Lease as the “Resident”. An applicant must be 18 years of age or older to qualify as a resident. All individuals 18 years of age or older must complete an application and be listed as a “Financially Responsible Resident” on the Lease Agreement. The term “occupant” is defined as the person or persons who will be listed on the lease agreement who is under the age of 18, and who is residing at this community. Some criteria apply to the applicants only; other criteria apply to all occupants. Please note that this is the current rental criteria for our communities; nothing contained herein constitutes a guarantee or representation that all residents and occupants currently residing in our communities have met these requirements. There may be individuals who began residing at our communities prior to this particular criteria going into effect; additionally, the ability to verify whether these requirements have been met is limited to the reliability of information received from applicants and outside services used.

EQUAL HOUSING: 
Our communities are an Equal Housing Opportunity Provider, doing business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act and do not discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Additionally, we provide housing in accordance with all state or local laws if those laws provide greater protection than the Federal Fair Housing Act.

APARTMENT AVAILABILITY: 
Applications for apartment homes will be accepted on a first come – first serve basis, and are subject to the availability of the particular apartment type requested. “Availability” does not necessarily mean that an apartment will definitely be available for occupancy by an applicant at the estimated date. “Available” apartments include those where a “Notice to Vacate” has been submitted by an existing resident indicating an intention to vacate on or about a certain date. Under certain circumstances, we will permit current residents who are not in default of their lease to withdraw or change their notice of moving. Other circumstances not necessarily under management’s control may also delay the date of availability of an apartment. In addition, an apartment may not be considered available because it is about to be placed under contract as an application has been made and a deposit placed to hold the apartment. If the applicant’s application is not approved or if the applicant fails to sign a Lease by the specified date, then the apartment would again become available. Whether a particular model type of apartment is available can vary significantly within several hours or days.

RENTAL CRITERIA: 
All applicants and co-signers must agree to the following by executing this statement of rental policy and a rental application form: Applicant(s) hereby consent to allow our communities, through its designated agent and its employees, to obtain and verify credit information, including a criminal background search for the purpose of determining whether or not the applicant is eligible to lease an apartment. Applicant understands that upon leasing an apartment, our communities and its agent shall have a continuing right to review credit information, rental application, criminal background, payment history, and occupancy history. Original signatures, faxed signatures, and electronic signatures are acceptable.

INCOME: 
The combined income of the applicant(s) is required to meet our community’s minimum income criteria. The three types of income used to establish the income to rent ratio eligibility are employment income, other income, and personal assets. Please consult a leasing consultant for the specific income to rent ratio designated for our communities.

SCORING SYSTEM: 
If all applicants’ combined income meets the community’s income requirements for the apartment in which applied for, management will proceed in running a thorough credit check, rental history check, eviction history check, and a background check, on all applicants age 18 and older that apply for residency. Our company uses a third party expert statistical scoring system to evaluate consumer credit and other variables. This information is compared to the credit trends of other consumers to predict how likely it is that the applicant will pay rent in a timely manner and fulfill all lease obligations. Based on the applicants’ score, which is not an applicants’ credit score, the application will be accepted, rejected, or accepted with conditions that an additional security deposit is paid. Additional security deposits can be up to an amount equal to two times the market rent for the particular apartment home applied for. If the application is rejected or accepted with conditions, the name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting agencies, which provided information, will be provided.
 
BACKGROUND CHECKS: 
If the application is accepted or accepted with conditions, an extensive criminal background search will be conducted, including but not limited to the applicant’s past two years of residency and the state in which the applicant’s driver’s license was issued. Our communities perform criminal background checks in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. Applicant’s signatures on the Application for Residency authorizes us not only to check the applicant’s credit history, but also any arrests or convictions. Applicants will be required to answer questions on the application stating whether they have been convicted of or arrested for a crime; and if so, what the crime was, when and where it occurred, and the disposition of that charge. An unsatisfactory criminal background or a check that results in pending charges will result in denial of the application. However, not all crimes disqualify applicants from living in our communities. Crimes that result in denial of residency are those, which pose a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of persons living and working in our communities. The application will be denied for any of the following criminal related reasons that have occurred within the past ten (10) years prior to the application date: felony conviction, any terrorist related conviction, any illegal drug related conviction, any prostitution related conviction, any sex related conviction or listing on the sex offender registry, any cruelty to animals related conviction, misdemeanor conviction involving crime against persons or property, any of the prior mentioned charges resulting in “Adjudication Withheld” and/or “Deferred Adjudication”, and active status on probation or parole resulting from any of the prior mentioned reasons. Please be advised that this requirement does not constitute a guarantee or representation that residents or occupants currently residing in our communities have not been convicted of or subject to deferred adjudication for a felony, certain misdemeanors or sex offenses requiring registration under applicable law. There may be residents or occupants in the community prior to this requirement going into effect. Additionally, our ability to verify this information is limited to the information made available to us by the resident credit reporting services used.

