Prepare a Misdemeanor Rental Application Without Guessing

What this guide covers

• Describing your record the way the court did
• The money requirements we check
• An application checklist to keep

Describe your record exactly

Go by the final offense and outcome listed on the disposition. Keep a conviction apart from a pending, dismissed or deferred case. Get missing paperwork from the clerk for the court that handled it. Not every misdemeanor goes through the same office.

We check the money requirements

We check which income sources count and which documents prove them. Some policies ask for income of three times the rent, but that's not a statewide rule. We look at how each apartment treats pay before or after taxes, offer letters, benefits, household income and guarantors. You gather your own pay stubs and letters.

Keep this application checklist

We look up the first three items for you.

• The misdemeanor rule that fits your case.
• When any lookback period starts and how review works.
• The income and rental history documents they accept.
• A breakdown of the application fee, deposit and move-in costs.
• Who to contact to fix a report or ask for a second look.

Don't send private documents to a general leasing email or to our inquiry form if nobody asked for them. When you're ready to apply, use the property's own application.

The renter tools can help with the budget, and our free locating service sends you a list of apartments to look at. The property makes its own call, and you may still need to apply at more than one place.

What to do next

1. Get a copy of your own screening report so you see what a landlord sees. Our guide on checking your own background walks you through it.
2. Get your disposition from the clerk of the court that handled the case.
3. Gather your pay stubs, offer letter or benefit letters.
4. Tell us about your case. We check each property's misdemeanor rule against it.

Published by the Felon Friendly Apartment Team. This is general renter information. Each property makes its own decisions, and questions about your own case belong with a lawyer or legal aid.