FEES / DEPOSITS: 
In order to reserve an apartment home, applicant(s) must submit an executed application along with the following fees and deposits: 
1. A non-refundable application fee of $65.00 for each applicant 18 years of age or older. 
2. A holding deposit of $550.00 for a one bedroom, $650.00 for a two bedroom, $750.00 for a three bedroom, and $850.00 for a four bedroom. If for any reason management decides to decline the application, management will refund the holding deposit in full. If an applicant is conditionally approved, but chooses not to pay the additional deposit, then the holding deposit will be forfeited by applicant. If the application is approved or approved with conditions, and the applicant fails to sign a lease or take occupancy of the premises on the agreed date, the holding deposit, and the security deposit will be retained by management as liquidated damages for the amount of rent lost and any expenses incurred as a result of the cancellation.

OCCUPANCY: 
An apartment home shall contain sufficient bedroom space to accommodate the size of the applicant’s household. As a general rule, “sufficient bedroom space” is determined by the number of people in the apartment home. No more than two people over the age of 12 months may be allowed for each bedroom in the apartment home. Any child under the age of 12 months is not counted as an additional person for purposes of occupancy guidelines. Once a child reaches the age of 12 months, the considerations listed above will be applied to determine whether the household will be required to move to a larger apartment home. Under no circumstances will a household be required to move to a larger apartment home during a current lease solely as a result of the addition of a child under 12 months to the household, or solely as a result of a child reaching the age of 12 months during a lease term. All members of the household, regardless of age, will be required to be listed on the lease agreement. Our policy is to conform to local and state requirements to the extent that they require a different standard than stated here.

INTERNATIONAL RENTAL CRITERIA: 
In addition to qualifying under the terms stated in the statement of rental policy, applicants from countries other than the United States WHO DO NOT HAVE A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER may be processed manually and must meet the following criteria:
1. An original valid passport showing raised notary seals and INS documentation, which includes a photograph, is required. Expired passports or expired INS documents may result in an automatic decline of application. On the Rental Application, the applicant is to fill in the passport number in lieu of a Social Security Number.
International applicants with verifiable employment are required to pay an additional one-month’s rent as a deposit. Self-employed / unemployed international applicants with verification of income are required to pay an additional two-month’s rent as a deposit.

AUTHORIZATION FOR PROVIDING ACCESS IN THE EVENT OF EMERGENCY, DEATH, OR INCAPACITY:  
If your application is approved and you take possession of the apartment / premises, you authorize us in the event of emergency, your death, or incapacity, to grant access to the premises and the contents therein to the individual you named above. Once we grant access to such person, he / she may remove all personal property from the premises and dispose of it in accordance with applicable law. You hereby release and discharge us from any liabilities, claims, or damages arising out of or in connection with or granting such access to the person you named. 

HOLDING DEPOSIT:
You understand that the holding deposit is not a security deposit. By signing this application and paying the holding deposit, you are requesting us to reserve the apartment / premises for you for a period of seven (7) days from the date of receipt of the initial holding deposit. In order to hold the apartment / premises beyond seven (7) days, the security deposit will be required to be paid in full. You understand that the premises will not be taken off the market until such time as you have submitted this fully completed and signed application, as well as all of the necessary documentation we require in order to approve or deny your application. You further understand that the holding deposit does not obligate us to execute a lease or to deliver possession of the premises to you. If your application is denied, we will refund the holding deposit to you. If your application is approved or approved with conditions, we will convert your holding deposit into a non-refundable holding deposit. If we notify you that your application has been approved or approved with conditions, and you do not enter into a lease with us based on the conditions set forth and agreed to above, your holding deposit and security deposit will be forfeited. We both agree that your election to not enter into a lease with us will cause us to incur costs that are difficult and impractical to fix. Such costs include, without limitation, lost rent on the premises, marketing, advertising, office overhead, and other costs incurred by us in preparing the premises for rental to other potential tenants. We both agree that the forfeiture of the holding deposit, and / or security deposit in such instance, is not a penalty, but represents a fair and reasonable estimate of the costs that we will incur as a result of your failure to timely enter into a lease for the premises. 

REPRESENTATION:
You represent that all of the above statements are true and complete. You authorize us to contact any references listed above and to obtain consumer reports, which may include credit, rental payment history, and criminal background information about you and any occupants in the premises in order to verify the above information. You further authorize us to obtain subsequent consumer reports to ensure that you continue to satisfy the terms of your tenancy, for the collection and recovery of any financial obligations relating to your tenancy, or for any permissible purpose. You understand that we may report all positive and negative rental history to consumer reporting agencies that track this information for landlords, mortgage companies, and other creditors. You and all occupants hereby release from all liability or responsibility all persons and corporations requesting or supplying such information. You acknowledge that false, incomplete, or misleading information herein may constitute grounds for rejection of this application, termination or right of occupancy of all residents and occupants under a lease and / or forfeiture of deposits and fees, and may constitute a criminal offense under the laws of this State. By signing below, you acknowledge that you understand the “Statement of Rental Policy” above. This application is preliminary only and does not obligate us to execute a Lease or to deliver possession of the premises to you. 

If there is inconsistency between the terms of this application and the signed lease, the terms of the lease will control.

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